The confusing Jaden Hardy roller coaster is just getting started for Mavericks

One player who needed to improve drastically entering the 2024-25 season for the Dallas Mavericks was Jaden Hardy. Hardy finished last season averaging 7.3 points per game and was destined to take a big step in his third NBA season after taking a small step back in his sophomore season following a great rookie year.

Prior to the season, Hardy had his mind set on winning Sixth Man of the Year. High goals were needed to be set by Hardy for this season. Hardy appeared to be locked in when he dropped 11 points while making three 3-pointers in the Mavericks' opening night win against the San Antonio Spurs.

When Hardy recorded a strong season opener, all signs were in the right direction for Hardy to have a big season. However, Hardy is back to his roller-coaster play and up-and-down inconsistency with his recent struggles.

After scoring 11 points on opening night, Hardy recorded zero points in Saturday night's loss to the Phoenix Suns. Last night in the Mavericks' 110-102 win against the Utah Jazz, Hardy struggled again and recorded zero points for the second consecutive game. To make it more worse for Hardy, he only played five minutes of the game and attempted just one shot.

Yesterday's game also didn't help Hardy due to Spencer Dinwiddie scoring 11 points on 3-of-4 from three. Dinwiddie's strong game will help him earn more minutes and cause Hardy to once again not get much playing time if Jason Kidd elects to go with Dinwiddie as the sixth man once again.

The Mavericks are loaded with guard depth, and at some point, they need Hardy to start being consistent. Hardy last year suffered a lot of stretches where he would get hot and then be cold for good stretches.

With getting only five minutes tonight and going scoreless over the past two games, Kidd is in a tough position to trust Hardy on the court. Hardy had an excellent preseason, but his play over the last two games has taken a huge step back.

Dallas has plenty of time for Hardy to develop considering that he is only in his third season and just signed a three-year extension, and inconsistent minutes could lead to inconsistent play for Hardy. His inconsistency has been one of the biggest question marks of his young career, and we've already seen the highs and lows of the Hardy roller coaster over the last month.

Hardy needs to be trusted again by the Mavericks as he is just 22 years old and still has tons of potential, but having up-and-down seasons does not help Hardy much at all. If Hardy continues to have a roller-coaster season, it makes Kidd's decision to not play him big minutes much easier.

It's hard for Hardy to prove himself worthy of consistent minutes without receiving real minutes, and he will need to make the most of every time he steps on the floor.

While Hardy outplayed Dinwiddie in the preseason, the tides flipped after the Jazz game.

For more on the Mavericks and Hardy, stay tuned.

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