Dub Hub: Jimmy Butler ‘angered’ by lack of foul calls for Steph Curry

Rounding up all Warriors and NBA related news for Monday, April 7th.

In today’s Dub Hub:

• Jimmy Butler “angered” by the lack of foul calls for Steph Curry after Sunday’s 106-96 loss against the Rockets.
• Steph Curry jokes about heated exchange with Rockets’ head coach Ime Udoka
• Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard headline the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2025.

After the Golden State Warriors snapped their five-game winning streak with a 106-96 loss to the Houston Rockets on Sunday night, their star forward Jimmy Butler offered strong words in support of Stephen Curry — particularly regarding how referees officiate the two-time MVP.

“It really angers me that he’s on my team and he gets hacked like that,” Butler told reporters after the game.

Curry was held to just 3 points on 1-of-10 shooting and—perhaps most notably—attempted zero free throws despite being tightly guarded all night. While Curry has made a career out of navigating heavy contact and off-ball grabbing, Sunday’s outing reignited the conversation around how the NBA’s most prolific shooter is officiated.

While Butler was adamant that Curry is officiated differently than most superstars, the Warriors guard once again downplayed the discrepancy. Instead, he showed his usual composure when asked about the officiating.

For more on this and other news around the NBA, here is our latest news round-up for Monday, April 7th:

Warriors News:

Steph Curry’s Warriors and Ime Udoka’s Rockets get testy in Houston’s statement win | The Athletic

While exiting to the locker room at halftime, Curry appeared to be voicing his displeasure to officials about the way he was being defended. Udoka crossed paths with the conversation and lobbed a jab toward Curry, leading to a terse back-and-forth. Udoka, true to form, wanted all the smoke on the menu after all.

“When people start complaining about foul calls or crying about physicality, you’ve done your job,” Udoka told The Athletic when asked about the exchange with Curry. “That’s the first step in winning the battle. So I told my team, when this team starts crying about it, up the intensity, up the aggressiveness, and make the refs adjust to you.”

Are Warriors’ title hopes real? LeBron James’ reaction might be a hint | The Athletic

But that dude still hasn’t shown up. He was good against Memphis, especially in key moments. But if the Butler who dropped 56 on Milwaukee in the 2023 playoffs makes a postseason appearance? If the folk hero who was hungry enough to take 28 shots in a Game 7 win in Boston in the Eastern Conference finals that year pulls up alongside Curry? Yeah, that’s why James had that look.

Steph Curry jokes about heated exchange with Rockets’ coach Ime Udoka

Draymond shares blunt response to Flagrant 1 foul in Warriors’ loss | NBC Sports Bay Area

“I mean, the Flagrant call, I don’t know what to do,” Green told reporters after the game. “Go duck? Don’t go up for the layup?”

Green received his third Flagrant foul of the 2024-25 NBA season in the third quarter of Sunday’s game after he went up for a layup and made contact with Rockets center Alperen Şengün’s face. While it appeared the contact was justified and unintentional as part of Green’s shot process, officials ruled otherwise after a short review of the play.

Reggie Miller congratulates Steph Curry for passing him on the NBA’s All-Time scoring list

NBA News:

2025 NBA Playoffs: Standings, bracket and clinching updates | NBA

Rockets beat Warriors, now 1 win away from clinching No. 2

Lakers build 1.5-game lead for No. 3 with victory against Thunder

Nuggets lose to Pacers, stay at No. 4 and lead a group of 4 teams tied in standings by just 1/2 game

Warriors drop into 4-team tie from No. 5 through No. 8 after loss to Rockets

Kings beat Cavaliers, move 1/2 game ahead of Mavericks for No. 9

Suns fall 2.5 games behind No. 10 Mavericks after loss to Knicks

Trail Blazers eliminated with Kings’ win

Spurs eliminated with loss to Trail Blazers

How Nikola Jokic quietly became a defensive analytics darling | ESPN

Indeed, in recent years no one in the NBA has stopped the game more by kicking the ball than Jokic. Since the start of 2020, the superstar has been whistled for a whopping 127 kicked-ball violations, between his regular-season and postseason games. In the 2022-23 season alone, Jokic logged 56 kicked balls; more than any other team did. For perspective, the league’s next-closest player, Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic, has recorded just 66 kicked-ball violations total since the start of 2020.

Aside from the sheer wildness of those numbers — or the fact that Jokic is extremely balanced, having committed 67 violations with his right foot and 60 with his left — is the idea that the center has essentially found a cheat code on defense. In being able to time the plays perfectly, Jokic can effectively press pause and short-circuit the opposing team’s offense whenever he feels like it, forcing a possession to restart.

Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard headline Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2025

In case you missed it at Golden State of Mind:

On Draymond Green putting out fires for Steph Curry to start them

Additionally, the mistake most casual observers make when it comes to evaluating Green’s defense is zeroing in on only one aspect — particularly, individual matchups. Even the greatest and most elite defenders, past and present, have fallen victim to elite offensive scorers and focal points; Green is no different. However, Green’s true value on defense isn’t measured by how much he limits his matchups; rather, it’s how disruptive he can be to an opposing team’s offensive scheme, especially when the situation calls for it and when the team needs him to be clutch.

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