Nick Richards is having a career year. Is it enough to be part of the Hornets’ future?
It probably feels like eons ago, considering the amount of unexpected twists and turns that have transpired over the past half year.
But leading into training camp, the Charlotte Hornets’ backup center position was essentially already sewn up much to the chagrin of more than a few fans. When coach Steve Clifford declared Nick Richards as the player who had shown the most improvement, giving him the early upper hand over rookie Mark Williams back in September, eyebrows raised. The skeptics were out in full force.
During the past five months, though, Richards has proved the doubters wrong and been an integral part of the rotation. Although he typically comes off the bench, with a sprained right thumb sidelining Williams, Richards got the starting nod in the Hornets’ 119-111 loss to Utah at Spectrum Center on Saturday night and posted a career-high five blocks.
“I’m just trying to be more consistent,” Richards said. “I’m just getting as many blocks as possible, getting as many rebounds as possible. That’s my job, that’s what I’m here for. So, I’ve just got to do it to the best of my ability.”
Averaging career highs in points (7.8), rebounds (5.7) and blocks (1) per game, Richards has taken advantage of his opportunity this season, running full speed with it. He’s third in the league in double-doubles by a reserve with nine.
But more importantly, he’s a force inside and helps solidify the Hornets’ defense in the paint — an area that had been moving in a positive direction for Charlotte (22-47) of late until getting picked apart by Utah. Still, opponent field-goal percentage dips by 7.3% when Richards is on the court, which ranks in the 96th percentile, according to Cleaning the Glass. Overall, the Hornets are allowing 6.3 fewer points per 100 possessions with him on the floor.
“I think he’s back playing at a high level,” Clifford said. “His effort and physicality have been really good. But I like the way he’s playing.”
Consider it a byproduct of Richards’ summer bloom, spurred through a dedicated routine that included polishing his offensive repertoire with some of the Hornets’ assistant coaches.
“Summer league, he only played two of the five games,” Clifford said. “He played fine, but he stayed right here. He came in here, he got in great shape. He worked with Rex (Walters) every day and when they started playing the pickup games in late August, early September he was one of the better players.
“It’s funny He worked hard and got better. It’s amazing how that happens.”
Utah 7-footer Lauri Markkanen got a taste of Richards’ long arm of the law. Markkanen has had some impressive throwdowns this season and he tried to sky in for a right-handed tomahawk over Richards in the first quarter, only to be emphatically rejected.
Richards flushed home a couple of dunks himself, including a nice two-hander over Kris Dunn. He has a knack for putbacks, but couldn’t get much going in that category against the tall Jazz, which has been a rare occurrence for him.
“I’m extremely proud of Nick,” PJ Washington said. “I’ve been knowing Nick since my freshman year of high school. So, just to see his growth to now is just amazing. I’m proud of him for being out here and playing hard each and every night.”
With Richards in the final year of his deal, the Hornets are going to have a decision to make in a few months. Has he done enough in his third season to remain part of their young core moving forward? The Hornets would like to re-sign the 25-year-old big man, but his new pact would have to fit in their salary structure. The team also wants to sign Washington, who’ll be a restricted free agent, to a new deal.
Plus remember, the Hornets also have second-year high-riser Kai Jones, who’s considered a center more than a power forward, and Jones is showing progress in the limited minutes he’s received of late. Jones tossed in six points to go with five rebounds and also tied a career best by swatting three shots in the second quarter alone against the Jazz. He’s still getting an education — as are all of the Hornets’ big men — on the art of pick-and-roll coverage and the lack of proper communication led to Talen Horton-Tucker carving Charlotte up to the tune of 37 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.
“You watch the college games, the college players are so young you don’t really have to guard the pick-and-roll that well (and) guys are open,” Clifford said, “where in our league, (if) guys are open on a roll, it’s a layup. And so those guys come into the league and it’s not like there’s different spacing or anything.
“It’s just the players aren’t as good (in college). So they don’t have to be as detailed with their coverages. In our league, you make a mistake with the NBA point guard and a guy rolling, it’s going to be a lay up or an open shot.”
To Richards, the solution to correct the issue is simple.
“Honestly, we’ve just got to do our job,” Richards said. “Whatever he tells us to do at the beginning of the game. He puts it on the board and it’s our job just to stick to it and just try to execute it as much as possible.”
This story was originally published March 11, 2023 at 10:30 PM.
