Hield struggles in two losses for the Kings

Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield.

August 4, 2020

Simba French

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It wasn’t the restart that Bahamian professional basketball player Chavano ‘Buddy’ Hield and the Sacramento Kings envisioned when they stepped on the court, as they lost their first two games at the NBA Campus at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, over the weekend. The 2019-2020 National Basketball Association (NBA) season was restarted last Thursday, and Hield and the Kings played Friday and Sunday.

In their latest game, on Sunday, the Orlando Magic was too much for the Kings, as they fell 132-116. In their opening game on Friday, they fell to the San Antonio Spurs, 129-120.

With those two losses, the Kings are now tied for 11th with the New Orleans Pelicans in the Western Conference of the NBA. They have a 28-38 win/loss record on the season and sit a half of a game above the Phoenix Suns. They are three and a half games behind eighth seeded Memphis Grizzlies (32-35).

Against the Magic, Hield finished with 12 points, five assists and two rebounds as a reserve. He played just over 20 minutes in this match-up. Unfortunately, he finished with three turnovers.

The shooting guard checked into the game with 6:44 remaining in the first quarter with the Kings down 21-12. His first shot attempt was a three-pointer that missed. He missed his next three shots before finally hitting a three-pointer at the 1:44 mark of the opening quarter.

The Magic shot 68.2 percent from the field, building a 44-26 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Kings shot 43.5 percent from the field in that quarter.

Hield played just over eight minutes in the second half and shot 3-for-5 from the field. The Grand Bahamian finished the game shooting 5-for-13 including 2-for-7 from three-point territory.

Henry Giles III led the way for the Kings with 23 points and the Magic’s Terrence Ross finished with a game-high 25 points.

Hield shot better on Sunday than he did in his opening game against the Spurs. On Friday, he was held to just 2-for-13 from the field and finished with six points. Additionally, he went 1-for-8 from three-point land. That was his lowest point total since a three-point game on October 26, 2019, against the Utah Jazz.

The guard was only able to get off two shot attempts in the first quarter against the Spurs. His first points came in the second quarter when he hit a 26-foot three-point jumper with 11:44 remaining in that quarter to cut the Spurs lead to 43-33.

The fourth-year player second and final field goal of the night came in the fourth quarter when he made a lay-up to bring his team to within four points, 100-96, with 10:17 remaining in the game. That was his only made shot in seven attempts in that quarter as his woeful shooting night continued in the fourth quarter. He also came up empty in that quarter from the charity stripe as he went 0-for-3.

Hield had four rebounds, one assist and a steal to go with his six points.

Having a slump at this point in the season when the Kings are trying to make a playoff run is not the best case scenario for the Kings right now. The sharp shooter will get a chance to break out of the slump today when they play the Dallas Mavericks at 2:30 p.m.

Jump Line – The Kings hope to rebound when they play the Mavericks today

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