The Miami Heat may have figured out a way to turn things around on the offensive end of the floor to a certain extent, especially as they've won two straight games by double digits. But there are still huge concerns surrounding Tim Hardaway Jr.
Through the first six games of the season, Hardaway Jr. has been one of the team's biggest disappointments. It seems almost every other player on the Heat roster has broken out of their own early-season slump. Except for Hardaway Jr. He's averaging just six points on 30 percent shooting from the field overall and 24 percent shooting from the 3-point range.
Objectively, this is one of the worst starts to a season of his career. At this point, you can't help but wonder if there's any regret on the Heat's part for prioritizing Hardaway Jr. over other similar-type guards during the offseason, especially considering the start that Anfernee Simons has had for the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Heat may be regretting their decision to choose Tim Hardaway Jr. over Anfernee Simons
Through his first six games of the season with the Sixers, Hardaway Jr. is averaging 11 points per game on 41 percent shooting from the 3-point range. Hardaway Jr. has made six total 3-pointers so far this season; Simons has made 11 in the last two games and 16 overall.
At the start of free agency, the Heat and Hardaway Jr. quickly agreed to a contract. It was also reported that Miami wasn't willing to offer Simons more than the veteran's minimum, a financial length they were willing to go for Hardaway Jr.
Eventually, Simons found his way to the Sixers, and the Heat moved on. However, especially given how both Simons and Hardaway Jr. have looked, there's an argument to be made that the Heat may have made the wrong decision.
It's still extremely early in the season, but there's no question that Simons has been the better player through six games. Hardaway Jr. hasn't just been bad for Miami; he's been one of the team's worst players in the rotation.
It's not just the fact that he can't seem to hit a bucket, but the frustrations also tie to his ineffectiveness on the defensive end of the floor. Hardaway Jr. just hasn't provided much value to the Heat on the floor right now, and there has been no greater message of that than the season-low 12 minutes he played against the Pacers.
Sure, part of the reduced minutes was the fact that Klay had it going, but Hardaway Jr.'s recent play does have a role in that too.
Hardaway Jr. was signed to help strengthen the second unit. As a strong Sixth Man of the Year candidate a year ago, the belief was that he'd be a microwave scorer off the bench and help settle some of the team's shooting concerns. So far this season, he's compounded each one of those problems instead.
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