Golden State Warriors fans often lamented Steve Kerr's unwavering faith in Buddy Hield during his time with the franchise, but the exact opposite could be said of the Atlanta Hawks after Quin Snyder dusted off the veteran sharpshooter late in their first-round series loss to the New York Knicks.
Despite drilling seven threes and going for 31 points in just 21 minutes during the Hawks' regular season finale against the Miami Heat, Hield was nowhere to be seen during the first four games of the series.
Hield did see limited minutes in Games 5 and 6, but only as a last resort after the Hawks lost all momentum on their way to a six-game elimination after what resulted as a brief 2-1 lead.
Hawks don't turn to Buddy Hield till last possible moment
Hield played four meaningless minutes toward the end of a blowout Game 5 loss, but he did have a quick five points where he made his only 3-point attempt. The 33-year-old saw minutes in the second-quarter of Game 6 on Thursday, only the Hawks were down by 25 at that point in what was an historically bad first-half display.
The former Warrior ultimately wound up playing nine minutes in Atlanta's season-ending 51-point loss, though again he made his only two field-goal attempts in finishing with five points and two rebounds.
Given their struggles over the final three games of the series, some Hawks fans were left wondering why Hield wasn't utilized earlier, particularly given his playoff heroics with the Warriors just 12 months earlier.
It seems like Hield's papers were stamped from the moment he arrived in Atlanta following February's trade that was largely centered around Jonathan Kuminga and Kristaps Porzingis. He appeared in just seven of a possible 29 regular season games following the trade, averaging 5.1 points in only 7.3 minutes.
Buddy Hield's playoff fate couldn't have been much different
Hield's complete lack of playoff opportunity couldn't have been much different to what he experienced this time last year, having averaged over 27 minutes with the Warriors which included nine starts in 12 games during the postseason.
The 10-year veteran was the hero for Golden State in Game 7 of their first-round series against the Houston Rockets, going for 33 points on 12-of-15 shooting from the floor and a remarkable 9-of-11 from 3-point range.
The Hawks didn't give Hield any chance to repeat the heroics, leaving his future in serious doubt considering his $9.7 million deal for next season is only partially guaranteed for $3 million.
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