Tim Hardaway Jr. Gives Nuggets a Glimpse of His Boom-or-Bust Potential in Return to Dallas
If there’s one thing Mavs fans know all too well, it’s the Tim Hardaway Jr. experience - thrilling when it’s good, maddening when it’s not. On Tuesday night in Dallas, the veteran wing reminded his old team exactly what that roller coaster ride looks like - only this time, he was wearing a Denver Nuggets jersey.
Hardaway Jr. caught fire in the third quarter, drilling four threes in a matter of minutes and finishing the night with 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting from deep. It wasn’t enough to push Denver over the top in a tightly contested loss at American Airlines Center, but his shooting barrage gave the Nuggets a serious jolt off the bench and nearly flipped the game’s momentum.
That’s the kind of spark Denver was hoping for when they brought the 33-year-old in - a microwave scorer who can swing a game in a matter of possessions. But as Mavs fans could tell you, the fire doesn’t always stay lit.
The Boom Is Real - But So Is the Bust
Hardaway Jr.’s time in Dallas was marked by flashes of brilliance and stretches of invisibility. He could go for 20+ on any given night, knocking down contested triples and opening up the floor for Luka Doncic and company. But just as often, he’d go ice cold - and when the shot wasn’t falling, there wasn’t much else to lean on.
That volatility followed him to Detroit last season, where he opened the playoffs with a promising 19-point Game 1 performance against the Knicks - only to follow it up with an 0-for-8 shooting night in Game 2. The Pistons had seen enough after one season.
Dallas, meanwhile, had already reached its breaking point. After becoming nearly unplayable during the 2024 Playoffs and delivering a frustratingly inconsistent Finals performance, the Mavericks finally moved on.
Even his record-setting five threes in Game 4 against Boston - a rare bright spot in a tough series - wasn’t enough to change the narrative. The flashes were there, but the trust was gone.
Denver’s Gamble: Low Risk, High Reward
Now, it’s Denver’s turn to see what they can get out of Hardaway Jr., and early returns have been encouraging. He’s averaging just over 12 points per game in a bench role, and when he’s on - like he was Tuesday night - he can absolutely shift the energy of a game.
But the Nuggets know what they signed up for. This is a low-risk, high-reward move for a contending team that doesn’t need Hardaway Jr. to be a star - just a reliable role player who can stretch the floor and punish defenses that sag off him.
The key? Managing expectations and minutes.
When the shot is falling, let him ride. When it’s not, head coach David Adelman can’t hesitate to pull the plug.
That’s the blueprint - and it’s one that teams like Dallas and Detroit learned the hard way.
What Comes Next?
Hardaway Jr. has proven he can be a valuable contributor - but only if he’s deployed in the right role. He’s not the guy you build an offense around, but he can be the guy who swings a quarter, or even a game, with a hot hand off the bench.
The challenge for Denver will be keeping him in rhythm without overextending him. His game is built on confidence and momentum, and when he’s feeling it, he can space the floor as well as almost anyone in the league.
But the playoffs are where the real test comes. That’s when the margins shrink, the defenses tighten, and every possession matters. That’s when the Nuggets will find out whether they’ve got the boom version of Tim Hardaway Jr. - or the bust.
For now, Denver will take the highs when they come and hope the lows don’t last too long. Because when the shot is falling, there’s still some magic left in that jumper.