Jimmy Butler previews Warriors offense without Steph Curry

ByNBAUSA



SAN FRANCISCO – Most Victory of the Golden State Warriors 104-96 over the rudderless New Orleans Pelicans was ugly. Very ugly.

Without Stephen Currywho will miss the next few games with a left quad contusion, the Dubs shot 2-of-22 from beyond the arc in the first half and just 25.5% from there the entire game. They entered the fourth quarter with a one-point lead and needed a late 12-0 run to put away a 3-17 team that had already fired its head coach.

However, as ugly as the Curry-less Warriors’ offense looked for much of the night, it wasn’t because Jimmy Butler he did not impose his will on the game.

The 36-year-old finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists on 7-of-15 shooting, 10-of-14 from the free throw line and a game-high +22 plus/minus. Butler went down terribly in the first halfsimilar to the one he had in the playoffs against the Rockets that left him with a pelvic contusion, a hard fall on his left arm and hip. But Butler swallowed the fall as if it never happened and led Golden State to a much-needed victory without Curry.

“I’m sure it’s going to be sore tomorrow, but yeah, I asked him what happened. I said, ‘What hurts?’ and he said, ‘Everything.’ And I said, ‘Me too, I’m 60. So it should hurt,'” Kerr joked. “But it was amazing the way he took over the game.”

Golden State turned to the star they traded for back in February of this year, putting everything through him, especially in the fourth quarter. Whenever he drew two defenders, he found someone jumping out of the dunk spot, usually Gary Payton II, who finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds. When the Dubs needed a basket, he went to the free throw line. It was a textbook Jimmy Butler-controlled game, the kind Golden State will need to lean on moving forward.

How Butler’s Game Changes to the Needs of the Curry-less Warriors

Turning to Butler with Curry set to miss at least a week while recovering from a quad contusion isn’t rocket science for the Warriors. It’s the obvious course for them – it’s the whole reason they traded for him last season.

But his performance against the Pelicans (yes, even against the lowly Pelicans), provided some blueprint for how the Warriors will try to use him. Not only to survive without an offensive powerhouse like Curry, but also to collectively pull the offense out of the funk that has plagued them for the past few weeks.

After the game, Kerr talked about what the Warriors need from Butler, and Curry is currently on the sidelines.

“Jimmy doesn’t necessarily want to shoot the ball,” Kerr said. “He prefers to play real basketball. It reminds me a lot of Andre Iguodala in that regard. He’s very principled in his approach to basketball. He wants everybody to play the right way.”

“But there are times, and tonight was one of them, when we need him to take over and attack and look at the goal. And he did that tonight. 14 free throws (attempts), 10 assists. We ran everything through him and he delivered.”

Butler had no problem putting Curry down during his tenure in Golden State. He’s a self-proclaimed “Robin” to Curry’s “Batman,” and when the two share the court, he has no problem letting Curry take the lead. But without Curry, the Dubs need him to take a few steps away from that mindset. He is the only player on the Dubs who can consistently create his own shot and create shots for others.

Kerr and the Dubs aren’t asking him to become a 30-point-per-game scorer. They’re looking for a balance of personal aggressiveness with his Iguodala-esque “principled” approach to basketball.

How the Dubs offense changes with Butler in the driver’s seat

Earlier this season, Kerr expressed how Butler allows the Warriors to play at a more deliberate and controlled pace. And while the Curry-less Warriors offense will certainly take on those traits, they will still emphasize movement. After the game, Draymond Green talked about moving off the ball to make it easier on Butler to be more aggressive.

“At first we were trying to get him that way,” Draymond explained. “But he just kept telling us to load up. So we’ve got to make some moves. (The defense is) just loaded up (on him) and when everybody else started moving around him, that’s when it opened up gaps and he was able to do what he did. Definitely, when Steph’s not there, he definitely needs to do more of that.”

Golden State specializes in running split plays whenever they put the ball in the post. They’re usually deadliest when Curry is involved, but the formula for those off-ball actions changes without him. The Warriors can still run them, but the more important off-ball movement they need to continue is cutting when Butler is driving. It sounds counterintuitive to cut back on where Butler is going, but that’s how Golden State punished the Pelicans.

Butler drew two or more defenders whenever he aggressively drove into the teeth of the defense. And whenever the guys cut, whether it was GP2, Jonathan Cumminga or Quinten Post, Butler rewarded them with an easy look. Better defense will make it harder for Butler to break the paint, but that’s the essence of the Warriors’ offense moving forward. It opens up not only for cutting guys but also for perimeter shots.

“The best 3-pointers are when you touch the paint and then shoot it,” Green said, echoing the teachings of his college coach, Tom Izzo. “In the second half, we moved the ball a lot and then attacked. And we managed to get to the paint and break down their defense a little more.”

Butler and Golden State are moving forward

Butler will have two days to nurse his body after the terrible fall. After the game, he joked that he had “a lot of cushioning in there”, before laughing that the thing he injured was “straight crap”.

Golden State will also get an update on Al Horford, who has missed the last three games with a sciatic nerve injury. And while Kuminga is back from a 7-game absence with knee tendinitis, they’ll need Horford back in the lineup with the Oklahoma City Thunder coming to town. Tuesday’s second leg marks the final home game of a five-game homestand.

Additionally, De’Anthony Melton looks on track to return very soon after rehabbing from ACL surgery. He should add some much-needed perimeter depth, especially on the defensive end. Golden State has a bit of an injury problem right now. All while trying to stay afloat with an 11-10 season in a crowded Western Conference.

But if Butler and company can hold down the fort, they’ll bring back Curry, Horford and Melton to finally turn the tables in their favor.





2025-11-30 15:18:00

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