Buddy Hield

Warriors Notes: Curry, Reserves, Butler, Hield, 2020 Draft

The Warriors‘ 99-88 Game 1 victory over the Timberwolves on Tuesday came at a big cost. Stephen Curry suffered a left hamstring strain in the second quarter and missed the second half.

“He’s obviously crushed,” coach Steve Kerr said, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “But the guys picked him up and played a great game, and obviously we’re all concerned about Steph but it’s part of the game.”

Kerr doubts Curry, who will undergo an MRI today, can play in Game 2. Curry limped out of the arena and didn’t speak to the media.

“We don’t know yet,” Kerr said. “But with a hamstring, it’s hard to imagine that he would play Thursday.”

Forward Draymond Green is optimistic the team can hold its own until Curry returns, especially with another proven playoff performer in Jimmy Butler.

“Jimmy’s capable of carrying a team. He carried a team to the Finals twice. So we won’t panic,” Green said. “We will figure out what that means. We have the best coaching staff in the NBA. We know they’ll put us in a good spot and let us know what our offense looks like without Steph if we have to go on without him. We got full confidence in the guys that are on this team that we can make plays, can make shots.”

We have more on the Warriors:

  • Bench contributions from Pat Spencer, Gary Payton II and Kevon Looney helped the Warriors to overcome Curry’s absence, Anthony Slater of The Athletic writes. Thrust into backup point guard duties, Spencer had two steals, two rebounds and a pair of key baskets. Payton, sidelined in Game 7 of the first round by an illness, played a bench-high 26 minutes and supplied four assists, five rebounds and eight points. Looney secured two late offensive rebounds.
  • Butler and Buddy Hield dragged the Warriors to the finish line offensively. Butler finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and two steals, while Hield scored all but two of his 24 points after halftime. “I’m Batman today,” Hield quipped. “I saved the day.” Hield is in the first year of a four-year, $37.8MM contract.
  • The Timberwolves and Warriors had the top two picks in the 2020 draft — Minnesota got a star in Anthony Edwards, Golden State swung and missed with James Wiseman. Slater offers details on the developments leading up to that draft, reporting that the Warriors had conversations about trading out, trading back and even the trading up for Minnesota’s selection before ultimately deciding to retain the No. 2 pick.

Warriors Notes: Butler, Hield, Payton, Green

Jimmy Butler helped the Warriors clinch a Game 7 victory and a second-round date with the Timberwolves, scoring 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting while also contributing eight rebounds and seven assists in Sunday’s 103-89 series-clinching victory over Houston.

Butler played just eight minutes in Game 2 due to a pelvic injury that also cost him Game 3, and he had a forgettable Game 5, with just eight points on 2-of-10 shooting in a one-sided loss. But his presence made a difference for the Warriors during the second half of the season and over the course of the first-round playoff series, prompting team owner Joe Lacob to express to Sam Amick of The Athletic on Sunday that he’s glad he signed off on the deadline deal for the star forward.

“Sometimes you get them right,” Lacob told Amick with a laugh. “That’s all I can say.”

Given the ugly way that Butler’s time in Miami ended, there were questions about whether it would make sense to give up multiple assets to acquire him and sacrifice major cap flexibility to sign him to a maximum-salary extension. But general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. insisted Butler was worth that risk and Lacob is happy he trusted his GM.

“Yeah, there were (concerns about Butler),” Lacob said. “But you do your analysis, you make your choices, and, yeah, it was a little bit of a risk. But we’ve got to take risks in this life. And he’s worth every freaking penny. That’s all I can say. He’s fantastic.”

