THUNDER REPORT CARD:
Theo Maledon got off to a slow start in his second NBA season, even spending some time in the G League, but he played much better down the stretch. We continue our series on Thunder report cards, with the 6foot-4 point guard from France.
Improvement: B
Most Thunder followers weren’t aware, but the perceived falloff of Maledon’s performance was almost all tied to minutes. As a rookie, Maledon led the Thunder in total minutes. This season, Maledon’s minutes per game dipped from 27.4 to 17.8, so naturally his numbers took a hit. Still, Maledon’s per-36 minutes production went up – from 13.3 to 14.3 in scoring, from 2.9 turnovers to 2.6, from 4.3 to 5.2 in rebounds, from 2.7 to 4.0 in foul shots. Maledon was more effective in Year 2, he just didn’t play as much to show it.
Shooting: D
Maledon was a 33.5% 3-point shooter as a rookie. But he took a major step back, making just 29.3% this season. It gets worse. On deep 2pointers, 16-feet and longer, Maledon dipped from a solid .379 to a putrid .286. To Maledon’s credit, he took fewer 3-pointers this season. Just 47.3% of his shots were deep balls, compared to 51% a year ago.
Finishing: C
Maledon a year ago made just 41.5% of his shots from the restricted area. That was the worst on the team by 135 percentage points. Maledon was much better this season, making 51.4% from 0-3 feet. That still was second-worst on the team (Ty Jerome made just 47.8%), but much better. Part of that progression probably stems from shot selection and knowing when to attack; Maledon took only 11.7% of his shots from the restricted
area, down from 17.1% a year ago.
Defense: C
Staying in front of opposing point guards remains the biggest impediment to Maledon having a long NBA career. He’s not overly quick. Maledon was better defensively this season, and his on/off-court numbers showed it. A year ago, the Thunder was outscored by 17.1 points per 100 possessions with Maledon on the court. That number fell to 11.7 this season. Still,
opponents shot 50.8% when guarded by Maledon, not a good number for a perimeter player.
Playmaking: B
Maledon showed some positive signs as a point guard. His turnover rate went down from 17.3 to 15.3 — 15.3% of his possessions used resulted in a turnover, and that’s with his usage rate having risen from a year ago. Maledon’s assist rate was about the same (18.8 a year ago, 18.5 this season — he assisted on 18.5% of teammates’ baskets while he was on the court). Continued improvement as a quarterback is Maledon’s ticket. His best-case scenario is as a backup point guard.