Dallas Mavericks Tim Hardaway Jr: The Sixth Man of the Year Candidate

One player who has been on roll as of late, is Dallas Mavericks shooting guard, Tim Hardaway Jr. The veteran guard has demonstrated his ability to be a much needed asset off the bench and should be a favorite to win the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year.

As of late, Rick Carisle and staff have regenerated the bench play from the Dallas Mavericks. One of the main reasons why is the performance of Tim Hardaway Jr. off the bench. In 26 games this season, Hardaway has started 17 of them and come off the bench for eight of them.

In his eight games from the bench, Hardaway Jr. has averaged 18.8 points. His points per game from the bench is better than current than sixth man of the year candidate Jordan Clarkson. Clarkson has been a solid asset for the Utah Jazz, as he is averaging 17.4 points per game. While Hardaway’s numbers may be better, one can argue that he has not played enough games to be a candidate for sixth man of the year…yet.

The numbers don’t lie, if Hardaway continues to come off the bench, he should not be overlooked as a real candidate for sixth man of the year.

The Dallas Mavericks have a legitimate Sixth Man of the Year candidate in Tim Hardaway Jr.

Just look at his last couple of games. On Wednesday night against the Atlanta Hawks, Hardaway Jr. scored 16 points and shot 60 percent from the field. From behind the arc his numbers were no different, as he went three for five. Backtrack to two games ago against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Against the T-wolves, the Dallas Mavericks guard dropped 24 points and went nine for 15 from the field.

Hardaway Jr’s success first began in his first game off the bench. Date back to January 4th against the Houston Rockets and the Mav’s player had himself a night. That night, Hardaway Jr. scored 30 points and balled out. He went eight for 10 from the the three-point line and only missed three shots the entire night. Not to mention, his tallied seven rebounds.

Still don’t believe he is a sixth man of the year candidate in just eight games, well let’s compare him to other sixth man of the year candidates.