Here’s more on the Warriors, one of eight NBA teams still in the hunt for a title:

  • While no Warrior had more rebounds (10) or assists (7) than Stephen Curry on Sunday, it was Buddy Hield who unexpectedly led the team in scoring, pouring in 33 points while matching an NBA record with nine three-pointers in a Game 7. A nine-year veteran, Hield played in the postseason for the first time in 2024, but didn’t see many minutes in Philadelphia’s first-round loss. As Marcus Thompson II writes for The Athletic, the veteran sharpshooter embraced the opportunity to play a larger role this time around. “I never been in this situation before,” Hield said. “Just trying to seize the moment. Relish the moment. Just be in the moment. … and enjoy the moment.”
  • After earning a start in Game 6, veteran guard Gary Payton II was unable to suit up for Game 7 on Sunday due to an illness, writes Kristie Rieken of The Associated Press. “He’s just sick as a dog,” Kerr said before the game. “Woke up ill and didn’t go to shootaround. Hasn’t eaten. No way (he) can play.” Although Payton played a regular rotation role during the series, Golden State struggled during his minutes — the team had a -17.7 net rating when he was on the court and a +8.2 mark when he wasn’t.
  • Draymond Green racked up four technical fouls and two flagrants in the Warriors’ seven-game series vs. Houston, but kept his emotions in check in Game 7 to help the team advance to round two, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “He’s the key to our team,” head coach Steve Kerr told Slater. “He’s the guy who can drive winning. But he can also drive losing, frankly. What makes him great is also his kryptonite. His emotion, his passion, his competitive fire. … When Draymond is centered and organized and poised and Steph is taking care of the ball, it’s so easy for the rest of the group just to follow and do their jobs.”
  • According to Kerr, Green “set the tone” ahead of Game 7 at a players-only meeting on Saturday, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “Basically, he owned up to losing his poise in Game 6, and I agreed with him,” Kerr said after Sunday’s victory. “I thought the flagrant foul (in the first quarter of Game 6) was a tone-setter, and he knew it and so he talked to the group and said, ‘I got to be poised and I have to be better, and we’re going to come in here tomorrow and get it done.’ And I think his emotional stability tonight, just his poise from the start, set a great tone.”
  • Butler and Green will be public enemies number one and two in Minnesota during the conference semifinals, according to Jon Krawcznyski of The Athletic, who notes that Butler’s messy exit in 2018 and Green’s frequent criticisms of Rudy Gobert have earned the duo the ire of Timberwolves fans.

Warriors Notes: Butler, Lineup Changes, Looney, Kuminga, Game 7

The Warriors missed two chances to close out their first-round series with the Rockets, but they remain confident going into Sunday’s Game 7, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Golden State was blown out in Game 5 and watched Houston pull away in the fourth quarter of Game 6, but there were no signs of panic in the locker room after Friday’s loss.

“We’re good. We’re smiling,” Jimmy Butler said. “We’re listening to our music, celebrating life. We’re ready to compete. We were ready to compete tonight. Things didn’t go our way. OK, we’re going to be ready to compete on Sunday. We’re going to make the game go our way.”

The Warriors believe their experience in high-stakes games will ultimately decide the series, Youngmisuk adds. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green have a 3-2 record in seventh games during their time together, with the last one coming in 2023 when they won handily at Sacramento. Butler has been in four Game 7s, going 2-2.

Many of the Rockets’ core players are going through their first playoff experience, but Youngmisuk notes that they have some veterans who’ve been in this situation before. Jeff Green, Steven Adams, Fred VanVleet and Aaron Holiday have collectively been in 10 seventh games.

There’s more on the Warriors:

  • Steve Kerr made two changes to his starting lineup before Game 6 — replacing Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski with Buddy Hield and Gary Payton II — and he might consider revising it again on Sunday, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Slater explains that Golden State is trying to get Alperen Sengun involved in actions involving Curry, but the zones Houston has been employing are making it easier for Sengun to avoid that matchup. Slater suggests that Kevon Looney could see more time to battle against Adams after playing just two minutes on Friday.
  • Kerr said putting Jonathan Kuminga back into the rotation is “100 percent on the table” for Game 7 (Twitter video link from Slater). Kuminga has made just two appearances in the series, logging 26 minutes in a Game 2 loss and 17 minutes in a Game 3 win.
  • Butler dismissed concerns that the veteran Warriors are being worn down by a younger, more athletic opponent, per Ann Killion of The San Francisco Chronicle. “We’ll be all right,” Butler said. “I’m 35, I can’t remember how old Steph is (37), Dray is 35, too. Everybody’s got to travel the same distance. Ain’t like we’re going to go around the world and land in Houston and they got only a five-minute flight to Houston. They’ve got to travel just like we’ve got to travel.”

