When the Golden State Warriors traded for Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green was confident in his team’s chance to compete. At the All-Star weekend, he stated that his team would win the championship this year. And with each and every game, they seem more confident than ever. While Butler was having a down regular season scoring compared to previous years, again and again in the playoffs, he puts on the Playoff Jimmy cape and comes up big.
Draymond Green Praises Playoff Jimmy Performance
Speaking with ESPN after the game, Draymond Green praised Playoff Jimmy again. He talked about the way Butler plays in the playoffs after Game 1. And now, with the Warriors having a chance to go up 3-1, Jimmy showed up again. Draymond said,
“It was huge. We needed him to come up big for us. Playoff Jimmy showed up. We needed him out there. He saved our season.”
In the fourth quarter, with teams struggling to score, Butler scored 14 points, more than half of the entire team. Green then talked about how could the Warriors finish the series in five games, saying,
“That is a tough team. They play hard. They are a proud team. They have a very proud coach. It’s going to be tough going there to close them out. But this is not our first rodeo. We know what it takes to get it done.”
With the Warriors being a veteran team, they need all the rest they can get. They have four players playing more than 30 minutes, with Steph averaging 39.3 minutes per game this series. Green averages 33 minutes. They would love to finish the job in Houston so that they can get extra days for rest before the next series.
The Warriors Have to Be Cautious
The Golden State Warriors have been on both sides of a 3-1 lead in the playoffs. They have come back and won, and they have led 3-1 and lost the series. Fun fact: both came during the 2016 NBA playoffs. They came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder with Kevin Durant. In the Finals, they led 3-1 against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, only to lose in seven games.
While they lead the Houston Rockets right now, the reality is that it hasn’t been a cakewalk. They could easily be down 3-1. The series now shifts to Houston, and the Warriors should look to close it out so that they can get a few more days of rest.
Playoff Jimmy Arrived Earlier for GSW
If we look at Butler’s stats from the last several games, he switched to playoff mode earlier this year. The Golden State Warriors definitely needed him. With the Warriors fighting for playoff seeding, Jimmy delivered great performances in the last few games of the regular season, and then in the playoffs.
Against the Clippers, in the last game of the season, Jimmy played 48 minutes in an overtime loss. He scored 30 points on 60% shooting from the floor. In the play-in against the Memphis Grizzlies, Butler scored 38 points to go along with seven rebounds and six assists on 60% shooting. In the first game against the Rockets, which the Warriors won to steal homecourt, Jimmy played 42 minutes, scored 25 points, grabbed seven rebounds, dished six assists, and got five steals. Again, he was efficient, shooting 52.6% from the floor.
The Warriors will need Jimmy to continue this stretch of basketball. If they pass the Houston Rockets, they will likely face the Minnesota Timberwolves, who lead the Lakers 3-1.
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