ATL All Day
Fansided

Tim Hardaway Jr. Active for Thursday’s Game vs. Knicks

By Jonathan Savitske

facebooktwitterreddit

Tim Hardaway Jr. will dress and is active for the Atlanta Hawks matchup on Thursday night against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. 

In strange turn of events on Tuesday, Tim Hardaway Jr. did not dress for the Atlanta Hawks opening night contest against the Detroit Pistons, despite the team picking up his option for next season on the same day. The Atlanta Hawks paid a significant price to acquire Tim Hardaway Jr. this offseason, trading for the third-year player on draft night in a trade with the Washington Wizards and the New York Knicks. The acquisition of Hardaway cost the Hawks a first round pick in this year’s NBA draft, adding to the scrutiny placed on this deal.

-= Related: Atlanta Hawks: 4 Observations from Pistons Game =-

Tim Hardaway Jr. struggled during the Hawks’ preseason slate, failing to find his shot and having difficulty adapting to the Hawks’ offensive scheme. Though it was expected Hardaway would have trouble adjusting to his new team in the early going, it’s still very odd that was not included on the Atlanta Hawks’ active list, given the cost of his acquisition this past offseason. Also, Hardaway’s father, Tim Hardaway Sr., is an assistant coach on the Detroit Pistons, leading to speculation that something is amiss with Hardaway.

More from ATL All Day

Making the situation even more odd, Lamar Patterson, the newest member of the Atlanta Hawks and the final player on the depth chart, took Tim Hardaway Jr.’s projected spot in Mike Budenholzer’s 10-man rotation on Tuesday. Patterson played well, posting a team high +10 in 18 minutes against the Pistons while recording 5 points. Perhaps Coach Budenholzer is merely experimenting with his lineups; but a deeper problem that we are unaware of could very well exist.

As the Atlanta Hawks prepare for back-to-back games on Thursday and Friday against the Knicks and the Hornets, SF Thabo Sefolosha is inactive for tonight’s game in New York as he continues to work his way back from injury. Mike Muscala was diagnosed with a right ankle sprain after Tuesday’s game against Detroit and will not participate due to his injury. This ends the speculation that Tim Hardaway Jr. would not dress for his first game against his former team.

During his first two years in the NBA as a member of the New York Knicks, Tim Hardaway Jr. averaged 10.2 and 11.5 points per game. Last season, Hardaway shot 38.9 percent from the field and 34.2 percent from three-point range. Tim Hardaway Jr. remains an intriguing piece for the Atlanta Hawks. If he can exorcise his recent struggles during the preseason and finally adapt to the Atlanta Hawks system, Tim Hardaway Jr. can become an important scoring threat off the bench for the Atlanta Hawks this season.

More from Atlanta Hawks

I still am confused as to the reason why Tim Hardaway Jr. did not dress on Tuesday against Detroit; but if I had a guess, I would posit that Head Coach Mike Budenholzer was tinkering with his rotation and wanted to see how Lamar Patterson did against regular season competition. Also, given Hardaway’s struggles in the preseason, I can believe that Bud wanted to give his new player some time to think and to prepare for the regular. As fans, we have a penchant for reading into one game too much — especially when there are 81 games ahead in a long season.

With Mike Muscala and Thabo Sefolosha inactive for tonight’s game, I fully expect to see Tim Hardaway Jr. on the court for at least 15 minutes against his former team. While it’s somewhat concerning that Hardaway did not see any playing time on Tuesday, it’s still too early to truly worry about a potential problem with one of the Hawks’ newest players.

Next: Atlanta Hawks Travel to MSG to Face Knicks

More from ATL All Day

Home/Atlanta Hawks