Bahamian professional basketball player Chavano "Buddy" Hield has found a home in Sacramento.
The starting 6'4" two-guard of the Kings has seen his production skyrocket since being traded to Sacramento during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) All-Star Weekend in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. He was a part of a six-player deal that saw the oft-disruptive, but very talented, DeMarcus Cousins end up in New Orleans.
In 16 games with the Kings, Hield is averaging 14.8 points per game and is shooting 44.2 percent from behind the three-point line -- a stark difference from the 8.6 points and 36.9 percent shooting (three-point range) he was recording in New Orleans. Hield's numbers are up across the board. He is averaging more rebounds, assists and steals per game.
On Friday night, he had his best game as a professional, finishing with a career-high 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists against the Golden State Warriors. The Kings lost that game, 114-100. Two nights before that, Hield had 21 points while shooting 50 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from three-point land. The Kings were defeated by the Bucks in that game, 116-98.
On Sunday night against the Los Angeles Clippers in Los Angeles, Hield spurred a fourth quarter comeback of historic proportions. Going into Sunday night's game against the Clippers, only one team in 6,746 attempts had erased an 18-point lead in the last five minutes of a game in the past 20 years. Hield and the Kings became the second such team on Sunday.
The streaky Bahamian started the game 0-for-5 from downtown, but went 3-of-3 in the final minutes on Sunday including a game-changing sequence featuring back-to-back treys in a span of eight seconds that cut the Clippers lead to three, 96-93, with 2:10 remaining. Hield had 11 points in total during the Kings 22-3 scoring run to end the game. He finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, two assists and a steal in 23 minutes of play. Hield shot 5-for-12 from the floor and was 3-for-8 from distance.
"We saw they started chirping with each other and we were able to see them collapse," said Hield via the Sacramento Bee's Jason Jones, following their dramatic victory over the Clippers on Sunday.
Willie Cauley-Stein's game-winning tip-in with less than two seconds left sealed the game for Sacramento, and ended a four-game losing streak for them. Point guard Darren Collison led the Kings with 19 points on Sunday, and Hield and Anthony Tolliver contributed 15 apiece. DeAndre Jordan led the Clippers with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Blake Griffin and Chris Paul had 17 apiece.
The Kings hosted the Memphis Grizzlies last night, but the result of that game was unavailable up to press time. Going into last night's game, the Kings sported a 28-45 win/loss record, and were seven games out of a playoff spot in the NBA's Western Conference.
For the season, Hield is averaging 9.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. He is shooting 42 percent from the field, and 38.8 percent from three-point land.
Hield is currently having his best month of the season. In March, he is averaging 15.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He is also shooting 49.3 from the floor and 46.6 percent from three-point land this month. Hield started 37 out of 57 games for the New Orleans Pelicans, and nine out of 16 for the Kings.
He is sixth on the NBA's Rookie Ladder scale for the Kia Rookie of the Year Award after being as high as third this season. He ranks fourth among rookies in scoring, first in three pointers made, third in three point percentage (at least 100 attempts), 13th in rebounding and 23rd in assists.
Hield and the Kings have eight more games remaining on their schedule. A couple of featured games remaining on their schedule would be Friday night's contest against the Pelicans, and the season finale against the Clippers. Hield will return to the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on Friday for the first time since being traded at the All-Star break.
On Wednesday April 12, they will travel to L.A. to play the Clippers again, this time in the season finale. There's no doubt that the playoff bound Clippers will be looking for retribution in that contest.

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