Dissecting Buddy Hield’s decline since the all-star break

At the trade deadline, the Philadelphia 76ers acquired Buddy Hield from the Indiana Pacers in a three-team trade with the San Antonio Spurs, where Philadelphia gave up Marcus Morris (to San Antonio), Furkan Korkmaz (to Indiana), a total of three second-round picks, and cash considerations.

After years of stringing together mock trades, 76ers fans were ecstatic that Hield would finally be coming to Philadelphia as Hield is one of the best perimeter shooters in the NBA and someone who would seamlessly fit next to Joel Embiid.

It’s time to have a conversation about Buddy Hield.

After scoring 20+ points in each of his first 4 games as a Sixer, he has not gone above that mark once.

Was he in a honeymoon phase or are the Sixers struggling to utilize him?#BrotherlyLove #Sixers 🔵🔴

— RB (@RBPhillyTake) March 26, 2024

Buddy Hield by the numbers

With 22 games under his belt as a 76er, Buddy Hield is averaging 12.8 points per game and 3.7 assists per game on 38.5% shooting from three on 7.1 attempts per game. While Hield hasn’t quite been disappointing, the perimeter marksman has been inconsistent since the all-star break as his role has constantly changed with key players like Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris in and out of the line-up due to injuries as well as simply being a streaky perimeter shooter.

Before the all-star break (four games), Hield averaged 22.3 points per game and 7.5 assists per game on 45.0% shooting from the perimeter on 10 attempts per game. Since the all-star break, Hield regressed to just 10.7 points per game and 2.9 assists per game while shooting 36.2% from three on 6.4 attempts a night, so what gives?

What happened to Buddy Hield?

Above all, Buddy Hield is a very high-volume shooter who averages 7.6 three-point attempts a night throughout his career. Players with that archetype tend to be streaky, which partly explains the dip in three-point percentage since the all-star break.

It’s important to note that in Hield’s four games before the all-star break, the 76ers had not yet signed Kyle Lowry and Tobias Harris missed two of those games, so naturally, Hield would have the ball in his hand more. Not only did Hield get more on-ball possessions, but he thrived as a ball-handler in creating his shot from beyond the arc and operating the pick-and-roll with Reed and Bamba to perfection in terms of both scoring and play-making on top of being an automatic spot-up shooter.

Thinking about the pre all-star break Buddy Hield honeymoon phase

— Jacob Moreno (@Jacobmorenonba) March 15, 2024

Following the all-star break, Lowry made his 76ers debut and took over as the main ball-handler outside of Tyrese Maxey and Harris returned to action and was not shy about getting his on-ball touches, leaving Hield as solely a spot-up player. 

Not to mention, Maxey suffered a concussion shortly after the all-star break causing him to miss time and Harris was once again sidelined for a few games due to an ankle injury. With Nick Nurse constantly tinkering with starting line-ups plus the plethora of injuries, Hield has been taken in and out of the starting five, making it difficult to find a rhythm within the offense. 

When you factor in Hield’s decreased offensive role, how disjointed the 76ers’ offense has been without Joel Embiid, the way he’s been plugged in and out of the starting lineup, and his natural hot and cold spells as a high-volume shooter, it’s no wonder why Hield has failed to replicate the success he had in his first few games with the 76ers.

The Sixers have 0 idea of how to deploy Buddy Hield most effectively this was a clear ‘plug the numbers on the team’ move by Morey I seriously wonder if they even scouted the player appropriately

— Thiago (@ThiagoPHL) March 26, 2024

The “Joel Embiid-sized” problem for Buddy Hield and the 76ers

Philadelphia traded for Buddy Hield with the thought of pairing him next to Joel Embiid as he’d be a textbook fit alongside the 2023 MVP whose game revolves around the post/interior. Embiid is no stranger to double and even triple teams and having a deadeye shooter in Hield to kick it out to on the weak side sounds dangerous for any team to defend.

With Embiid still recovering from his meniscus procedure, Hield is yet to share the floor with the superstar center and although Tyrese Maxey draws a lot of defensive attention off the dribble, Hield has struggled to find success as a spot-up shooter due to the lack of offensive creation the 76ers suffer from outside of Maxey. Tobias Harris is a reluctant passer even when doubled and Kelly Oubre Jr. has taken strides as a play-maker, but is still only able to find cutters at this point.

To counter this issue, Nurse needs to run more actions for Hield where he can curl off staggered screens to get a high-quality shot attempt, even if it doesn’t fall because confidence is key for high-volume shooters. While it’s a difficult task considering Embiid changes the entire offense, Nurse also needs to give Hield a consistent role whether that’s starting or being a spark off the bench like Cam Payne.

Mandatory Credit: (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)