Simple two-way player, Théo Maledon nevertheless saw a busy start to the season at the Hornets. Very used by his coach, Steve Clifford, the Frenchman pays him back with great performances, which earned him a big honor on Monday!
Certainly, the repeated absences of LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier and Dennis Smith Jr. clearly go in his direction. However, Theo Maledon does not only owe his heavy use to the Hornets but to the injuries of the other leaders on the roster. Still impressive against the Timberwolves last Friday, the young French international benefited from the packages of several teammates to experience a first this season:
Lineup alert: Theo Maledon will start in place of Terry Rozier on Monday.
— Underdog NBA (@Underdog__NBA) November 28, 2022
Théo Maledon will start the game against the Celtics in place of Terry Rozier on Monday.
Théo Maledon promoted to holder, the fans under the spell
Asked at the microphone of Bally Sports on Theo’s surprise tenure, Steve Clifford was first of all pragmatic, before expressing the confidence granted by the coaching staff to the Frenchman:
Théo is going to start the game and play a lot of minutes, given that he is our only healthy point guard. (…) I asked him to play his game, and not to overdo it, because the worst thing that could happen in these kinds of matches is that the players try to pull the cover on them.
And when Charlotte’s trainer says he’s about to give one of his foals a lot of playing time, he’s not kidding. Maledon was thus entitled to almost 40 minutes on the Celtics’ floor, during which he blackened the stats sheet (11 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals) despite some clumsiness (4/13 shooting, 5 loss of ball). Not helped by the scenario of the match (105-140 defeat), he was nevertheless greeted by fans on Twitter:
facts definitely deserves the start imo
— Rhemmy ???????????????????????????????????????????????????? (@Rhe10k) November 28, 2022
@iohandles : I don’t think anyone could have predicted Theo Maledon would start a game in the Hornets’ five this year
@Rhe10k : Serious, but I think he totally deserves his starting place
Hornets are going to start Theo Maledon and I’m kind of excited for it, weird season so far
— Greg (@Handles_Messiah) November 29, 2022
The Hornets are going to play starting Theo Maledon and I’m a little excited to see that, funny season so far
If he was not entitled to the easiest matchup for his first start of the season, Théo Maledon continues despite everything his rise in the hierarchy of the Hornets. All that remains is to hope that he soon receives the guaranteed contract he deserves!
