Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said he is generally pleased with the play of Tim Hardaway Jr. in the guard’s limited action since making his season debut this week.
Hardaway played 12 minutes each against the Celtics on Tuesday and the Timberwolves on Wednesday, his first two games of the season. He has a total of five points on 1 of 6 shooting with two rebounds, one steal and one block.
“I think he’s really been focused on the defensive end of the court, doing a lot of things that we want and are challenging, really the whole group, to do,” Budenholzer said Friday before the Hawks played the Grizzlies. “The way he has played and the focus and the attention he’s paid on really everything has been pretty good. Hopefully, he’ll find a rhythm offensively, find some opportunities. I would say we are pretty happy with his focus, his effort, his attention.”
Hardaway, acquired in a draft night trade with the Knicks for a first-round pick, was on the floor in the closing minutes of the loss to the Timberwolves when Damjan Rudez hit back-to-back 3-pointers. Budenholzer said the defensive breakdowns were not fully on Hardaway.
“He may be got caught a half a second late, on the one out of the post, but the other ones were not him,” Budenholzer said.
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