Hield’s Poor Decision Making A Factor In Loss To Lakers

Buddy Hield’s decision making in Friday’s contest against the Lakers is one of the reasons that the Sacramento Kings came up short.

The fourth quarter of Friday’s game between the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers was discussed ad nauseam by both fan bases following the contest. There were a few different topics of discussion including bad calls by the referees, and LeBron James’ dominance down the stretch.

But one thing that Kings fans pointed to as a contributing factor in the close loss was the decision making from Buddy Hield late in the game.

The Kings commentators were calling out Hield for his defensive lapses. Half-way through the quarter, he over pursued on a closeout on Alex Caruso and Caruso was able to blow by him and get to the basket. Color commentator Doug Christie recognized Hield’s mistake and mentioned it on the broadcast.

Moments later, Hield got lost on a switch and left his man open for a lead-changing bucket. Grant Napier reminded the audience, “Don’t leave the man with the ball.”

While Hield’s defensive skill set has nothing to do with his decision-making, it is worth noting that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was 5 for 6 from the floor in the fourth quarter and scored 12 points in the frame. His primary defender for many of his touches down the stretch was Hield.

Hield’s decision making was even worse on the offensive end. With three minutes left and the Kings down by 3, he drove to the basket for a layup attempt that was contested by two seven-footers. Harrison Barnes was wide open in the corner for a kick out. Hield was fouled but didn’t get the call.

On the ensuing inbounds, Hield bounced the ball directly into the waiting arms of James. The Lakers turned on the fast break which led to a James to Anthony Davis alley-oop. Had Hield found the wide-open Barnes moment before, the game might have been tied. Instead, the Lakers went up by five with 2:45 to play.

With a minute left, and with point guard Yogi Ferrell on the floor, the Kings opted to have Hield be the primary ball-handler. He didn’t make a single pass and put up a contested three-pointer that ended up being an airball. Hield claimed that the ball was tipped.

Despite the incredible playmaking by Bogdan Bogdanovic down the stretch, the Kings were unable to capitalize and came out with a disappointing loss given the circumstances. But who is to blame? Sure, Hield struggled in crunch time and might have left a few points on the board. But the real story was the referees, who missed a handful of blatant calls that ultimately cost Sacramento a second chance at victory.

The Sacramento Kings will host the Boston Celtics on Sunday afternoon at 12:30PM.