Rockets Notes: VanVleet, Offense, Green, Sengun, Landale

The Rockets hold a $44.9MM club option on Fred VanVleet‘s contract for next season. The veteran guard hasn’t done himself any favors in the playoff series against Golden State. In the first three games, VanVleet made only 26.8% of his shots (11-of-41), including 20.7% of his three-pointers (6-of-29), while averaging 11.3 points and four assists in 41 minutes per game, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle points out. Game 4 is tonight.

“There’s times and places where I have to play better, I have to make shots at a higher clip,” VanVleet said. “I have to find rhythm and find ways to be more aggressive. But obviously, if I’m getting two on the ball at 28, 30 feet, I feel like I’ve done my job for that possession. If I can draw a mismatch and I can draw a best defender, there’s opportunity for other guys, I feel like I’ve done my job on that possession. So, it’s different ways to attack. I have to be better, 1,000%, and if I make two more shots we probably win Game 1. If I make a couple more (Saturday), we probably get out of here with a win, so that’s totally on me, for sure.”

We have more on the Rockets:

  • The Game 3 loss to Golden State, in which the Warriors survived the absence of Jimmy Butler, showed that the Rockets probably need an offensive star to be true contenders, Sam Amick of The Athletic writes. Houston, which was held to 85 points in Game 1, was limited to 93 points in Game 3. If the Rockets decide to go shopping for a roster upgrade, Jalen Green — who signed a three-year, $106MM extension in October — is widely expected to be part of the deal, according to Amick.
  • Houston needs to do a better job of holding down the Warriors’ role players, Kelly Iko of The Athletic notes. Buddy Hield and Gary Payton II combined for 33 points on 7-of-14 three-point attempts in Game 3. The Rockets also need Alperen Şengun to deliver in clutch moments. The center shot 7-for-18 from the field and made only one of six free throw attempts in Game 3.
  • Backup big Jock Landale, who has yet to play in the series, is listed as probable for Game 4, Lerner tweets. Landale has been recovering from a knee contusion.

Warriors Notes: Butler, Hield, Curry

The Warriors expect six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler will return from his deep gluteal muscle contusion in Game 4 of their ongoing series against Houston, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link). A source informs Slater that Butler took part in an on-court workout ahead of the team’s eventual Game 3 victory against Houston on Saturday. He was held out so that his body could better recuperate, but the team is hoping he will return for Game 4 on Monday.

Butler suffered the injury during a scary fall early into Game 2, and has been sidelined ever since. Golden State has gone 1-1 without him.

On Saturday, ESPN’s Shams Charania told colleague Malika Andrews (Twitter video link) that Butler had “no mobility” on Saturday, which ultimately led to the team’s decision to sit him.

Head coach Steve Kerr, meanwhile, indicated that he considers Butler officially day-to-day, and has no idea whether or not the star forward will play, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN (via Twitter).

There’s more out of Golden State:

  • With Butler shelved, Warriors guard Buddy Hield stepped up to help the club secure a Game 3 home win, Slater writes in another piece. An eight-point Hield run in the second quarter helped stabilize Golden State heading into the halftime break. He ultimately finished with 17 points and a plus-14 mark across 29 minutes of action. “I knew Robin was out, so I had to step up,” Hield said, referencing Butler’s repeated suggestion that he is the Robin to All-NBA guard Stephen Curry‘s Batman. “I had to be Alfred.”
  • Stephen Curry was the star of the show for the Warriors in Game 3 on Saturday, Youngmisuk writes for ESPN.com. The two-time league MVP took it upon himself to score more against a tough Rockets defense, notching 25 of his 36 total points in the second and third quarters to propel his team to a 104-93 victory. “He’s one [of the] greatest players of all time,” Kerr said. “He’s 37. He’s one of the most well-conditioned athletes I’ve ever seen in my life. To play 41 minutes against that kind of defense, to have a slow start and then find his rhythm, which we have seen him do countless times over the years, to hit big shots, to only turn it over twice against that kind of pressure, he was brilliant.”
  • In case you missed it, Rockets forward Dillon Brooks defended teammate Amen Thompson‘s play on Butler that led to his injury.

