Hardaway Jr. is second on the team in scoring per 36 minutes with 16.7 points. That's 3.7 points higher than Smith and more than double Shumpert's per-36 minute scoring average (8.2). Hardaway Jr. also has the best shooting percentage among Knicks guards. His shooting percentage (47.9 percent) is behind only Tyson Chandler, Amar'e Stoudemire and Kenyon Martin on the team's leaderboard. Furthermore, Hardaway has the lowest turnover percentage on the team (a stat that measures a player's turnovers per 100 plays).
The rookie's big hangup right now is on defense. Defense can be difficult to quantify statistically because one player's results are dependent on his teammates. But Hardaway Jr. has the worst defensive rating (an estimate measure of points allowed per 100 possessions) on the Knicks.
So the former Michigan star's defense is one factor to consider when thinking about a potential increase in minutes. He's currently playing 17.9 per game.
12/26/2013 11:51 AM