Exclusive: Tim Hardaway Jr. understands ‘overplayed’ questions about father after joining Heat appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
MIAMI – With the Heat’s offseason headlined by Giannis Antetokounmpo and Klay Thompson, another newcomer on the team is one who has been familiar with the team since he was young. As the Heat made their preseason debut with Saturday’s 129-105 win over the Toronto Raptors, it featured a standout performance by Tim Hardaway Jr., who is due for a pivotal role with Miami, but there has been a lingering question surrounding the guard.
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The Hardaway name is one that holds weight within the Heat organization, as Tim Hardaway Sr. played with the franchise from 1996 to 2001, cementing his status as one of the team’s best players in its history, leading to his No. 10 being hung up in the rafters.
Heat’s Tim Hardaway addresses abundance of questions about his father
During that time, Hardaway Jr. grew up in town, even going to high school at Miami Palmetto in Pinecrest, Florida, ahead of his time with the University of Michigan in 2010.
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Fast forward 16 years and Hardaway is entering his 14th season in the NBA, and it’ll be an emotional one as it comes full circle in playing for a team he grew up around in the Heat. Even taking up the No. 10, which the idea of him having the number had initial pushback from Hardaway Sr., the son eventually got it, with junior citing a “family decision.”
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There’s no doubt that Hardaway Jr. has received many questions about his father, the reason for the change of heart with the number, etc., and while it could be annoying for the 34-year-old, he understands the demand.
“It kind of gets overplayed in a way,” Hardaway said to ClutchPoints Monday. “It’s like that one song that you just keep playing over and over and over and over. It’s on repeat, but I mean, you love it. At the end of the day, you love it, and that’s why it’s on repeat.”
“So the amount of questions, the amount of excitement, I’m not gonna take that frustration or how people are thinking because they’re excited, they are happier for the moment, so I’m not going to take that away from them,” Hardaway continued. “So I just gotta bottle it up. I know what I’m here to do, my job here, but at the same time, you know, the jersey’s still up there, so still gotta be able to go out there and perform.”
Tim Hardaway Jr. on playing with No. 10 Heat jersey
When Hardaway says he knows what his “job” is with the Heat, one of the roles is to provide the team with three-point shooting and a spark off the bench. Having been a productive player in his role throughout his career, last season with the Denver Nuggets was impressive, averaging 13.5 points per game on shooting 44.7 percent from the field and a career-high 40.7 percent from beyond the arc.
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While it’s just one preseason game, Hardaway showed on Saturday why Miami signed him to a reportedly one-year, $6.5 million deal back in late June. Hardaway scored 14 points, eight in the first quarter, making all four of his field goal attempts, three being from deep, as there was no denying that some fans were feeling nostalgic seeing a Hardaway in a No. 10 Miami jersey shooting lights out, as the moment was emotional for the veteran.
“I think just stepping onto the hardwood, I think it was going to be amazing, it was going to be surreal, I mean, I think that’s when it actually hit me,” Hardaway said. “Like I said before, being an opponent, I cherish those moments playing under that jersey, even in my past 13 years playing in the league, and just standing in front of it during the national anthem and looking up at it before games and just trying to be the best player possible while playing in this arena under that jersey. So now having that opportunity to have it on, I’m just gonna relish it. Not gonna take it for granted. Try to make my father proud.”
Heat’s Tim Hardaway Jr. has an “ignitability”
Leading the team in points on Saturday, Hardaway was part of the Heat’s offensive showcase that scored 41 in the first quarter and 76 points in the first half. Hardaway expressed that everybody was ecstatic to play against someone different besides themselves, as they had been in training camp last week at Florida Atlantic University.
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“We were just, I guess, tired of playing against ourselves and grinding out in practice and beating each other up, and it’s better when you’re doing it against a different opponent,” Hardaway said. “So for the most part, I think we’re all just happy to be able to go out there, play, showcase our talent, showcase what we’ve been working on for the last couple weeks now as a group, and for me, I think it was just soaking it all in. I mean, I haven’t played at home yet, so it’s always easier to play on the road when there’s only your guys around.”
When the regular season rolls around on Oct. 21 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Hardaway is going to be crucial in providing the team with “ignitability,” as head coach Erik Spoelstra explained to ClutchPoints.
“It’s that word that I’ve used before, ignitability; he is ignitable, like that can go off in a second,” Spoelstra said Monday. “And it’s not just him, but it’s that the way that second unit played the other night, but also in training camp, they play fast. The ball moves. You have to really be having attention to detail defensively to get to those guys, and he was a beneficiary of that pace and the movement early on. Once he sees one going, you just already can tell that can lead to more.”
Tim Hardaway Jr.’s main goal for his first season with the Heat
With Hardaway looking to play a major part of the Heat’s bench, along with Pelle Larsson, Bobby Portis Jr., Nikola Jovic, and more, there are certain goals that the guard wants to hit in his first season in Miami.
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While Heat president Pat Riley mentioned Hardaway’s goal should be averaging 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from deep, and 90 percent from the free-throw line, as said in his introductory press conference on July 8, there is something else. Haradway would stress availability, as he played in 80 games last year for Denver, and hasn’t gone below 71 since the 2021-22 season with the Dallas Mavericks.
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“I think the best thing in this league, I think availability is durability in a way, going out there, being durable for 82 games, being available for 82 games, and going out there and having the mindset that it might not be your night, but you can still affect the game in many ways. So that’s definitely a goal for me. It’s not going to be my night all the time,” Hardaway said.
“I know last year in Denver, I was, like Coach said, igniting the offense, igniting the energy,” Hardaway continued. “But we have a lot of guys here on this team that can do an amazing job of just creating offense for not only themselves but for others. And yeah, at the end of the day, I just want everybody to be healthy going into the postseason. That’s all that matters.”
At any rate, Hardaway will continue to get acclimated to Miami ahead of the team’s home preseason opener on Thursday against the New Orleans Pelicans.
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