Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 Nick Richards, almost averaging a double-double over his last three games.
00:04 Look, the twin tower combo of Nick and Mark, we might have to come up with a nickname for that as well,
00:11 because just right now, we talked about Nick Richards being one of the best backup centers in the NBA in the preseason,
00:18 and I think he's been every piece of that. He had a slow start his first couple of games, but he's been on a tear recently.
00:24 Here's the good and the bad, right? The good is right now, Nick Richards has the highest block percentage in the NBA, at 5.4%.
00:35 There is no one blocking more shots per minute than Nick Richards.
00:41 That, what that doesn't take into account is the goaltends, and also that Nick Richards has the fifth highest foul rate in the NBA,
00:51 which helps also give a little bit of context to that number, which is not quite as impressive when you look into that,
00:57 when you see that there's been several goaltends. He's been challenging, probably over-challenging, being a little bit too aggressive going after shots.
01:05 So there's the good and the bad, right? And finding a happy medium is where Nick probably wants to land eventually.
01:14 But overall, just to be able to be leading the NBA in anything is impressive.
01:19 So I think that's, you know, potentially has, is reading the game a little bit better on the defensive end, being able to be in position to get some of these blocks.
01:29 But mostly, he's just picking up where he left off last season. He's not doing anything too different.
01:35 He is just playing the same role. And there's really, I didn't find as much to say about Nick, because you know exactly what you're going to get every single night.
01:42 And that, I say that in the kindest possible way, because the Hornets just do not have to worry about their center rotation, starting or backup, for the next three years.
01:52 It's just not a concern. These guys are going to be the starting centers for this team going forward,
01:58 unless there is some trade where you can get some big haul for Nick Richards and something else, and they decide to cash in.
02:06 But look, it's been, the Hornets have had so many bad centers over the years. It's great that they finally have two, not just adequate, but good ones.
02:15 You mentioned earlier, we were talking about Mark that you thought he hadn't been gambling quite as much.
02:21 Maybe Steve Clifford just told Mark, he's like, hey man, you're the starter. We need you at the end of the games to close.
02:26 Like we need you out there on the court as much as possible. You can't gamble as much.
02:30 Nick, lose your mind. Like go for it. Anything you want, just jump. Yeah.
02:36 If you think you can get it, just jump for it, grab it, like swat it out of the air. I don't care how close it is to the rim.
02:42 I mean, that, but to be fair to Nick, that one against Dallas, that was a pretty big call in the moment.
02:47 That I did not think was a goal 10. So that brought his numbers up a little bit.
02:51 I think even though he didn't quite deserve it, but either way, it's definitely much more of a gambler than Mark has been as a rim protector this year.
02:59 Unquestionably, some of the like illegal screens and all that stuff are still there as well, which, but I mean, for, like you said, for a backup center, though, like you can't expect them to just have like no flaws or have nothing like that negatively impacts the game at any point.
03:14 Like he finishes like almost as efficiently as Mark. Mark's 81% from the field right now. Nick is 76.2%.
03:21 So not very far behind and on a very similar shot diet, like Nick also is a very good screener, decisive roller. It can, has a wide catch radius can be a lob threat as well as somebody that can just catch it on the short roll and go up and finish.
03:35 Like, you really can't complain all that much about Nick. Like, like you said, there's not a ton to say about him, but it's not in any way.
03:42 A bad thing. Like he just goes out, does what he's supposed to do, what you expect him to do, does it well. And then that's pretty much it. And at the end of the game, you look up and he's got, you know, eight to 12 points and six to eight rebounds.
03:55 And there you go.
03:56 If Nick was on the Dallas Mavericks, he would be starting in place.
04:00 He would, yeah, he would probably, I think he would average a double double on Dallas Mavericks. Like there's a no question.
04:06 He would be 11 points, 14 rebounds, two blocks every single night. The Hornets don't have quite the same level of shooting and spacing.
04:16 And obviously like players who are often committing to defenders like Dallas do.
04:22 And that's why, you know, that's why Derek Lively is able to put up such huge stats because they've got two men essentially guarding Luka Doncic at all points.
04:31 But he could start on various playoff teams. So I think Nas Reed still probably has the title as best backup center in the NBA right now, but I think Nick Richards is right behind him.
04:42 Yeah, completely agree.