What we learned from Hield’s historic start fuels Warriors’ victory against Jazz originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
The Warriors are taking the NBA by storm.
Well, at least the teams working in Portland and Utah.
Golden State suffered its second straight blowout Friday night with a 127-86 silencing of the Jazz at the Delta Center in downtown Salt Lake City.
The Warriors in their two season-opening wins have outscored their opponents 267-190. Their 77-point margin is the largest in NBA history in any team’s first two games.
Buddy Hield led the team in scoring for the second consecutive game, finishing with 27 points. Stephen Curry totaled 20, Brandin Podziemski 15 and Trayce Jackson-Davis added 12. Andrew Wiggins scored just eight points but had a career-high and game-high 13 rebounds.
Here are three takeaways from a game that after the first quarter was never in doubt:
Friend Bombs
Hield has been a Warrior for eight games, including six in the preseason. He’s shooting an incredible 31 of 55 (53.4 percent) from beyond the arc. Incredible. And there are no signs of it calming down.
Coming off the bench For the second straight game, Hield immediately lit up the Jazz, putting up 24 points in 14 first-half minutes on 9-of-11 shooting, including 6-of-7 from deep.
Hield’s 27 points came on 10-of-14 shooting from the field, including 7-of-9 from long range. Through two games, he has 49 points in 35 minutes and is shooting 18 of 26 overall and 12 of 16 from beyond the arc.
Unsustainable, right?
After the opening night win in Portland, Hield said he hadn’t felt so free within an offense since he left the University of Oklahoma eight years ago. As a senior he shot 45.7 percent from deep.
Such precision is unlikely in today’s NBA, but anything close to that will have Golden State’s front office dancing in the streets.
The bank starts the fire again
For the second straight game, Golden State’s starting lineup fell behind early, trailing by eight in the first three minutes. It took me a few more minutes to find anything remotely resembling a rhythm.
He also needed a boost from the bench group, who came in hot, playing fast, making shots and even some sacks on defense.
Gary Payton II, Kevon Looney and Podziemski and Hield were the main players who closed the first quarter with a 21-5 run in the last five minutes. That was enough to change the temperature in the building.
Two nights after the Warriors bench outscored the Trail Blazers in Portland 71-37, they took an 80-49 lead over the Jazz reserves. In addition to Hield and Podziemski reaching double figures off the bench, there was Moses Moody with 12.
Coach Steve Kerr’s concept of playing with his entire active squad was once again a great success. Just as 14 players participated on opening night, 14 were used tonight.
A tray of perfection
Trayce Jackson-Daviswho started 16 games as a rookie last season, has started the first two this season and, well, things are going extremely well for the Warriors.
Although even better for Jackson-Davis.
After scoring 14 points and making 5 of 5 field goals in the first game, he returned tonight with 12 points on 6 of 6 shots. His 11 consecutive shots, mostly from lobs and less than three feet from the rim, are providing a much-needed interior scoring presence.
Although Golden State’s starting lineup slept early in each of the first two games and continues to experience spacing issues, Jackson-Davis is doing precisely what he was asked to do.
Protect the rim, place solid screens and be efficient in painting. Perfection is the epitome of efficiency.