Warriors rookie is one move away from becoming an even bigger steal
After being taken 56th general in final yr’s NBA Draft, Will Richard has already confirmed a serious steal for the Golden State Warriors throughout what’s been an spectacular rookie season.
Yet becoming a much more constant 3-point shooter is the one move that can make Richard and even bigger steal, and can finally lead him to being a precious and dependable rotation participant within the league for the subsequent decade or longer.
Will Richard must discover a constant jump-shot
With robust hustle, good palms defensively and a normal knack for being in the fitting spot inside Steve Kerr’s system, Richard has been capable of make an influence with out producing a lot consistency as a shooter from past the arc.
That was evident once more on Saturday towards the Atlanta Hawks, with Richard seeing prolonged minutes off the bench earlier than getting the beginning within the second-half after Quinten Post exited as a consequence of harm.
Richard was 4-of-7 from the ground, for 9 factors on Saturday, however all of his misses had been from 3-point vary as Golden State suffered one other blowout loss, falling to their sixteenth defeat prior to now 22 video games after struggling a 126-110 beatdown.
Much like quite a few the Warriors’ function gamers, Richard is a succesful 3-point shooter however typically a feast or famine one that lacks reliability. The 23-year-old is right down to being a sub 33% 3-point shooter in his rookie yr, which can have compelled him out of the rotation had Golden State really been wholesome over the ultimate months of the season.
At 6’3″ and without being much of a ball-handler or playmaker, Richard is going to find it difficult to become a long-term NBA player if he can’t be at least a league average (35-37%) shooter from beyond the arc.
College numbers provide some reason for optimism
Richard was a 35.9% 3-point shooter in his final collegiate year at Florida last season, while also being at 39.8% during his second year in 2022-23. That provides some reason for optimism that with further NBA experience, the shooting can become a solid part of his game — even if it’s never his biggest strength.
The other reason for optimism is that he’s been an 85.2% free-throw shooter during this rookie season, ranked third behind Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler among Golden State players to have taken at least 50 free-throw attempts.
On a precious four-year, $8.7 million contract, Richard has a while on his aspect. The Warriors as a crew do not although, that means enchancment of their 3-point capturing can be essential to carving out a rotation function in yr two.
