How the Dubs dominated with Butler, Green, Cummings

It’s been a great first week in the Bay Area as Golden State Warriors 4-1 after five games. The The Warriors’ starters dominated with a three-headed monster that includes Jimmy Butler, Draymond Greenand Jonathan Cumminga next to Stephen Curry. ESPN Warriors beat writer Anthony Slater emphasized pure dominance when all three are on the field.

“Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green and Jonathan Cummings triple combo is +37 in 74 minutes,” Slater wrote on X. “It’s a trio that the Warriors staff was hesitant to use entering the season.”

This is a pleasant surprise after all the Kumming drama in the offseason, plus the trio’s limited use last season. Together they were minus-10 in 67 minutes of the playoffs and not all of them shared the court in the regular season.

When the season started, coach Steve Kerr had only three permanent starters in his rotation, with the other two being match-based. Basically, the idea was a three-man starting lineup that featured Butler, Green and Stephen Curry. After the start of the preseason coming off the bench, Kuminga did his best and won his way into the starting line-up.

Doc Green likely won’t play center all season, rotation is currently working. It started in Game 1, when the Warriors dominated the Los Angeles Lakers 129-119. Butler led the way with 31 points on 7-for-14 shooting. In addition, Kuminga added 17 points while shooting 6-for-11. Green made his impact, adding eight points with seven rebounds and nine assists while also blocking two shots. Butler and Green were +20, while Kuminga was +4 for this game.

The trend continued against the Denver Nuggets, with Butler scoring 21 points, Kuminga adding 14, and Green finishing with 13 with eight rebounds and eight assists. Once again, all three players finished with a net positive while on the court. Kumiga led the Warriors with 25 points in a 131-118 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, while Butler added 20. Green was efficient again, with seven points and 10 rebounds.

Despite potential concerns about spacing with all three on the court at the same time, the rotation worked and put the Warriors in first place early in the season. The three will get another chance to do more as the Warriors travel to Wisconsin to play the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.