Steph believes Buddy will give the Warriors a “seamless transition” from Klay, who was originally featured on NBC Sports Bay Area

Buddy Hield made a splash in his Warriors regular-season debut on Wednesday night, sinking five 3-pointers in Golden State’s 139-104 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

It was a welcome sight for Steph Curry, who believes Hield can close the team’s points gap created by Klay Thompson’s departure to the Dallas Mavericks this offseason.

“Without Klay, you have to shoot, but we still had to shoot,” Curry told reporters after the game (h/t Anthony Slater of The Athletic). “Me and (Hield) were one and two (in 3-point shooting), and Klay is right there shooting threes for the last eight years, so we know what (Hield’s) skills are, we know what’s for he is capable.”

“So far the transition has been very seamless.”

Hield brings what the Warriors miss most from Thompson – 3-point shooting. Thompson was the Warriors’ second-leading scorer last season behind Curry. But in Hield, Golden State gained a player who has made 1,322 three-pointers over the last five seasons, the most in the NBA, and his new teammate Curry is second with 1,264 in that span.

That was evident on Wednesday night when Hield scored 22 points on 8 of 12 shooting from the field and 5 of 7 from 3-point range. Curry, meanwhile, was the Warriors’ third-leading scorer against the Trail Blazers with 17 points on 4 of 10 shooting from the field and 3 of 7 from long range, behind Andrew Wiggins with 20 points and four 3-pointers.

One of general manager Mike Dunleavy’s main goals this offseason was to get Curry some scoring help, and while the Warriors haven’t signed a star like Paul George or Lauri Markkanen, Hield’s skills appear to be sufficiently acquired in one game.

Hield told reporters after the game that he hadn’t felt this free playing basketball since he played college basketball at Oklahoma. And it’s clear Curry is happy to have Hield’s free-spirited play on the Warriors’ side now, especially after the loss in Thompson.

“He is of this world. He loves this game,” Curry told reporters at Hield (h/t 95.7 The Game). “He is happy that he can play in a system in which he feels comfortable. …

“I know he played against us for years… being on the other side is demoralizing for a team, but now he can still contribute, so it’s a cool experience for him.”

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