OKC Thunder: Theo Maledon’s 3-point shooting is a concern

The OKC Thunder are looking like a solid team despite going through a rebuild. However, Theo Maledon still needs to work on his 3-point shot.

Despite being an early second-round pick, it seems that there is a lot expected of OKC Thunder rookie Theo Maledon. He is being used as the primary backup guard and is doing a solid job despite his issues from behind the 3-point line.

Maledon is averaging 6.3 points, 2.8 assists, 2.1 rebounds, and 0.6 steals in a solid 20 minutes of action per game. These are good numbers for a second-round pick.

He is even taking good care of the ball, averaging only 1.9 turnovers per game.

Maledon is not shooting the ball as well as he would like, however. He is converting at just a 37.7 percent clip from the floor, 30.2 percent from deep, and an abysmal 45.5 percent from the line.

As he is only shooting 0.9 attempts from the game this is not the biggest issue, his 3-point shooting is.

OKC Thunder rookie Theo Maledon needs to shoot fewer three’s

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Maledon is taking 3.6 attempts from behind the long line per game. Given that he is only making 30.2 percent, this is too many.

While he is taking open shots, he is coming up short. It is possible, as it was for Aleksej Pokusevski, that he is taking the shots from the wrong areas on the court.

If Maledon was to take his 3-point shots from the sideline there is a better chance that he will make them. The reason for this is that they are closer to the distance he is used to being, as the international line is shorter than the NBA line. He could then potentially break out as Pokusevski did last week.

While his playmaking is still showing a lot of poise, making this slight adjustment may improve his shooting, giving the Thunder another rookie who is dangerous.

He can work on making the shots from where the line is longer throughout the season.

Apart from this, Maledon’s game is continuing to grow. He continues to develop his passing game so that he gets his team involved and his pick-and-roll action with Mike Muscala is a thing of beauty.

Check back next week to see more about Maledon’s progress.