Tim Hardaway Jr. was brought to the Miami Heat with high hopes. He is the son of a Miami Heat legend, he is coming off of one of his best NBA seasons, and his own father gave him the rights to the #10 that currently hangs in the Kaseya Center rafters.

But his season is off to about as bad of a start as you can imagine.

Hardaway Jr. started 2026-27 with expectations to be Miami's anchor on the bench, and he showed flashes of that in Miami's first win of the season against the Atlanta Hawks. Scoring 14 points while going 6/10 from the field.

But that was it.

Since that game, his minutes have dwindled, all the way down to a DNP against the Utah Jazz, putting his season on hold with numbers of 4.3 points per game, 1.3 rebounds, 0.6 assists with sub 30% shooting from the floor and 69.2% from the charity stripe.

And the defense has been more problematic than the offense.

So the Heat simply couldn't afford to have him on the floor, not when they're trying to find their game without slipping too far back in the Eastern Conference.

Head coach Erik Spoelstra had this to say after Hardaway logged 0 minutes in Utah:

I get it for Timmy...sometimes you have to make a change -- I've known Timmy for LONG time, he has fortitude and grit to back into this and have a big impact...same goes for Niko...

Erik Spoelstra

So how does Miami handle the situation?

The game against Utah would have been the perfect opportunity for the Miami Heat to get Tim Hardaway Jr. going in my opinion, but they failed to maintain their large lead. And it's clear that Spoelstra trusts rookie Ryan Conwell Jr. more at the moment; while Conwell's shot wasn't falling Tuesday (1 of 7), he was energetic enough defensively to be a positive in his minutes. That's why Conwell kept getting more time as the trip progressed. That, and Conwell's ability to handle some, which is necessary among the reserves after Pelle Larsson was moved to the starting lineup.

But you can't just have a previously-proven veteran rotting on the bench all season, especially when he was the first free agent the team targeted.

The Heat can help Hardaway in two ways, as long as he continues to work while he waits. The talent is there, and the past production is there to show for it. Now he just has to capitalize on an opportunity.

The first way is the opportunity that Miami should have had in Utah. A blowout game with no pressure where Hardaway can be himself, with the goals of gaining his confidence back.

The other scenario, is someone takes a night off, or goes down to injury, and Hardaway has to fill in. He wanted to be in Miami, and I can promise no one is more upset with his start, then the man that is struggling himself.

It is a tough situation for Spoelstra, but he has made it clear that production is going to get you on the floor with this team, and it is something that Hardaway Jr. was not currently providing.

Hardaway Jr. will work while he waits, but Spoelstra can't press the issue when it comes to getting him going, Hardaway will just have to make the most of his next opportunity, whether it be in a blowout or filling in for those ahead of him in the rotation.