Loss to 76ers provides graphic proof why Warriors paid Butler

Yahoo

02-03-2025

Loss to 76ers provides graphic proof why Warriors paid Butler originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
All it took was seven barren minutes Saturday night to understand why the Warriors pursued, acquired and made an expensive two-year commitment to 35-year-old Jimmy Butler III.
They did it to bring clarity to a team whose offense went nearly three months without the slightest sign of breaking its habit of spending 12-14 minutes each game wandering through the mental fog that materializes every time Stephen Curry leaves the floor.
When Curry left the floor with 2:07 remaining in the first quarter, he joined a sidelined Butler on the bench hoping his teammates could maintain, or perhaps expand, a six-point (30-24) lead against a wounded 76ers team that had lost nine consecutive games.
The fog, absent in Butler's eight games, immediately came rolling in, leaving the Warriors disoriented enough to lose the lead and trudge out of Wells Fargo Arena with a 125-119 loss that halts their momentum and cuts deeply into the mojo generated by the post-Butler bump.
The Warriors were plus-12 in the 36 minutes Curry was on the floor – and minus-19 in the 12 minutes he rested.
'I can't play 48, obviously,' Curry told reporters in Philadelphia. 'And we should have the ability to play with confidence and put together a decent stretch. That doesn't mean you're going to win those minutes. It just means you're going to buy some time and give us an opportunity to – especially on the road – give us a chance to finish the half strong.
'It was tough to score. We had some turnovers. We did correct a little bit of that in the second half, but if you mess around with a team that's desperate like that and you give them a 16-point cushion, or whatever it was, it's hit or miss whether you can get back in the game and actually win it.'
Curry had 12 points in the first 10 minutes, and the Warriors had a six-point advantage (30-24) when he went out with 2:07 left in the first quarter. By the time Curry returned with 6:46 left in the second quarter, that lead had been converted to a five-point deficit (42-37). Outscored 18-7, the lead vanished and they never built another.
Golden State ended the first quarter with five missed shots, a turnover and not one bucket. They opened the second quarter by missing seven of nine shots and committing a turnover. Newly acquired guard Quentin Grimes drained a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer, giving the 76ers a 12-point lead and, moreover, an infusion of confidence they hadn't felt in weeks.
The Warriors? They looked as they did before Butler arrived Feb. 8 and instantly lifted their sagging spirits. Lost and uncertain. Active but unproductive. And that applies to offense and defense.
Brandin Podziemski, who benefits greatly from Butler's presence, strayed from his assured approach and seemed profoundly unsettled. In 25 minutes, he scored five points on 2-of-8 shooting from the field, including 0 of 3 from deep, and finished a team-worst minus-16.
Moses Moody, also thriving since Butler's arrival, scored 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting, including 2 of 4 from distance, and finished minus-10.
Draymond Green missed four layups and still finished with 13 points, eight rebounds, eight assists – and a team-high four turnovers.
The absence of Butler left too many Warriors grasping for their games and catching futility. They missed 14 shots considered layups by the NBA. The point-of-attack defense was poor, there were lapses in transition and they also reverted to overhelping and failing to read opposing personnel. Philly, 24th in 3-point shooting at 34.6 percent, shot 57.6 percent beyond the arc.
With a chance to escape the NBA play-in tournament box and move into sixth place in the Western Conference, they looked like the team that was in 10th place three weeks ago.
And they can only hope Butler heals quickly, because coach Steve Kerr is committed to being careful with Curry's minutes.
'We've got three games in four nights,' Kerr said. 'I can't play him 40 minutes. I don't really want to play him much more than 34 or 35, but he ended up around 36. We shortened his rest in the second [half]. We were a little desperate and hanging in there, and we had a shot, so we went for it.'
The Warriors managed to tie the game twice, the last 116-116 with 2:01 remaining, but were outscored 8-3 inside the final two minutes.
Butler had been the cure to this malady. He connected the game for Podziemski and Moody, allowed Green space to minimize his weaknesses and ride his assets. Butler also allowed Curry's pulse, racing from late-November into February, to operate at a level closer to normal.
The non-Curry minutes are the portions of the game when Butler's value soars. Without him, the Warriors plunged into fatal disarray.
'He does everything,' Curry said of Butler. 'We had built a good chemistry and rhythm with him. He impacts both ends of the floor. For the most part since he's been here, either one of us has been on the court at all times. Without it, it changes the rotation, and we didn't adjust well enough for 48.'
If you wonder why Golden State was desperate enough to offer a two-year, $121 million contract extension to a veteran who has missed an average of 21.7 games in each of the past three seasons, you now have the answer. They did it in hopes of saving a season run aground.
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