Mavs ‘Going to Be Scary!’ Rookie Jaden Hardy Explodes at Utah; Dallas Awaits Kyrie & Luka
Hardy #Hardy
“We got a goal,” Mavs rookie Jaden Hardy says, “and that’s to win a championship. I feel like (Kyrie Irving) coming in is going to help us a lot.”
The notion of the “scary” Dallas Mavericks of course is rooted in the excitement and optimism – OK, cautious optimism, all things considered – from Sunday’s blockbuster trade for Kyrie Irving, which pairs the All-Star with MVP candidate Luka Doncic.
But on Monday at Utah, “scary” reached a different plane.
“It’s going to be scary with (Kyrie) and LD (Luka),” said none other than Jaden Hardy.
Wait. Jaden Hardy? “G League” Jaden Hardy? “The 37th-overall pick” Jaden Hardy?
Rookie Jaden Hardy is a go-to quote guy on the Kyrie trade now?
He is when he steps in, as was the case on Monday night, and leads the Mavs to a 124-111 upset win at Utah … while the club awaits the arrival of Kyrie and the return to health of Luka.
“We got a goal,” said Hardy, who came off the bench to do his damage, “and that’s to win a championship. I feel like (Kyrie) coming in is going to help us a lot.”
Hardy is speaking as if he belongs because, well, he does. The Mavericks jumped to 29-26 on Monday with a win over a Utah team that is right behind them in the Western Conference standings. … and a Utah team that was favored here by nine points.
No Luka, no Kyrie, no problem? Correct, and remember, there was also no Dorian Finney-Smith and no Spencer Dinwiddie, as they were dealt to the Brooklyn Nets in the blockbuster trade.
Also key here, another youngster, second-year guy Josh Green. The Mavs figure he can step up as the replacement for the two-way standout Finney-Smith, and they figured right on Monday as he finished with a career-high 29 points on 10-17 shooting from the field, 3-6 from deep and 6-6 from the free-throw line.
Is Green now a starter, even when Doncic (expected to sit out Wednesday at the Clippers with a heel injury) and Kyrie (expected to debut) are ready to go later this week?
Said coach Jason Kidd: “We’ll see how this thing looks when we get healthy. … We believe he can be a starter in this league at some point.”
And what about Hardy – who played just 26 minutes but shot 8-for-12 from the field, 4-of-9 from behind the arc, and sank all nine attempts from the free throw line and also gathered four rebounds, four assists, and two steals – as a rotational fixture?
“We’re going to have to give him minutes here,” Kidd said. “He brings us something that we don’t have, and that’s speed. He’s fearless about getting to the rim. He’s showing that he can play-make, too.”
All in all? The Mavs just got a lot more “scary.”
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