How Everyone Got Their Groove Back
It Feels Good
Warriors 36-28, 6th place Western Conference
Wizards 13-49, 15th place Eastern Conference
When we last talked about this, a little over a month ago, the Warriors were in 11th place, out of the play-in tournament and trending downward. Vibes were off. Energy was low. Enter Jimmy Butler. We are 11-2 in the Jimmy Butler Era (11-1 when Butler is playing). And yes, I’m saying We because it does feel like something we are all a part of. Jimmy changed all of our vibes. This is a pic from his first game with the Warriors.
Which leads me straight into singing/paraphrasing “who can turn the team on with his smile? Who can take a nothing game and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile?”
Here’s the other side of the pic. Steph, joyous, mischievous and more importantly, with that look in his eye. We’ve seen it before. The look when Steph knows before anyone else does that something has changed. He can see the future.
Here’s another pic, from a few games later. A brief reminder that Podz had been having a season that was somewhere between disappointing and disastrous when he went out with an abdominal injury in late January. He was playing better on his return but still playing tentatively and way too much in his head. Enter Jimmy Butler.
What is happening?!? Jimmy has made the starters breath a sigh of relief, and he has turned the non-Steph minutes and those players into a band of scrappy joyful, well…warriors. Jimmy Butler is the secret ingredient we all needed. And I say We because I needed it too. (For selfish reasons, primarily - I’ve been a Jimmy Butler fan and now it is ever so much easier to watch him play, possibly for the next few years but at least for now).
And here’s the scary part. Butler isn’t even playing that well yet. He hasn’t had any huge scoring nights or any games where he takes over. Those will come but they aren’t here yet.
Butler has the ability to make all the players around him better. Even when Jimmy isn’t scoring, opposing teams still have to treat him as an offensive threat, which makes more room for everyone else. Butler does the little things on the floor - gets deflections, gets the hockey assist (the pass before the pass) - that aren’t in the box score. And when he does all those things as the $160 million star, then every younger player is going to do that too.
Another way to say this is that every game has been a Jimmy Butler game because the Warriors were losing all these games before he arrived. We have yet to see the kind of Butler game we are used to where Jimmy puts the team on his back and drags them to a win. We might not need to. On the Heat, Butler was the star but now he’s got Steph, who is always going to be a bigger offensive threat. There have been a lot of early comparisons to Andre Iguodala, as a player who makes it all work. Or as Butler himself said a few days ago, “just because the play is for you doesn’t mean that you take the shot.” Butler is a catalyst.
In the Butler era, Gui Santos and Moses Moody have taken off. Moody was always playing hard but now he’s playing HARD - he’s gotten Wiggins’ defensive role, guarding the best guard/wing every night. The most recent game against the Pistons, he was up against Cade Cunningham, his former high school teammate and roommate. Moody was on the floor multiple times and scrapping for rebounds all night.
The Warriors have fewer turnovers now - Butler is not a turnover guy. In the past, when the Warriors were struggling in the 4th quarter, we’ve become used to Steph and Draymond and their ill-advised passes that sometimes make the highlight reel but more often result in turnovers. That doesn’t happen as much, or at all, when Butler’s on the floor. And Butler does a few things that that no one else on the Warriors does
Butler has said that Draymond “will pass it to you whether you are open or not”. Here’s an example in their game against Brooklyn - Dray passes to Butler who is being hooked by D’Angelo Russell, yet powers through to make the shot and get the foul.
And that’s the other thing he does - get shooting fouls. Butler has been on the team for 12 games and he already has the 5th most free throws on the team. Not only are these free points but more importantly, they are rests for Steph Curry. Curry can stay on the floor for longer because the game has stops for free throws. Pre-Jimmy the Warriors were 30th in free throw percentage. Post Jimmy they are 1st. Post Jimmy the Warriors are 2nd in offense and 2nd on defense. Post Jimmy, the Warriors are winning games even when they aren’t playing well. Post Jimmy, Steph has sat out in the 4th quarter twice.
This is real, folks. And this could be fun. This time of year is all about getting some momentum and staying healthy enough for the playoffs. As we’ve seen with the Dallas Mavericks, losing Kyrie Irving to a season-ending ACL tear, or the Knicks losing Jalen Brunson for a few weeks, an injury can change everything. If the Warriors stay healthy enough and if Kuminga comes back soon, the Warriors are dangerous. Opposing teams are not going to want to face the Dubs in the playoffs. And that’s right where we want to be. Unafraid.
Quick Note: The Wizards are doing better too, thanks to the confidence of their rooks, the style and reliability of Jordan Poole and the addition of Marcus Smart and Khris Middleton, who much like Jimmy Butler, make everyone on the floor better. The Wizards are 4-3 since Smart and Middleton joined the team.
I don’t want to sign off without mentioning Diana Taurasi’s retirement. I first watched women’s basketball with Sue Bird and UConn, but Taurasi was the one who held my attention. At 42 years old, after 20 years in the WNBA, she announced her retirement without fanfare on a weekday afternoon in the off-season. Taurasi deserves her own post, not a postscript, but until then, this fan thanks you from the bottom of my heart for your excellence, your trash talk, your determination and your joy on the court.
March Madness is right around the corner, folks. Don’t worry, I’ve been training all season for this.
The Timeout Books: (books I read during the timeouts, halftimes and commercials):
A Game At A Time Spotify Playlist (the songs that run through my head while writing this)