Veteran guard Buddy Hield is looking to continue on from his excellent playoff form, having been the hero for the Golden State Warriors in a memorable 33-point performance during their Game 7 victory over the Houston Rockets in the first-round.
While Hield did come through in the biggest moment, he still had what can be categorized as a mixed first season with the Warriors that drew the ire of fans at certain points. At 32-years-old, the veteran sharpshooter kind of is who he is at this stage of his career, but that hasn’t stopped him from working on one specific area of his game this offseason.
Buddy Hield has been working on his dribbling during the summer
Speaking at media day on Monday, Hield claimed this summer was the best he’s shot the ball while also stating his focus on improving his dribbling. Usually hearing that a player, at any point of their career, is trying to work on one of their weaknesses, is music to the ears of fans heading into the season.
In Hield’s case, hearing that he’s worked on his dribbling might be exactly what Golden State fans don’t want to hear. His over-dribbling at times last season caused much frustration, particularly given it often lead to a turnover or an ill-advised shot that was as good as a turnover.
“Building my confidence. I’m saying this humbly, this is the best summer I’ve shot. I focused on dribbling. If he were healthy, we liked our chances.”
Buddy Hield on his off-season and the way the season ended pic.twitter.com/8u83xyHNry
https://twitter.com/957thegame/status/1972756045559984527?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Put simply, Hield is far less effective once he puts the ball on the floor. During last regular season he shot 39.1% on catch-and-shoot threes, which then dropped to 35.9% on one dribble. It then dropped further to 32.3% on two dribbles, 25% on between three and six dribbles, and finally 12.5% on seven or more dribbles.
That should provide a pretty clear indication to Hield that he should be purely a catch-and-shoot threat, rather than trying to force the issue when defenders close out. If the shot isn’t there, he should be getting off the ball as soon as possible and getting it back in the hands of the likes of Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green or Brandin Podziemski.
Butler perfectly summarized what everyone was thinking last season, stating, “and Buddy, stop trying to dribble the ball… I hate that” during a post-game press conference.
https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1914348248912871643?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1914348248912871643%7Ctwgr%5Eaf45f5414cc83d0d66332dc04fd92bcffecc04c5%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbluemanhoop.com%2Fbuddy-hield-reveals-notable-development-warriors-fans-didnt-want-to-hear
Unfortunately Hield’s offseason focus might lead to more dribbling throughout this season, not that it will necessarily be best for the Warriors as they look to go further from their second-round exit at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
