SAN FRANCISCO (AP) 鈥� Two months in and Jimmy Butler has become so comfortable with the Golden State Warriors that he is now shouting when someone takes a bad shot, or he is demanding the ball be in his hands if it has been a possession or two without having touched it.
Draymond Green, for one, is loving how Butler is taking charge 鈥� he is Playoff Jimmy after all and this is his time of year. He has earned it. He thrives on the postseason stage.
鈥淗e's different. You can just see a whole different intensity level and focus. I'm a basketball fan and so I've watched it on TV for years,鈥� Green said. 鈥淭o see it up close and personal, it's a real thing. Sometimes you get in the NBA and these guys get these nicknames and you're like, 鈥楳an, stop it.鈥� There's some other nicknames out there, they're not real. That one's real, and I'm happy he's on our side.鈥�
Butler chuckled and smiled when asked what he has been yelling lately.
鈥淵ou want me to tell you what I said?鈥� he said, 鈥�... Nah, they going to fine me.鈥�
Green gladly shared the details.
鈥淗e go a couple possessions without touching the ball, he鈥檚 going crazy right now. Like, 鈥業 have to get the ball! I have to touch the ball!鈥欌�� Green said. 鈥淪o it鈥檚 been interesting to watch the shift, as someone who has been in a million playoff series, it鈥檚 been interesting to watch this year and I鈥檓 enjoying it.鈥�
On Tuesday night, Butler helped the Warriors finally win a play-in game after going 0-3 in appearances last year and in 2021, so now he is ready to do everything he can to capture a championship and help Curry and Green bring home a fifth title.
With a few days off at last after , Golden State has some much-needed rest and recovery before traveling to Texas to take on the Rockets. Game 1 in Houston is Sunday.
鈥淚 want everybody to be happy, for sure Steph, he deserves it, what he鈥檚 done for the game of basketball not only this city and this organization,鈥� Butler said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 in it for the long haul. He wants to win. He wants to win every single game, every single possession.鈥�
Curry turned 37 last month and returning to the playoffs means so much, wrapping up his 16th NBA season after missing out in 2024.
鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to not take it for granted because we weren鈥檛 there last year,鈥� he said. 鈥淔rom 2013 to 鈥�19, we made the Finals runs but we were in the playoffs every year and a two-year stretch where we missed it and then 鈥�22 came around. It鈥檚 just a reminder that it鈥檚 not guaranteed, I don't care how talented you are.鈥�
Coach Steve Kerr felt the same way. He couldn't wait to get to work with his staff on the game plan for a Rockets team that on the Warriors' home floor April 6.
鈥淭his is what we do. I mean, this is so fun. This is the best time of the year. You know, this is Year 11,鈥� Kerr said. 鈥淢y favorite, maybe my favorite day of the season is tomorrow (Wednesday). We come in as a staff, we look at Houston tape. We start to put together our game plan. The players are resting. We鈥檝e got a couple of days before we鈥檒l see the players again. We get to go to work and try to beat a great team in a seven-game series. There鈥檚 nothing better. So I can鈥檛 wait.鈥�
Butler, Curry and Green won't be content with anything but a deep run.
Yet this hardly seemed possible mere months ago 鈥� before Butler got to town, that is.
The Warriors had begun 12-3 despite losing Klay Thompson to Dallas but then went 13-23, leaving their record at 25-26 when general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. pulled off the blockbuster trade.
鈥淥ur goal is to get to the playoffs so we can make something special happen, it's not just to get there and the job's done,鈥� Green said. 鈥淲e know what it takes to win at a high level so that's the focus.鈥�
Butler had 38 points, seven rebounds and six assists against Memphis while Curry scored 37. They hugged afterward.
Butler can鈥檛 help but be confident with Curry on his side.
鈥淗ell, I think any team has a chance when I鈥檓 on the team, but I know that every team has a chance if Steph is on the team,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o I get to play Robin. That鈥檚 my Batman, and I don鈥檛 know who else is 鈥� we got all the villains over there, Two-Face and Joker and Riddler and everybody else in the Western Conference. But we got a lot of games to win.鈥�
Before Butler even arrived to play his first game Feb. 8 after the trade from Miami, he promised Dunleavy, Kerr, Curry and Green that he would make a difference.
He knew the Warriors would make the playoffs with him.
鈥淲henever I talk to Steph and Dray and Steve and Mike before I even got here, I was telling them, I can help. Now, I don鈥檛 know in what manner that I can help, but we鈥檙e going to make the playoffs,鈥� Butler recalled. 鈥淚 feel like I can give any team, for sure this one, a chance to win, and they believe it. I believe it. And that鈥檚 all that you can ask for. Now we鈥檝e just got to go out there, execute, play our tails off, and win some more basketball games.鈥�
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AP NBA:
Janie Mccauley, The Associated Press
