The Golden State Warriors, who fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves Thursday night in Game 2 of their second-round matchup, have needed all the help they can get on offense so far this series.
With superstar guard Stephen Curry leaving Game 1 with a hamstring strain and now being projected to miss at least a week with the injury, the Warriors have desperately needed their other shooters to step up in order to keep the team afloat long enough for Curry to make a return.
However, the only one to truly do so has been the notoriously inconsistent Buddy Hield, and, as a result, Golden State must now frighteningly live or die with Hield's performance.
The Warriors are now fully committed to big minutes for Buddy Hield
Hield, who was acquired by the Warriors in the convoluted, six-team Klay Thompson trade, has always known his role with the team: shoot from beyond the arc shot consistently.
Through his first ten games this season, Hield shot an absurd 48.8% from 3-point range, leading many fans to be highly optimisitc for his tenure in Golden State. However, throughout the rest of the season, his notoriously streaky shooting revealed itself as Hield went on severe cold and hot stretches.
Now, having scored 15, 24 and 33 points in his last three games, and being the team's leading scorer in two of those games, it seems as though Hield is back on a hot streak.
However, there is no guarantee that this streak will last for the duration of the Warriors' playoff run, and, even more concerningly, the team has almost no other options to turn to if Hield does indeed go cold.
Shooting guard Brandin Podziemski, who Hield has started for at times during this playoff run, is shooting on 32.1% from beyond the arc this postseason.
Quinten Post, who has looked tentative and has largely been removed from the rotation as a result of his lackluster defense, is shooting only 30.8%.
Moses Moody has not made a field goal, let alone a 3-point shot, since Game 6 against the Houston Rockets.
Therefore, as Golden State returns to the Bay in a 1-1 split with the Timberwolves, they must rely on Hield to make shots, giving him big minutes and continuing the faith that head coach Steve Kerr has extended him throughout this entire season. They must only hope that this faith pays off since they have nowhere else to turn.