The Golden State Warriors looked dead in the water through the first half of the season, but they were given new life by the acquisition of Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline. It’s amazing to think that Butler was one of the biggest stories of the NBA season for being such a malcontent in Miami, but now he’s a key piece on a team with real title aspirations just a few months later.
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The Warriors are up 3-1 on the second seed Rockets after last night’s 109-106 win, one game away from a possible Western Conference semis matchup with the Timberwolves, who have a 3-1 lead of their own against the Lakers. Butler returned for Game 4 after missing the previous game with a pelvic contusion that he suffered from a scary-looking fall in Game 2, and his 27 points, five rebounds, and six assists were key in helping the Dubs get the dub.
First Take spoke about Butler’s impact on the Warriors this morning, though in typical fashion, they managed to twist things so that they were comparing which Warrior was more important to the team’s title chances: Butler or Draymond Green?
Stephen A. Smith went with Draymond, citing his irreplaceable defense. “Whatever [Butler’s] not doing can be offset by a Steph Curry explosion. What can’t be offset is when you have no defense whatsoever. [The Warriors] are undersized, everybody knows that, but going up against Draymond Green, obviously that’s going to have a profound impact.”
Stephen A. is right to praise Draymond’s defense. Though his late campaign for Defensive Player of the Year fell short to Evan Mobley, Draymond’s impact on that end of the court is still undeniable. Against a team like the Rockets that doesn’t have a strong offensive identity, he can wreak havoc all over the court.
The Warriors wouldn’t be where they are right now without Jimmy Butler
What Stephen A. left out, and what his fellow debaters Monica McNutt and Carlos Boozer helpfully pointed out, is that the Warriors were going nowhere this season until Butler arrived in the trade from Miami. The Warriors were 10th in the West when they acquired Butler, and have since become one of the hottest and most dangerous teams in the league.
Steph Curry has a renewed bounce in his step since Butler arrived, and so, for that matter, does Draymond. It’s not like Butler is a slouch on the defensive end, either, because he’s done a tremendous job of holding Jalen Green down in this series. Unlike Draymond, though, he can fill it up on the offensive end.
The Warriors were able to win Game 3 without Butler, but they won’t be able to sustain a long postseason run if he’s not in the lineup. We’ve seen what that team looks like this year, and it isn’t pretty. It certainly isn’t good enough to hang with the Wolves, Thunder, or any of the other top contenders.
Butler’s new teammates love him. It’s evident in the way they all interact with him and talk about him to the press, and in the way he says that he’s gotten his joy back since coming to Golden State. Draymond spoke about what a warrior he was after his 14-point fourth-quarter helped Golden State eke out the win.
“He played through the injury. Was beautiful. But what his presence does for this team is humongous. The first three quarters, he couldn’t move. Not sure how he started moving in the fourth quarter, but he never complained. He stuck with it.”
First Take loves to stir the pot, which is exactly what they did by giving an either/or question of Butler or Draymond. The truth is that for the Warriors to have a shot at their fifth ring (and Butler’s first), they’re going to need both players operating at peak efficiency, along with the usual brilliance of Steph Curry and contributions from role players like Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody.
