With Steph Curry sidelined, the ball is in Jimmy Butler’s court

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MINNEAPOLIS — The Warriors are going to have to lean into the defense Steve Kerr believes is the best in the league, they say. Everyone has to step up given the circumstances, they believe. They’ll have to play like they did in Game 1, with heart, grit and cohesiveness.

All true. But the reality is, the Warriors’ only shot to survive with Steph Curry sidelined due to a Grade 1 hamstring strain is if Jimmy Butler can be truly great. 

Curry sustained the injury in the second quarter of Golden State’s Game 1 victory in Minnesota and will be re-evaluated next Wednesday — ruling him out for at least Games 2, 3 and 4 of the Western Conference semifinals. Stealing Game 1 on the road buys the Warriors some critical time, but Butler will likely have to lead Golden State to a win in one of the next three games to create an opportunity for a possible Curry return. 

“We’re absolutely going to rely on Jimmy, like we have when Steph’s been off the floor the last couple months,” Kerr said on the Warriors’ off-day before Game 2. “We basically run everything through Jimmy in those moments. So he’ll take on more responsibility.” 

This isn’t why the Warriors traded for Butler. They acquired him to be Curry’s co-star. But having “Playoff Jimmy” as insurance in case of emergency could turn into a bonus benefit.

As Kerr mentioned, the Warriors play through Butler when Curry is off the court. With Butler on the court and Curry off, the Warriors have been impressive. Golden State often isolates Butler, who rarely turns the ball over. Units featuring just Butler are also often defensive-oriented.

According to Databallr, lineups with Butler but not Curry have an 8.6 net rating. It’s a small sample size, but it matches how the Warriors played for the final three quarters of Game 1. 

Butler isn’t a high-usage player and certainly prefers it that way. But in the playoffs, he’s capable of amping it up, especially when he senses his team needs a scoring punch. 

In 2020, Butler carried the Heat to the NBA Finals. During that run, he averaged 22.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game. Butler dropped 40 points in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semis against Milwaukee and again poured in 40 in the Finals against the Lakers (plus 35 in his iconic, exhausted Game 5). 

He again put Miami on his back three years later, exploding for a career-high 56 points in a Round 1 win and averaging 26.9 points in the playoffs. Across the 2020 and 2023 runs, Butler played 43 games and reached double-digit free throw attempts in 17 of them. 

The Warriors need a little of that magic. Even just for one game to extend the series long enough for Curry to return. 

“Jimmy’s capable of carrying a team,” Draymond Green said. “He carried a team to the Finals twice. We won’t panic.” 

It’s not like those Miami teams were juggernauts. Bam Adebayo was Butler’s best teammate, and Green is a comparable analog. Tyler Herro supplied secondary scoring, and Brandin Podziemski could supply similar bursts on his best days (Podziemski scored 26 points in Game 4 against Houston). Caleb Martin’s annual spring tradition was to practically turn into prime Tracy McGrady, and the Warriors will need role players of similar caliber to elevate their games (paging Jonathan Kuminga?). 

When the Warriors first acquired Butler, the coaching staff took a peek at tape from his Heat days. Miami ran a similar offense to the Warriors, predicated on off-ball screens to blend with Butler’s isolation game. 

It’d probably be worthwhile to revisit that film now. 

“No question, we have to look at different ways to attack tomorrow,” Kerr said. “There’s a lot of different options. Lineup combinations (are) really important, who we put out on the floor. We’ve got to sort through everything.” 

To effectively run offense through Butler, spacing is key. Kerr and the Warriors constantly preach about it. 

Here’s an example from Game 1 of poor spacing. The lineup is Butler, Podziemski, Kuminga, Buddy Hield and Kevon Looney. That group is light on outside shooting, and the Kuminga-Butler tandem has been clunky. 

Kuminga drives against Julius Randle from the wing into the paint, but doesn’t have an outlet when he gets cut off because both Looney and Butler are occupying the dunker spot. To make matters worse, Hield is cutting through the lane, meaning Podziemski is the only Warrior along the perimeter. The Warriors need to be both more intentional with who they attack and how to organize themselves when they do. Butler and Kuminga like to operate in similar spots on the floor, which complicates matters. 

Here’s an example of better spacing. The Warriors are clinging to a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter, trying to stave off Minnesota’s run. Butler senses an opportunity to attack Rudy Gobert from the perimeter. Gobert, a four-time Defensive Player of the Year, is an excellent defender, but any center trying to stay in front of Butler is going to have a tough time when he has his mind set on getting downhill. 

The Warriors’ spacing puts Gobert on an island, preventing Minnesota help defenders from crashing into the paint. Jaden McDaniels is late rotating over because he’s worried about Hield in the weak-side corner, and Butler driving baseline prevents Naz Reid from packing the paint from one pass away. 

“It’s all about spacing for us,” Looney said. “He has spots he wants us to be in to help him create shots for himself and others. So we want to be in the right spots, making the right cuts. He’s going to do all the hard parts for us, all we’ve got to do is finish or make the open shots. It’s pretty easy playing with him, we’ve just got to make sure we get to our spots.” 

Offense is much easier when Curry is on the court. Butler and everyone with eyes knows that. But generating quality possessions with Butler as the focal point is far from impossible. It’ll require a superstar-level performance — and endurance — from Butler, quality spacing, and a mind meld of timely cuts and screens. Hot 3-point shooting and easy buckets in transition might be necessary, too. 

Green will have to initiate more offense, Podziemski will have to rediscover his jumper, Hield will have to stay in the zone, and Pat Spencer might even have to reprise his Game 1 role as the aggressive backup point guard. 

“Everybody’s got to figure out how we’re going to approach the game, what adjustments we’ll make from last game,” Looney said. “It’s going to be a completely different style out there on the court. So everybody’s getting their mind ready. The rotation’s going to be different.

“Everything’s going to be a little different.”