Maybe it's time we start putting a little more respect on Buddy Hield's name. In fairness, if Hield continues playing like he has in his first handful of games as a member of the Golden State Warriors, it will be unavoidable because Stephen Curry's “Splash Buddy” has already made a major splash with the Dubs.
On Saturday night, it was Buddy Hield who came off the bench and sparked a Warriors overtime win over the Houston Rockets with a 27-point, seven-rebound performance that included a history-making feat of three-point shooting prolificness.
“With his third three-point make tonight, Buddy Hield became the only player in NBA history to make 27 or more threes in his first six games with a team,” tweets the OptaSTATS X account.
Buddy Hield went on to make three more triples against the Rockets, bringing his season total up to 30, which is the second most in the league behind only Anthony Edwards. All this despite Hield only playing 25 minutes per game. He is shooting a scalding–hot 52 percent from three-point range.
More importantly though, what everyone should remember is that this isn't some opening-month aberration. Buddy Hield has been shooting well since he walked into the NBA. Even though Hield never became the go-to-guy that some envisioned he could be when he came into the league out of Oklahoma, his production, consistency and durability has been undeniable.
Consider, Hield has played in more games than any other player in the 2016 NBA Draft class. Only Jaylen Brown has scored more points, and nobody has hit more three-pointers. And as of last night, only nineteen players in NBA history have hit more trey's than Buddy Buckets.
Warriors showing ‘strength in numbers' with Stephen Curry sidelined
Since Stephen Curry suffered an ankle injury in the third game of the season, the Golden State Warriors have been without the three-point GOAT, but abiding by their old mantra, “strength in numbers,” the Dubs have managed a perfect 3-0 record with Curry out.
In those three wins, the Warriors have gotten more than 25 points per game from Buddy Hield; they've gotten a 21-point performance from Lindy Waters III off the bench; they've gotten consistently stabilizing play from Brandin Podziemski; they've gotten a seemingly bought-in Jonathan Kuminga coming off the bench; and they've gotten multiple All-Defensive Team efforts from Draymond Green.
Even though the Dubs have gotten by with their best player cheering on from the bench, there's belief that Curry could return to the court on Monday against the Washington Wizards. And once Steph is reintroduced to this Warriors team that has proven, at least in the short term, they could get by without him, there's no telling what kind of run Golden State may be able to go on.