Former Syracuse player Malachi Richardson has good size for a shooting guard, potential to be a big-time shooter and flare for coming up big in critical moments. But NBA teams must weigh those positives with the small sample size in which he showed those assets — he played only one season for the Orange.
The Nuggets, one of the few teams to get a workout from him so far, took their swing at solving the “Richardson Riddle” on Thursday.
Deciphering just how good a shooter he can be tops the list.
He has put a couple of electric performances on the court, but Richardson’s presence in the NBA draft is built on, essentially, a 21-point performance against Dayton the NCAA Tournament and an explosive 21-point second half to finish with 23 points in Syracuse’s comeback victory over heavily favored Virginia in the Elite Eight.
Richardson is aware of questions about his shooting. He made 36.9 percent of his shots from the field, including 35.3 percent accuracy on 3-point attempts. Even with some eye-opening performances in the NCAA Tournament he shot only 34.9 percent from the field, including 33.3 percent from the 3-point line in five postseason games.
“I shoot the ball better than the percentages say,” Richardson said. “I had some up-and-down games during the season, but I definitely shoot the ball a lot better than the percentages may show.”
So, the shooter is having to prove he can, in fact, shoot.
“I’ve been a shooter all my life, so that won’t really matter,” Richardson said. “I know I’ll be fine on the next level.”
He is a 6-foot-6 shooting guard with a 7-foot wingspan. That’s a plus for him because, coming from Syracuse, he also is questioned about his defense. Syracuse primarily plays a 2-3 zone, so it’s a question all players from that program with NBA aspirations must face. According to Synergy Sports, Richardson was on the court for only one possession of man-to-man defense all season.
As such, the defensive film that could possibly translate were his closeouts out to shooters. He was pretty well perched on the left side of the bottom three in the zone for the bulk of the season. In those, he shows decent feet, particularly when forced to guard a cutter in the paint and then race out to a shooter on the perimeter. His length helps in getting a hand up to contest the shot. Beyond that, there’s not much more that can be gleaned. He’s not a fan of the questions about his defense but knows he must answer them with how well he works out.
“I can’t speak for anyone else,” he said, smiling. “But I think it’s overblown for me.”
Offensively, the bones of his game are positive. The form on his jump shot is pristine. And he’s already adept at pulling up off the dribble and knocking down that attempt. In the pick-and-roll as the ball handler, he also has flashed a nice pull-up jumper. But, again, the shooting success rates were low — 34 percent in spot-up jumpers, 39.1 percent as the ball handler in the pick-and-roll, 40 percent in isolation. His shot selection needs a tuneup too.
Richardson can slash to the rim using a good handle, but finishing at the rim was hit-and-miss. His height helps, but improving on finishing through contact is a must.
If his accuracy improves and then evens out, Richardson has a chance to be a deadly shooter in the NBA. His length gives him a chance to be a pesky defender, if he has the desire to work hard. The end of his season, in which he helped lead Syracuse to a surprising berth in the Final Four, has led him to this point.
“As I saw my stock go up, I thought that was the best decision,” Richardson said. “I definitely didn’t want to make a premature decision and just come out if I wasn’t ready. But I think it was the right decision for me.”
