Tim Hardaway Sr. blasts Mavericks' offense after tough Game 1 defeat

22/04/2024 18:47

Dallas Mavericks sixth man Tim Hardaway Jr.’s father Tim Hardaway Sr. was not pleased with the team’s offensive approach against the Los Angels Clippers on Sunday. The Mavs were ultimately defeated 109-97 in Game 1 of their playoff series.

“Connecticut University runs a better offense than the Dallas Mavericks,” Hardaway Sr. said on The Carton Show. “Because they get everybody moving, they get everybody moving. Everybody touching the ball, everybody making plays. And they get the defense moving and then they get the defense confused where they can make a shot here, get a wide open jump-shot there and then they got lobs there.”

Hardaway Sr. clearly wants to see more ball movement. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving combined for 64 points in Sunday’s game, while the rest of the offense scored just 33 total points. With that being said, the Mavs did take 33 three-point attempts and connected on just 10 of those shots.

So the Mavericks received opportunities but failed to capitalize. Tim Hardaway Sr. thinks that a more fluid offensive approach would help matters.

“You got Tim Hardaway (Jr) in the corner, you got another guy in the corner. Paul George is just standing there like ‘I’m getting rest,'” Hardaway Sr. continued. “James Harden is on his side, ‘I’m getting rest’… Luka and Kyrie go to pick-and-roll and these guys not going to move. This is in favor of my team… I think they need to run offense, get moving and get other people shots.”

Mavericks’ offense

Doncic and Irving lead the offense. There is no denying that fact.

However, both players are terrific at creating opportunities for their teammates. Hardaway Sr., though, likely believes that less dribbling and more passing, which would be similar to a college offense, is the approach Dallas should pursue.

Luka finished the game with 33 points and Kyrie added 31. Together, they combined for 44 shot attempts.

The only other Mavericks player who recorded 10 or more shot attempts on Sunday was PJ Washington (he went 4-10 from the field).

Tim Hardaway Jr., who Hardaway Sr. mentioned, went 2-5 from the field, which was tied for the fourth-most shot attempts for Dallas in the game.

So does Tim Hardaway Sr. make a good point? Well, let’s see what Luka Doncic said about the Mavericks’ offensive performance.

“We just gotta play like we used to play,” Doncic said following Sunday’s game, via Mavs Fans For Life. “Like we played the last 20 games of the season. Passing the ball, cutting, ball movement. I think we did a great job the last 20 games. So we just gotta play like that.”

In other words, Doncic agrees that consistent ball movement and a fluid offense is the best approach.

So why did the Mavericks struggle in Game 1?

Teams endure difficult games. It happens in sports all of the time.

Of course, turning in an underwhelming performance in a playoff game is never ideal. Fortunately for the Mavs, they are only down 1-0 in the series. Dallas is going to make the necessary adjustments for Game 2.

The Mavericks will need to bounce back. Dallas will be in a good position if they can earn a victory on Tuesday and head home with the series all tied up at one game apiece.

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