The Miami Heat made shooting a priority this offseason, and that’s exactly why Tim Hardaway Jr. looks like such a clean fit.
At 34, Hardaway Jr. arrives on a one-year, $6.07 million deal after another productive season in a long NBA run. He was coming off his fourth top-10 Sixth Man of the Year finish in 13 seasons, and in 80 games with the Denver Nuggets last year he put up 13.5 points per game on 44.7 percent shooting, along with 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists. He’s made his name in a reserve role, but Miami may need his skill set in the starting five.
The reason is simple: Bam Adebayo and Giannis Antetokounmpo are going to live near the paint, and that only works if the perimeter is dangerous enough to punish defenses for collapsing. Hardaway Jr. brings that kind of spacing.
He shot 40.7 percent from three last season, a mark that would have ranked third on Miami’s roster a year ago. He also fits the profile of a shooter who can thrive next to stars who draw attention everywhere else - he moves well without the ball, takes a high volume of threes, and gets them off quickly.
On catch-and-shoot looks last season, he hit 41.5 percent.
Pelle Larsson is another possible name for the shooting guard spot, but he doesn’t bring the same kind of accuracy from deep. In two seasons, Larsson has connected on 32.8 percent of his threes on limited volume. His game is built more around getting downhill and finishing at the rim, whether he has the ball or not.
Miami has already shown how much a screener like Adebayo can boost perimeter production. Duncan Robinson was the clearest example of that, and the 32-year-old has long been one of the league’s most dangerous shooters. Hardaway Jr. could benefit from the same setup, especially with defenses likely keying on Antetokounmpo and Adebayo first.
And there’s still plenty of pop in his game. Last season, Hardaway Jr. had a 30-point night on 55.6 percent shooting, with five made threes.
Even now, he still has enough burst to get to the rim and finish. He’s also cleared 35 percent from beyond the arc in six of his last seven seasons, which is exactly the kind of consistency Miami needed to add.
The Heat signed the Miami Palmetto graduate, and he’ll wear No. 10 this season - the number last worn by his father, Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Tim Hardaway Sr. That choice didn’t come easily, either; Hardaway Jr. had previously objected to the idea before eventually changing his mind.
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Ryan Conwell Suddenly Has A Real Shot In Miamis New Era
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Ryan Conwell is one of the names to watch in that group. The second-round pick enters a situation where opportunity is available if he can handle the pace, space the floor and show enough trustworthiness to stay on the court, and Miamis new era could give him a real opening earlier than expected. For a rookie on a contender, that is a tricky path, but it is also exactly the kind of window that can turn a quiet summer into a much bigger season. [Read more 🡒]