Tim Hardaway Jr. to Miss at Least 2 Weeks Due to Stress Injury in Leg

New York Knicks small forward Tim Hardaway Jr. will miss at least two weeks of action while recovering from a stress injury in his lower left leg.

The Knicks announced the update Tuesday and noted the forward will go through a "treatment and rehabilitation plan" before being re-evaluated in mid-December.

Hardaway enjoyed a career-best 2016-17 campaign as the first player off the bench for the Atlanta Hawks. He averaged 14.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 35.7 percent from three-point range. The result was a four-year, $70.95 million contract to rejoin the Knicks.

The 25-year-old Michigan product has put up 17.8 points per game through 21 appearances this season.

He remained mostly durable throughout his first three years in the NBA, including two seasons in New York and his first year in Atlanta, which featured a G-League stint. He did deal with knee and groin issues last season, but he still managed to appear in 79 games.

The Knicks will likely split his minutes between a group of players for as long as the setback forces him out of the rotation. Doug McDermott, Damyean Dotson and Lance Thomas could all see an uptick in playing time.

Ultimately, New York should have enough wing depth in order to fill a short-term void. An extended absence would create a bigger issue, however, especially since Hardaway has been playing more like the Knicks expected when they drafted him in the first round in 2013.