Pro Blue: Tim Hardaway Jr. is heating up

With the All-Star break in the rearview mirror, our nine former Wolverines have their sights set on a quality second half.

This week, Duncan Robinson returned from injury while another former Wolverine picked up a new injury. Here’s how each of them performed this week.

Note: All stats are as of Feb. 28.

Tim Hardaway Jr., Dallas Mavericks

Since the All-Star break, Hardaway Jr. has been on a tear, shooting 56% from three (14-for-25). Even better, he’s doing that on a high volume of shots as he was 6-for-11 against San Antonio, 4-for-8 versus Los Angeles, and 4-for-6 against Indiana. All-in, THJ chipped in 22, 17, and 16 points respectively in each of the Mavericks’ three games this week despite coming off the bench. It’s safe to say he’s officially healed from his hamstring injury.

Franz Wagner, Orlando Magic

Franz came out on fire after the All-Star break, scoring 21 points in each of the Magic’s first two games, while also chipping in five rebounds against Detroit and six against Indiana. He cooled off a bit on Monday in New Orleans by only scoring 11 points, but he affected the game in other ways by tallying five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. The NBA All-Defensive team could be in Wagner’s future, though it’s doubtful this year due to his relatively low profile around the league.

Jordan Poole, Golden State Warriors

Steph Curry remains out for Golden State, which has led to more minutes and more shots from the field for Poole. He continued to pour in points this week with 15 or more in all four contests, but was not efficient in getting there, shooting 30% or less in all four games. With Steph’s return on the horizon, it’ll be interesting to see what happens with Poole’s minutes.

Moritz Wagner, Orlando Magic

Continuing to come off the bench, Wagner has been okay since the break. He scored 14 points on Monday in New Orleans but was in the single digits versus the Pacers and Pistons earlier in the week. He has also struggled on the glass a bit, recording four or fewer rebounds in all three Orlando contests this week.

Caris LeVert, Cleveland Cavaliers

LeVert stumbled out the gate this week by recording no more than seven points in any of Cleveland’s three matchups. However, he has been an assist machine, recording nine assists against Denver on Thursday and six more on Sunday versus Toronto.

LeVert’s points per game are down for the third consecutive season, as he’s down to 11.6 this season. However, there’s still lots of time for him to turn his season around.

Isaiah Livers, Detroit Pistons

As we alluded to two weeks ago, Livers was primed to see his minutes skyrocket with the trade of Saddiq Bey to the Hawks. The Pistons are in an absolute free-fall right now, so they are testing out young players to see what they have. Livers played 22 minutes against Orlando and 29 versus Toronto, and averaged 10 points, two rebounds and an assist.

Unfortunately, he sprained his ankle on Monday night in Charlotte after just eight minutes of action. While it isn’t expected to be a long-term injury, if there’s any time for Livers to be healthy, it’s right now.

Duncan Robinson, Miami Heat

In Miami’s last game before the break, Robinson returned from his finger injury for the first time since Jan. 12. He canned two three-pointers and chipped in three rebounds and two assists. Since the break, he’s played in two more contests but has only recorded three total points. He did, however, swipe three steals on Friday in Milwaukee. Hopefully he can return to his old form quickly.

Moussa Diabate, Los Angeles Clippers

Diabate was sent down to Ontario just before the All-Star break. However, he was called back up shortly after and made a garbage-time appearance on Sunday. He missed Tuesday’s game with an undisclosed illness.

Caleb Houstan, Orlando Magic

Houston was sent down to Lakeland at the break and remained in the G-League until Tuesday when he was recalled to Orlando.