Five reasons Buddy Hield is perfect for the New Orleans Pelicans

3. Can attack off the dribble

The Stephen Curry comparisons are fairly unavoidable with Hield, given the volume and accuracy of his shooting. Those comparisons are mostly overblown as he doesn’t come close to matching the breadth of Curry’s offensive game, at least right now. Although he can find the open man, Hield is not a distributor and doesn’t look to have much of a future as a complementary ball-handler. His somewhat average speed and quickness means he doesn’t always have an easy time turning the corner around a screen and he doesn’t have advanced ball-handling to beat anyone in isolation.

However, he became quite adept this past season at using the threat of his shooting to get himself into the teeth of the defense. He’s very good at attacking closeouts, with a good sense of when he’s better off passing on a jumpshot to try and get to the rim. His drives are mostly straight lines but he can exploit a leaping or off-balance defender and he shot a robust 56 percent in the paint this season, according to Draftexpress. That number is incredibly important because team’s are going to adjust to his shooting. The fact that he can counter by getting himself to the rim on an overplay, and finish efficiently bodes well for his overall offensive future.

Next: 2. Can become a capable defender