There are only a handful of NBA shooters who have the unquestionable green light to hit from basically anywhere on the court at any time. Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry is perhaps the most famous example, but his new teammate Buddy Hield has been given the same level of freedom by head coach Steve Kerr. Still, confidence is wavering for the most dangerous sharpshooter, and it may have been on display in Golden State’s 124-106 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.
With Curry, Andrew Wiggins and De’Anthony Melton out of the lineup, Hield, making his first start of the season against the team that drafted him, was tasked with picking up the slack on offense. But things took a turn for the worse in the first half, as the Warriors mustered just 47 points at halftime, forcing Hield to just 3 points on 1-of-8 shooting, including 1-of-5 from 3-point range. .
But while those things are normal for long-range shooters, Hield was a different player in the second half, going 8-of-10 (including 6-of-10) for 25 points (19 in the fourth quarter alone). Scores) were recorded. -6 from beyond the arc. Even more amazingly, he did it all in less than 12 minutes.
As it turns out, Hield’s scorching second half might be more than just a streaky shooter getting hot. During the fourth quarter, Hield continued to scream at Hall of Famer and Indiana Pacers legend Reggie Miller, who was calling the game on TNT at Chase Center. Coach Miller explained on the broadcast that he gave Hield some advice at halftime, but did not provide further details.
Luckily for us, Heald is never one to keep his mouth shut, and he revealed a censored version of Miller’s message that led to the second half’s outburst. Come on, and I answered well. ”
Tuesday’s 28-point outburst continued Hield’s strong start in a Warriors uniform. He joins Curry as the only players in Warriors history to make at least 20 3-pointers in their first four games with the franchise, and is currently shooting an impressive 56% from 3-point range per game. He is averaging a team-best 21.3 points.
Hield and Golden State seemed like a match made in heaven when he joined the team in the six-team trade that sent Klay Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks this offseason, but things didn’t click right away. It was hard to predict that I would go there. You better believe Coach Hield will have Miller on speed dial for the rest of the season in case he needs another boost of motivation during a game.
