Buddy Hield's up-and-down season has taken a positive turn for the Golden State Warriors in recent games, making for an interesting dilemma for Steve Kerr on the eve of the postseason.
The veteran sharpshooter has scored 12 points or more in three of his last four games, having done so only twice in the previous 11 outings. Those performances include a team-high 20 points in last Sunday's 106-96 loss to the Houston Rockets, while Hield brought up his 200th 3-pointer of the season as part of a 16-point display in Friday's 103-86 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Buddy Hield is setting up Warriors fans for postseason heartbreak
Hield has made 15 threes and shot over 40% from beyond the arc across the last four games, but that could also be a concern for Golden State fans if it means Steve Kerr is going to show even greater faith in the 32-year-old.
It's easy to see why Hield will actually become more important come the postseason. The Warriors don't have too many huge 3-point threats, making Hield's skillset all the more valuable as defenses are likely to throw even more attention towards the star duo of Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler.
However, as much as question marks will face the Golden State youth like Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski, Quinten Post and Gui Santos, the much older Hield has a very similar lack of postseason experience.
In fact, Hield only broke his playoff drought last season as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. He played less than 29 minutes through the first three games of their first-round series against the New York Knicks, recording just two total points on 1-of-7 shooting. After two-straight DNPs in Games 4 and 5, Hield did spring to life with 20 points on 6-of-9 3-point shooting in Game 6.
In a way that series almost typifies Hield's feast or famine nature, something that Warrior fans have become accustomed to throughout his first year with the franchise after signing a four-year, $37.8 million contract in the offseason.
But the fact there's no significant playoff history to go off -- outside one sole series -- can't inspire too much faith in Hield being a hugely positive factor. The Warriors have to get to a playoff series first, with the hope that Hield can provide a scoring punch off the bench in Sunday's regular season finale against the L.A. Clippers at Chase Center.