Pacific Notes: Durant, Hield, Morant, Curry, Kawhi

Asked on Wednesday during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show (Twitter video link) about possible offseason trade destinations for Kevin Durant, ESPN’s Shams Charania said there was mutual interest between the Suns‘ star and a handful of potential suitors ahead of February’s trade deadline. According to Charania, that list of teams included the Timberwolves, Knicks, Rockets, Spurs, and Heat.

“Those are the types of teams, from my understanding, that had interest then,” Charania said. “And I expect them all to be in the mix this offseason.”

Charania didn’t explicitly mention the Warriors, but that’s likely due to the fact that Durant was known to be resistant to a Golden State reunion in February. If his stance changes this summer, it’s possible the Warriors could once again emerge as a suitor.

One report this week suggested that Durant is open to the idea of returning to Phoenix next season, but a trade still appears to be the most likely outcome. Unlike in February when the Suns unilaterally gauged the market for the veteran forward without consulting him, the team and Durant’s camp would likely work together on any deal this offseason, Charania notes.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

  • The NBA is looking into an incident from Tuesday’s Warriors/Grizzlies game when Golden State sharpshooter Buddy Hield and Memphis guard Ja Morant aimed finger-gun gestures at one another, according to Charania and Tim MacMahon of ESPN. A video of that brief interaction can be found here (via Twitter). The NBA has fined players for that gesture in the past and is likely especially sensitive to this case since Morant has been suspended twice in the past for waving around an actual gun in social media videos.
  • Stephen Curry racked up 52 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, and five steals in the Warriors‘ win over Memphis on Tuesday and told reporters after the game that he feels rejuvenated after taking a week off to recover from a pelvic injury in March, per ESPN. “I feel in a good rhythm,” Curry said. “The week off helped. The tank is pretty full.” Steve Kerr said a couple weeks ago that he wanted to get Curry some rest, but the Warriors coach no longer seems as concerned about his star guard’s condition. “I think (the week off) helped and I think two rounds of golf on this road trip helped,” Kerr said, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
  • After missing the first two-plus months of the season while recovering from a knee procedure and then playing on a minutes limit for several more weeks after that, Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard has recaptured his All-NBA form, having averaged 25.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.8 steals per game with a .521/.397/.825 shooting line in 13 March outings. Law Murray of The Athletic takes a look at Leonard’s resurgence and the 33-year-old’s desire to enter the offseason healthy.

Warriors Notes: Starting Five, Hield, Kuminga, Butler, Curry

In their last game before the All-Star break, the Warriors used their 33rd starting lineup of the season: Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, Moses Moody, and Brandin Podziemski.

The group helped lead the team to a road win in Houston and earned another start coming out of the break on Friday in Sacramento. After Golden State registered a blowout victory in that game, head coach Steve Kerr said he plans to stick with this starting five despite its lack of size, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic.

“I hope so. Because we’ve had a million different starting lineups this year. It’d be nice to stick with this for the rest of the season,” Kerr said. “I think it’s the best two-way starting group we can put on the floor. You get Moses’ shooting, you get BP’s play-making to go with Steph and Jimmy. Then Draymond and Jimmy at the five and four defensively behind the play. We lack size, but we have a lot of brainpower back there.”

Butler, the tallest player in the lineup at 6’7″, admitted that it’s “definitely” the smallest starting five he has been part of, Slater writes. Still, the Warriors’ big trade-deadline acquisition is confident in the quintet’s ability to make it work.

