What’s Behind the Warriors’ Struggles? Buddy Hield’s Impact Examined

Shooting slumps are usually an individual metric. However, it might be a different story if you’re Buddy Hield for the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors had a 7-1 record in the first eight games Hield played. He averaged 21.1 points and shot over 50% from the field and three.

The last ten games have been a much different story for Hield and his team. During that stretch, he’s averaging 11.1 points, and shooting 40.2% from the field and 37.1% from three. Although the last shooting metric is above league average, a 10+ percentage drop-off is concerning.

As Hield replaced Klay Thompson, questions circulated if he would match his offensive production. While Thompson was a standout defender, Hield has more of an offensive arsenal than his predecessor. On the season, he’s been the third-leading scorer, despite coming off the bench. Only Andrew Wiggins and Stephen Curry have generated more points than the sharpshooter.

Buddy Hield’s struggles aren’t the sole reason the Warriors are struggling

The three consecutive losses have all been close, only losing by 10 points or less. Not to mention, Golden State has played tough teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and even the Houston Rockets. They dropped from first in the conference to third. Although nearly every team is neck-and-neck with records, the three straight losses are a bad look.

In Hield’s case, his minutes have been severely reduced. After playing high 20s to low 30s in minutes, he’s been playing in the high teens, and low 20s for minutes. The reduction of minutes means less time to get into a rhythm. Most importantly, it takes away from playing alongside Curry. The Warriors coaching staff often uses Curry as a decoy for other shooters to get a quality look. In Hield’s case, he was the beneficiary of that through the first eight games. Hield even admitted to studying Curry’s game.

This isn’t saying that Hield isn’t a good shooter or he’s only benefiting from Curry. That latter statement helps the Bahamian native but he’s a more than capable shooter in his own right. Still, one man’s struggle doesn’t define a whole team struggle. The team itself is 19th in field goal percentage. Regardless, the Warriors have more struggles than one player. In the three-game skid, they have the third-worst shooting percentage (40.6%).

Hield has some of the blame but not all. All teams go through rough shooting stretches, so it’s not a total surprise. While some of it is good defenses by their opponents, other times is players not making shots. Still, they have enough talented shooters on the roster to get out of their slump sooner rather than later.