Sacramento Kings: 5 predictions for the 2018-19 season
By Adi Brescic
4. Buddy Hield leads the team in scoring
Buddy Hield finished out the 2017-18 regular season as the Kings’ second leading scored behind Zach Randolph.
Although he only started in 12 games and played just a little over 25 minutes a game, Hield averaged 13.5 points with solid efficiency (.446 percent from the floor and .431 from 3) in 80 games for Sacramento.
His best stretch of basketball came in the last two months of the season (21 games), in which he averaged 15.8 points while shooting .464 percent overall and .448 percent from deep on 5.5 attempts in 28.9 minutes.
Hield put up similar numbers with in 2016-17 – 15.1 points in 29.1 minutes – when he was first traded from New Orleans to Sacramento.
It also a nice advantage that Hield is one of the premier 3-point shooters in the NBA. He finished 9th in 3-point percentage among all players in the NBA in 2017-18, and 20th in 3-pointers made.
Whether he starts or takes on the role of a sixth-man, if he hovers around 27-30 minutes a game and Dave Joerger gives him the green light, he should have the scoring title (for the Kings anyway) in the bag.