Buddy Hield shares thoughts on coming off the bench

Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse made an interesting decision before the team took on the New York Knicks on Sunday. Nurse decided that he wanted Buddy Hield to come off the bench. Hield is typically a starter, but he ended up playing well off the bench. He had 16 points on 6/9 shooting and the 76ers won 79-73.

It was likely a little bit surprising for Buddy Hield to hear that he was coming off the bench, but it certainly didn’t have a negative impact on his game. Nick Nurse thought that Hield needed a change.

“I just felt like he needed a different look tonight, right?” Nurse said after the game, according to an article from USA Today. “Just something to get him going. Game plans have been pretty focused on him. Sometimes when you can hide guys on the bench a little bit, you can sneak them in there and get them going. So it’s good. We do that with Kelly (Oubre Jr.) sometimes too, right? Just again, just a change of scenery.”

Hield didn’t really get much of a warning that he was coming off the bench, but he embraced it and he didn’t have any complaints. The 76ers won, and that’s what matters. 

“Right before tip,” Hield said in regards to finding out he was coming off the bench. “Nick told me and it’s not starting all the time. Once I go there and get quality minutes and help this team win, that’s all that matters. I come in and played my role and I know what I’m here to do and I did it tonight and it was fun.”

The 76ers got the win and Hield played well coming off the bench. We’ll if this trend continues down the stretch of the regular season as there is just a little over a month before the postseason.

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