Jimmy Butler Has Saved the Warriors

Prior to the trade deadline, the Golden State Warriors were 25-26 and slightly outside of the Play-In picture.

All hope of competing for a championship in the West was pretty much lost and the chances of making a playoff push were fading.

This all changed when the Golden State Warriors acquired six-time All-Star and two-time Eastern Conference Finals Champion Jimmy Butler in hopes of saving the season.

And it looks like he has.

Jimmy Butler’s Impact

With Jimmy Butler in the lineup, the Warriors have gone 9-1 and Butler has averaged 16.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game.

During this span, the Warriors have had the second best defensive rating in the NBA at 107.2 — the fourth-best offense in the league at a 120.5 offensive rating — and are third in the NBA in net rating at 13.3. Butler is producing very solid numbers across the board while still trying to acclimate to NBA game shape and learning the Golden State system on the fly.

Despite this small sample size, Butler has proven to be a great fit and a perfect complementary star next to Stephen Curry that he hasn’t quite had since playing with Kevin Durant in the 2018-19 season.

Another issue that has plagued the Warriors this season is their inability to get to the free-throw line and convert. The Warriors attempt 21.0 free throws per game placing them 25th in the NBA, and 29th in free-throw percentage at 74.6%.

Butler has fixed these issues.

Since Butler joined the Warriors, they rank ninth in the NBA in attempting 23.5 free throws per game while holding the league’s best free throw percentage at 84.9%. This is the Jimmy Butler effect that provides a new dimension to Golden State, which they have been desperately seeking.

Jimmy Butler in the Non-Curry minutes

A major issue that has plagued Golden State this season and other ones prior is the non-Curry minutes.

Once again, Jimmy Butler has fixed these issues. The Warriors’ five-man unit to open the second and fourth quarters — Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody, Butler, Draymond Green, Quinten Post — are a +58.3 in efficiency differential and are scoring on a whopping 141.3 points per 100 possessions played.

Butler has anchored these non-Curry lineups through his ability to put pressure on the rim, be a playmaker for his teammates, and get to the free-throw line. With Butler’s emergence, Golden State has new life in the Wild West.