Pacific Notes: Hield, Wiggins, Powell, LeBron

Buddy Hield was one of the best acquisitions of the summer and provided an immediate attack warrior Team that hasn't lost since preseason began, writes The Athletic's Anthony Slater. After scoring 22 points in Golden State's opener, Hield held the Jazz to 24 points in the first half on Friday night and now has 49 points in 35 minutes while shooting 12 of 16 from three-point range.

Slater points out that the Warriors' only downside was that the starting lineup didn't quite fit, despite the team's overall success. The device is oversized Jonathan Kuminga, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green And Trayce Jackson Davis line up next to it Stephen Curry. Golden State fell behind, 12-5 and 13-6, in its first two games before regaining control. trainer Steve Kerr admits there are space issues, but he plans to keep the group together because of their defensive potential.

“This unit is still learning how to play (together)” Green said. “We didn’t just have a Wiggins training camp. … Now this lineup gets a chance to get minutes together. What you'll see as we start to settle in on offense. We're coming out in the first quarter and everyone's trying to get to it: Go. Go. Go. Because we want this lineup to perform both well and poorly. Everyone is under pressure. But once we get settled in, this lineup takes over.”

There's more from the Pacific Division:

• Wiggins appears to have revived his career early in the season, observes Sam Gordon of The San Francisco Chronicle. The much-maligned forward scored 20 points on 8-for-15 shooting on the season warrior' opener and followed up with 13 rebounds on Friday night, which is a regular season record for him. “He’s off to a great start” Kevon Looney said. “…He came with a different focus. A different energy. He’s locked up and it’s good to see his hard work has paid off.”
• Norman Powell helps that Hair clippers Stay competitive while you wait Kawhi Leonard returning from injury, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Powell shot 14 of 21 from the field and scored 37 points as LA picked up its first win in Denver on Saturday. “I just focused on what the next play was, what the next reading was and really just staying in the moment.” he said. “I don’t think about how many goals I score or what happens, missed shots, made shots, good games, bad games.”
• Lakers trainer JJ Redick will support if LeBron James is serious about his goal of playing every game this season, tweets ESPN's Dave McMenamin. “Most players start a season wanting to play 82 games” Redick said. “So if he wants to do that, great. I love it. I would like to have him for 82. We will manage minutes accordingly.”