Stotts' impact on display in the Warriors' preseason win vs. the Kings

SACRAMENTO — On multiple occasions since joining the Warriors as part of a historic six-team trade in the offseason, Buddy Hield has said he probably wouldn't have been drafted this high if it weren't for his new teammate Steph Curry. As Curry won his second straight NBA MVP, Hield put on a 3-point clinic of his own during his senior season at Oklahoma.

His flair for the long ball won him every major college award imaginable before being taken No. 6 overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 2016 draft. It's been a handful of seasons since Hield last wore a Kings jersey, but he certainly reminded his former team when he got hot from deep, scoring 22 points off the bench in the Warriors' 122-112 preseason win Wednesday night from 3-point range at Golden 1 Center. Win 6 out of 7.

Steve Kerr's offense has always been heavily influenced by 3-pointers. The splash brothers of Curry and Klay Thompson were already in Golden State before Kerr arrived in 2014, though his offensive mind has taken them both to another level. The newcomers seem to thrive outside the pressures of Kerr's system.

So, it was easy to imagine Hield making an unmitigated splash on his own in a Warriors jersey under Kerr. But it's a new addition to the Warriors' coaching staff that's already paying off in major ways. Kerr brought in former Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts to help his offense, and players like Hield should improve.

“The stuff we've been putting in with Terry, the Portland stuff, you saw some of that in the second half,” Kerr said after the win. “Flair, Buddy is made for it.”

Stotts spent nine seasons as the Blazers' head coach from 2012 to 2021, winning 402 regular-season games and reaching the playoffs in all but his first season. An undersized, yet sharp-shooting backcourt of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum excelled in Portland under Stotts, unlocked their 3-point prowess and even reached the Western Conference Finals against the Warriors in 2019 as a small-market team that didn't match up. Adding superstars, instead getting the best out of his talents.

While Hield was hot shooting the ball on a hot Sacramento summer day, it was a time when he delivered the ball that Stotts and Kerr looked like together.

The Warriors, to start the fourth quarter, ran a play to free up Hield for a three in the corner, but it wasn't there. What followed was a split action with Kyle Anderson in the post and Brandin Podziemski finishing with a two-point layup at the rim.

“It was a Terry Stotts action, Portland thing that he ran with Dem and C.J.,” Kerr explained. “Part of the idea of ​​bringing in Terry was that his offense was similar to ours, but with more structure based on personnel. What was interesting about the play was the old Portland stuff. And then we got nothing, and then it was back to the split game that we've had forever. continuing

“So I think some of the things we're trying to add seem to be a good mix of what they've done and what we've already done.”

For more than a decade, the Warriors — led of course by Curry — have been credited with revolutionizing the 3-point shot. This season, they look to the East, having already attempted 100 threes through their first two preseason games. They shot 52 Wednesday night, making 28, which would have been a franchise record in a regular-season game.

Those 28 threes gave them a 63-point advantage behind the 3-point line. When asked what he liked most about the look of the three, Podziemski, who had a game-high eight assists, the ball movement and everyone involved in the offense. Unexpectedly, his reply also included praise for Stotts.

“Shout out to Coach Terry,” Podziemski said. “He drew some good things in timeouts that gave us some easy looks as well.”

Throughout the preseason, Kerr would delegate duties to his assistant coaches in games. As the game progressed, Stotts was seen directing the offense and getting everyone on the same page while observing Kerr from a distance. The Kings made it a 3-point play with three and a half minutes left when Kerr had seen enough and called a timeout.

In those 60 seconds, Stotts controlled the offense and made sure Sacramento never got within striking distance again. Lindy Waters III immediately hit a three coming out of the timeout. Waters extended the Warriors' lead to 11 points three minutes later, and a Reece Beckman 3-pointer with three-plus minutes left was the cherry on top that put the game out of reach, putting the Warriors up by 14 points. .

“He's very good in communication,” said Jonathan Kuminga, who scored 16 points and made four 3-pointers. “He's been a head coach and he knows what he's doing. Every time he sees something and is helping us on the offensive end. He's just trying to communicate as much as possible there.

“It's definitely helping us.”

Kerr and Stotts coached opposite each other for seven seasons, seeing each other in the playoffs three times – all of which ended in favor of the Warriors. As soon as, combining forces is the perfect offensive creation by the two that these Warriors are warmly embracing.

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