“I like it,” Butler said. “I do. You’ve just got some feisty individuals out there that’s fighting, scrapping on both sides of the ball, sharing the ball, scoring, getting stops. Small or not, we’re getting it done.”

Here’s more on the Warriors:

  • Buddy Hield has started 22 games for Golden State this season, including 12 in a row from January 22 to February 12. He has returned to the second unit following Kerr’s latest lineup change, but the Warriors’ coach said the veteran sharpshooter remains “a huge part of what we’re doing,” according to Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. “The way we’re starting is not a reflection of his play,” Kerr said prior to Friday’s win, in which Hield scored 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting in 26 minutes off the bench.
  • Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga, who has been out since January 4 due to a right ankle sprain, participated in his first 5-on-5, full-contact scrimmage on Saturday, according to Kerr (Twitter video link via Slater). While Kuminga appears to be nearing a return, he won’t play today vs. Dallas or on Tuesday vs. Charlotte, Kerr said. The plan is to reevaluate him prior to the five-game road trip that begins on Thursday in Orlando.
  • In another story for The San Francisco Chronicle, Gordon notes that Butler’s presence puts Golden State in position to run an efficient offense during the minutes when Curry is off the floor. “It’s huge, just having another number one option out there so when Steph goes off the floor, we still have a number one option that we can play through,” Green said on Friday. “He doesn’t shoot much. … He’s just going to make the right play. He’s going to put guys in position to be successful and the defense has to react to him, or he gets easy buckets.”
  • The Warriors are starting to “figure out a good chemistry” with Butler, according to Curry, who praised his new teammate for his underrated passing ability, per Grant Afseth of Athlon Sports.

Three-Peat For Mac McClung In Dunk Contest

Mac McClung ensured his place alongside the other legends in NBA dunk contest history by winning the event for the third straight time Saturday night.

McClung got perfect scores on all four of his dunks and was a clear favorite of the Chase Center crowd. His final-round victory came over Spurs rookie Stephon Castle, who registered a 99.6 score with two impressive slams of his own. Andre Jackson Jr. and Matas Buzelis were eliminated in the first round.

McClung brought some excitement to the event on his first dunk when he leaped over a car and threw the ball down behind his head. He followed that by jumping over his dunk coach for a twisting slam, then dunked two balls at once — one held by a friend on a spinning hoverboard and another by a man on a ladder — and finished off the night by jumping over 6’11” Evan Mobley (who was standing on a small platform) and touching the ball against the rim before slamming it home (video collection via YouTube).

At a press conference following the event, McClung deflected a question on whether the three-peat means he should be considered the greatest dunker of all time (Twitter video link from Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic).

“I definitely don’t think that’s something for me to say,” McClung responded. “… I was just extremely honored to be part of this weekend. The biggest thing is I genuinely love this contest, and I’m very honored to be here and just very appreciative.” 

McClung is on a two-way contract with the Magic and has only made one brief appearance in an NBA game this season. He plays for Osceola in the G League and has never been able to break through at the NBA level, getting into five total games with four teams since 2021.

McClung’s performance got the attention of other players around the league, including a couple of stars who hinted that they may consider participating in future dunk contests. Grizzlies guard Ja Morant tweeted, “Mac might make me decide to dunk,” and Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo responded, “If you do it. I’ll do it with you,” later adding, “I just gotta to warm up for three weeks prior to the contest.”

Damian Lillard missed the chance for another three-peat on Saturday, being eliminated in the first round of the Three-Point Contest after winning the event the past two years. Tyler Herro claimed this year’s crown by a point over Buddy Hield, with Darius Garland finishing third.

“I was definitely nervous going into the first round. But I thought I shot it pretty well in the second round, and then Buddy had the chance to tie it at the end,” Herro told reporters, including Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “Obviously a great competition, a bunch of great shooters. … Also, it felt cold in the arena the first time I went. For the second time, I felt more loose going right away.”

