Sacramento Kings need Buddy Hield to step into larger scoring role

By Evan Massey | Oct 27, 2017

(Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The Sacramento Kings are in desperate need for Buddy Hield to step into and embrace a larger scoring role within the offense.

Buddy Hield was the key piece that the Sacramento Kings were able to bring back in the trade that sent DeMarcus Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans. After watching Cousins shred the Kings in Sacramento Thursday night, one thing has become incredibly clear: Hield has not taken the step forward that many were hoping to see from him on the offensive end of the court.

Through the first five games of the season for Hield, he has averaged just 12.2 points per game. He has shot 38.7 percent from the field overall and his 25.0 percent 3-point percentage is concerning as well.

Needless to say, the Kings need Hield to get things together and step into a larger scoring role if they want their rebuilding phase to go the way they planned after acquiring him.

Coming into the 2017-18 NBA season, it was expected that Hield would have a breakout season. Sacramento could not have been more excited about the long-term backcourt tandem of Hield and rookie point guard De’Aaron Fox. Fox has lived up to his hype, but Hield could not have gotten off to a more disappointing start.

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At just 23 years of age, it is possible that Hield could simply be struggling with the hype surrounding him. He is a young player that has not been asked to handle the large workload that the Kings are hoping to see from him.

On the other hand, there is a chance that Hield could fold under the pressure like many talented young players have in the past.

There have been some concerns about Hield’s ability to be more than a spot-up perimeter shooter. During his college career with the Oklahoma Sooners, Hield was primarily a perimeter shooter, while also possessing the ability to create his own shot and get to the rim at times. Now that he is in the NBA, however, he does not possess the size and athletic advantage that he had in college.

After being traded to the Kings last season, Hield averaged 15.1 points on 48 percent shooting and 42.8 percent 3-point shooting. He looked confident and ready to become the young leader of the Kings’ franchise.

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So far this season, that confidence has been impossible to see in his game. He has not asserted himself offensively and has passed up on open look after open look. Sacramento simply cannot afford for him to pass up on open shots with the way that their roster is currently formed.

Hield is more than capable of being a 17-18 points per game scorer this season for the Kings. He has the potential to become a 23-25 points per game scorer at some point in the future. Unfortunately, until he realizes his own potential and decides to reach for it, he will never live up to the excitement and hype that Sacramento has for him.

Despite the slow start to the season, Hield is a very good basketball player. It’s only been a few games, and he will get things on track in the near future.

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Things may look disappointing right now for Kings fans, but keep the faith and believe that Hield will turn his season around and begin looking like the young star scorer that Sacramento traded the face of their franchise for.

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