SACRAMENTO -- Buddy Hield went off script following the Sacramento Kings’ 105-104 double-overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, unloading on coaches and teammates about a perceived lack of trust.
“It seems like we’re all over the place, the coaches and everybody - trust issues going on, I guess guys stop believing in players,” Hield said. “It is what it is, man. They have who they have playing out there and I just have to be supportive.”
Hield sat for all but four minutes of the fourth quarter and then only logged a little over a minute in the first overtime session. The Kings’ leading scorer has been in a shooting slump over the last five games.
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Over the stretch, Hield is averaging just 11.2 points per game on 25.6 percent from field and 23.4 percent from 3-point range on 9.4 attempts per game.
Before taking the practice court Friday, Hield apologized to his teammates and coaches in an attempt to put the situation behind him.
“He showed maturity and responsibility and addressed his teammates before we started and I was happy to see that,” coach Luke Walton said.
Basketball is an emotional sport and there is very little time between the end of a tough loss, in which Hield missed a game-winner at the buzzer, and the media entering the locker room with cameras.
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Hield still was getting dressed when reporters entered and he fielded questions. After processing the emotions of the game, he came back the next day to admit his mistake to his teammates.
“This is an emotional game,” Harrison Barnes said. “We ask teammates and players and coaches to have that passion and sometimes it boils over. I think we all know that everyone is locked in and committed towards making this team, this franchise the best that it can possibly be.”
Barnes’ sentiments were shared by Walton.
“To me, all of that stuff should be kept in house,” Walton added. “You’ve got to always understand, it’s an emotional game and I get that. I know players and coaches at times are going to speak with their emotions, but we’ve got to do a better job of keeping that in-house.”
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The Kings have lost five straight and now the injury bug is back. Both De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley underwent MRIs on Friday morning and their availability for Saturday’s matchup against the Phoenix Suns is unknown at this time.
Hopefully the apology gives Hield a fresh start. The Kings need him to regain his confidence and shooting stroke quickly or the team is in for a long couple of months.