Starting 1-of-8, Kerr misses Thompson, and Hield really can't play hard

Today the Warriors host the Rockets. Curry and Green are both sidelined. In the end, they defeated the Rockets 99-93 to stop their recent losing streak. Kerr changed his starting lineup for this game. Hield entered the starting XI today. And his individual performance after entering the starting line was not satisfactory, scoring only 5 points on 1-of-8 shooting from beyond the three-point line in the game, and the reason why the Warriors won today was due to the individual ability of Wiggins and Kuminga.

Wiggins and Kuminga combined for 56 points today were key to the Warriors' victory. And Hield came to the starting line-up today, and it was clear that they were under more defensive pressure. The defensive strategy adopted by the Rockets is not to let Hield shoot, because they know very well that the Warriors' most accurate point after the absence of Curry is Hield, so it is difficult for Hield to get too good offensive opportunities today.

Hield is the type of player who needs open space to score consistently, and he is not very good at shooting against defense and shooting with the ball. When he faces defense, his shooting percentage drops severely, including when attacking with the ball. So he's a player with a relatively one-dimensional attacking style. And he is not a particularly tall player, so it is difficult for him to play well when opponents focus on restricting him.

So it's hard for the Warriors to rely on Hield when they really play some strong teams. You'll find that most of Hield's poor performances this season have come against strong teams. At this stage, we can almost say that Hield is a regular-season player. Maybe it's hard for him to play consistently when he gets to the playoffs. Because the difference in his performance against different levels of defense is really huge.

After Hield's very good performance at the beginning of the season, many fans even bluntly said that he could completely replace Thompson. But there are also many fans who are upset with Thompson, who believe that even if Thompson has dropped significantly at his current and peak levels, he is still better than Hield.

Because Thompson is a more well-rounded player, if Hield can't hit three-pointers on the court, then his role is negative, and Thompson's ability on the defensive end is much better than Hield, and Thompson has the ability to shoot against the opponent when facing strong teams, and he is also very good at this shooting style in his career.

Hield's performance at the beginning of the season did surprise many fans, but as the schedule progressed, his performance became more and more disappointing to the fans. Overall, Hield is a player who can't be compared to Thompson. That's why many teams didn't want Hield in the offseason, and why the 76ers chose to drop him. Maybe Kerr misses Thompson very much at the moment. Because even if Thompson is sometimes inconsistent on the offensive end, his defensive ability is still a few notches better than Hield. So when it comes to critical moments, Thompson can still be used as a diversion point and can still contribute defense on the court, while Hield does not have such an ability at the moment. So the Warriors don't expect too much from Hield. He was able to put up some good performances in the regular season, and the fans were satisfied.