The Golden State Warriors have lost three straight games and their Sixth Man of the Year candidate Buddy Hield has cooled off of late. So what can the Warriors do to quell this early storm and get their dynamic scorer back on track?
Warriors losing streak may be tied to Buddy Hield’s slump
ClutchPoints shared a glaring side-by-side comparison of Hield’s productivity in his first eight games of the year and his drastic regression in his last 10, while accentuating how that shift in effectiveness has coincided with Golden State’s record:
“The Warriors were 7-1 when Buddy Hield was on a heater,” ClutchPoints published on X on Thursday. “They’re 5-5 since”
The juxtaposition showed that the Oklahoma product was boasting averages of 21.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game on 51.7 percent shooting from the field and 50.7 percent shooting from three-point range in his first eight contests. It then showed Hield fall to 11.1 PPG, 2.9 RPG, and 1.1 APG on a subpar 40.2 percent field goal clip and 37.1 percent connect rate from outside.
Hield could be 2nd dynamic scorer Warriors need
There’s no doubt that the Bahamian star was leading the way for the Warriors while superstar point guard Stephen Curry worked through early injuries on reduced minutes. Nevertheless, the Dubs do not have a second scorer putting up 20 PPG on the campaign including Andrew Wiggins. Hield is now well out of that territory at 15.6 PPG and his cold spell is hurting the team greatly.
The 31-year-old was seeing 26.1 minutes a night in the Warriors’ 7-1 stretch. He had only seen less than 27 minutes twice in that span, and in both instances, he scored at least 22 points. Though, during their 5-5 stretch, Hield has only seen 21.8 MPG and has taken less than 10 shots in five of those matchups.
More playing time could remedy Hield & Warriors’ woes
Thus, the record shows that Hield may just need to see roughly four more minutes a night to get more active offensively. Golden State’s crowded depth chart at guard may also be contributing to his slump, though he shines above all of his teammates at the two.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has favored playing Hield off the bench. It is expected that he’ll remain in that role moving forward. Nevertheless, the Warriors (12-6) need their lethal sniper to find his groove again if they want to remain near the top of the Western Conference standings and make a concerted Finals run next spring.
