Steph believes Buddy gives the Warriors a “seamless transition” from Klay originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Buddy Hield made a splash in his Warriors regular-season debut on Wednesday night, sinking five 3-pointers in The 139-104 victory of Golden State over the Portland Trail Blazers.
It was a welcome sight for Steph Curry, who believes Hield can fill the team’s scoring void vacated by the departure of Klay Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks this offseason.
“Without Klay, you need shooting, but we needed shooting anyway,” Curry told reporters after the game (h/t Anthony Slater of The Athletic ). “Me and [Hield] it was one and two [in 3-point shooting]and Klay right there shooting threes for the last eight years, so we know what [Hield’s] skill is, we know what he is capable of doing.
“He’s been a very seamless transition so far.”
Hield brings what the Warriors miss most from Thompson — 3-point shooting. Thompson was the Warriors’ No. 2 scorer last season behind Curry. But in Hield, Golden State signed a player who made 1,322 threes over the last five seasons, the most in the NBA, and his new teammate Curry is second during that time with 1,264.
That was exposed on Wednesday night as Hield scored 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field and 5 of 7 from 3-point range. Curry, meanwhile, was the Warriors’ third-leading scorer against the Trail Blazers with 17 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field and 3 of 7 from deep, behind Andrew Wiggins’ 20 points and four 3-pointers.
Finding Curry some scoring help was one of general manager Mike Dunleavy’s main goals this offseason, and while the Warriors didn’t land a star. like Paul George or Lauri MarkkanenHield’s skill set appears to be an adequate acquisition through one game.
Hield told reporters after the game that he hadn’t felt this free playing basketball since he played college basketball at Oklahoma. And it’s clear that Curry is happy to have Hield’s free-spirited game on the Warriors’ side now, especially after what they lost in Thompson.
“He’s out of this world. He loves this game,” Curry told reporters of Hield (h/t 95.7 The Game). “He’s glad he’s able to play a system he’s comfortable in… .
“I know he’s played against us for years … to be on the other side of that is demoralizing for a team, but now he can add to that, so it’s a great experience for him.”