Mobley teamed with fellow Cavaliers All-Star Donovan Mitchell to capture the Skills Challenge in the night’s first event.

NBA Announces Three-Point Contest, Skills Challenge Participants

The NBA has officially announced the participants for the All-Star Saturday festivities in San Francisco on February 15, revealing today (via Twitter) which players will compete in the three-point contest and the skills challenge. Here are the details:

Three-Point Contest:

Among this year’s participants, Powell (43.1%), Garland (42.9%), and Johnson (41.7%) have been the most accurate three-point shooters so far this season, while Herro (39.3% on 9.7 attempts per game) has been the most prolific.

Lillard won the event in both 2023 and 2024 and will be looking to become the first player since Craig Hodges in 1992 to claim the three-point title for a third consecutive year. Larry Bird was also a three-time winner, having achieved the feat in the first three years the NBA held the event (1986-88).

Hield is the only other player in this year’s field to have won the contest before, having done so in 2020. The Warriors wing will be the home team’s representative next Saturday.

Skills Challenge:

It appears the NBA will be tweaking the format of the skills challenge again in 2025, with the event set to feature four teams of two players apiece instead of three players per team.

Mobley was part of the Cavs team that won the event in 2022, along with Jarrett Allen and Garland. He’ll be teaming up with Mitchell this time around.

The NBA also officially confirmed the participants of the dunk contest earlier this week (Twitter link). Those four players, who had been previously reported, are Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis, Spurs rookie Stephon Castle, Bucks guard Andre Jackson, and Magic two-way guard Mac McClung.

Like Lillard in the three-point contest, McClung will be looking to three-peat in his event next Saturday night.

Pacific Notes: Durant, Leonard, Zubac, Post, Schroder, Hield

The Suns’ pursuit of Jimmy Butler has been big news for weeks in NBA circles. They also acquired center Nick Richards last week and made a draft-pick trade with Utah this week, seemingly with an eye toward additional deals.

The best thing the Phoenix players can do is tune out all the trade chatter, Kevin Durant told Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link).

“It’s just a part of the game now,” Durant said. “We know it’s important. The locker room is sacred. The bus is sacred. Hotel, walkthrough, all that stuff is sacred. It’s stuff we don’t talk about. It’s a brotherhood in here, but we know the noise is going to always be going on around us. As much as we can bunker down and focus on one another, the better we are as a group.

“It’s a business, though. We understand it’s a business. Anything can happen in this business. We traded one our brothers, Josh (Okogie) to Charlotte and that happened pretty quickly. We’ve just got to focus on in one one another and keep grinding.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

  • The Clippers almost defeated the Celtics without four of their starters on Wednesday. Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac all sat out, yet they took the Celtics to overtime (story via The Associated Press). Leonard sat out due to right knee injury management but he has shown flashes of his old self in recent games. He scored 19 efficient points in 24-plus minutes against the Lakers on Sunday. “I’m happy with the progress,” Leonard told Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. “For me, it’s just about how I’m feeling and I’m coming out of the games feeling great. But I still got work to do and we’re going to keep taking each step.”
  • Zubac, who missed Wednesday’s game due to an eye injury, is averaging a career-best 15.0 points, 12.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists per night. He’s been a steadying force with Leonard sidelined most of the season. “I’ve been confident in my game. I always knew what I could do. It was just not my role (previously),” Zubac told Janis Carr of the Orange County Register.
  • Warriors two-way player Quinten Post got some court time on Wednesday, contributing five points and six rebounds in 15 minutes, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN tweets. Coach Steve Kerr says he’ll continue to hunt opportunities to play Post, as he gives the offense a different look with his ability to help spread the floor. Kerr moved Dennis Schröder to the bench in favor of Buddy Hield, who contributed 17 points in 25 minutes. Schröder, who had started in his first 17 games since being acquired from Brooklyn, had seven points and five assists in 21 minutes. Kerr wants Schröder on the floor when Stephen Curry is getting a rest and also likes the chemistry between Curry and Hield, Youngmisuk adds in another tweet.