The Golden State Warriors are still recovering from the heart-wrenching exit of Klay Thompson. The San Francisco franchise did not delay adding a replacement in Buddy Hield so that Curry doesn’t remain the only long-range savant on the roster. Stephen A. Smith lauded the move, claiming that his three-point statistics prove he can complement Steph better than most.
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Taking to his show The Stephen A Smith Show, the ESPN analyst highlighted Hield’s record of making the most threes in the past five seasons. He said,
“Pairing Hield with Stephen Curry gives the Warriors the top-two, three-point scorers in the league over the past 5 seasons. In fact, Buddy Hield has hit more threes… than anybody in the league during that span. And that includes the greatest shooter god ever created in Stephen Curry.”
Chef Curry hit over 1264 threes, since the 2019-20 season, while Hield made 1322 triples, even topping the #30’s record by over a hundred made threes. While Smith liked the Hield trade, he wasn’t sure if the 31-year-old had what it took to replace Thompson on the roster.
The veteran analyst referred to his Game 6 performance against the Knicks, last season, when Hield posted 20 points, shooting six of nine from the 3-point line. He said,
“It remains to be seen…I know the brother can shoot. And nah he didn’t have a strong playoff series, but he hit those six threes versus the New York Knicks…in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference First Round series. I know I saw that happen.”
To replace Thompson, he must be more than just a good perimeter shooter. Even in his worst year, Thompson averaged close to 18 points and shot close to 40%. Moreover, Thompson has historically been the team’s closer and momentum builder. Not to mention, ‘Game 6 Klay’ is another phenomenon that Hield will have to deal with.
But, realistically, the former 76er can only prove himself to be a worthy replacement if he can match Thompson’s defensive upside. While he is no longer the athlete he used to be, he still managed to get stops in crucial moments. As for Hield, it’s fair to assume that he will be an effective shooter, another piece on the roster, but most probably not an offensive engine like Thompson.
