Jimmy Butler: “There’s ways I can give people the ball… that’s on me to do that more often”

[PHX-GSW videos/interviews/transcripts]

Good win in that’s-more-like-it fashion, finally, for the Warriors. We’ll remember the first quarter for the blown pick-and-roll coverages and more turnovers, although Golden State scrapped to get some possessions back, so the points off turnovers disparity wasn’t quite Groundhog Day from 48 hours ago in Phoenix.

In the second quarter, Will Richard gave the Dubs a shot in the arm, as Buddy Hield chalked up his first DNP since 2023, a span of 195 games played, straight, per Sam Gordon of the SF Chronicle, via Warriors PR (probably). Hield, who was challenged by Steve Kerr about two weeks ago…

…had committed two costly turnovers in limited action during his stint off the bench in Phoenix Thursday night, so it was a combination of a punishment and, per Kerr on this postgame podium, the fact that Richard hadn’t played in three games even though he’d done nothing wrong to be benched.

It was kinda neat to see Jimmy Butler setting high ball screens for one Wardell Stephen Curry at the start of the game. It’s important not to lose him in the shuffle like what happened against Minnesota and Portland. Best to get him involved early. What better way than to do that with action with Steph.

With about ten-and-a-half minutes to go in the third, Jimmy put the Warriors up for the first time since very early Q1, with a line drive “hand grenade” three, perhaps sparked previously by Steph penetrating and drawing three Suns, finding Butler for a dunk baseline.

Jimmy got another dunk via Curry gravity, Richard scored nine straight points on a reverse layup and-one sandwiched between threes fed by Jimmy and Pat Spencer stealing a rebound from Oso Ighodaro. The 29-20 third quarter set Golden State up well for the final frame.

With Gui Santos starting Q4 and providing the usual “ener-gui”, the Warriors’ offense found Jimmy in mismatches as Gui hit an open three thanks to Jamaree Bouyea finding himself guarding Butler in the post. That gave Golden State an 11-point lead with seven minutes to play.

That was enough of a cushion to close out as Steph had a usual dagger late, but the Warriors closed things out with a Steph to Gary Payton II to Jimmy tic-tac-toe for an insurmountable 115-110 lead with under a minute to play.

So, a concerted effort, especially the “donut” substitution pattern, as coined by Kelenna Azubuike, for Curry in the fourth quarter. He exited with 30 minutes played ant the eight-minute mark of Q4 and came back in with about five-and-a-half-minutes to go.

Said Butler:

Got the ball more, if I’m being brutally honest. So I was able to attack. That was it. Shoot the ball when I’m open, as always, pass it when I’m not, as always. That’s the route to success.

I still think there’s ways I can give people the ball (when there’s not proper spacing). I can get into the action. That’s on me to do that more often than not, but I think we’re moving in the right direction.

I just feel like if I’m in the option, even if I don’t get the ball, I feel like the defense has to react, maybe not as much as they gotta react to Steph, but maybe they gotta react a little bit.

Below are some videos and, behind the paywall, transcripts. I’ll have the Curry interview up later, and talk about his defense and me campaigning/clamoring for him to get some All-Defense votes for the first time ever.

Might also do a quickie write-up on Kerr not being happy with the Draymond Green double-tech especially after the “bush league” punch, as Steph put it postgame in Phoenix, by Dillon Brooks. I’ll explain why this weirdness of a player who punches somebody deliberately doesn’t get ejected, while another player who yells expletives at a ref does, happens in a regime — a referee infrastructure — ruled over by an uber-capitalist-but-non-actual-basketball-aficionado Adam Silver.

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