The Golden State Warriors are rolling. They are 8-2 in their last 10 games and have only lost one game with Jimmy Butler in the lineup. The vibes are great in Golden State, but they have yet to face many true tests with their revitalized squad. The Butler trade has been a great success so far. Butler came onto the Warriors guns blazing but hasn’t seemed as eager to hunt shots in their last few games. However, if the Warriors are going to have a legitimate shot at making another finals run, Butler is going to have to get more aggressive on the offensive end.
The Warriors Need Jimmy Butler to Make This Adjustment ASAP
Jimmy Butler’s Shot Attempts Are Down
Butler came onto the Warriors and pretty quickly took over as their second offensive option. That role was one the Warriors have been needing to fill for a long time. Over his first five games in a Warriors’ uniform, Butler averaged 13.2 shots per game, scoring 20 or more points in his first three games. This was the exact production that the Warriors were hoping for when they traded for Butler.
Then, all of a sudden, his field goal attempts dipped dramatically. Over his last four games, Butler has failed to get even ten shots from the field in one game. Although this drop in attempts hasn’t resulted in losses for the Warriors, it could be an issue down the road.
It seems like the Warriors have already seen both sides of the Butler coin. He has always been the type of player whose play varies quite a bit from month to month or even night to night. Butler has been given the moniker “Playoff Jimmy” because of his drastically different play when the lights are the brightest.
Butler has, however, seemingly taken the regular season less and less seriously over the last few seasons. Especially this season, his effort on the court with the Heat even got him suspended. In his 25 games with the Heat this year, he was only shooting 10.5 shots a game. He is currently shooting 10.8 a game for the Warriors.
The Warriors’ Jimmy Butler Experiment Is Working
Regardless of his low-shot attempts, the Butler trade is looking like a great success. The Warriors have been able to survive the games where Butler takes more of a backseat, but that may not always be the case. In reality, against the best teams in the league, Buddy Hield, Brandin Podziemski, and Draymond Green can’t be taking more shots than Butler. They all did on Monday night.
The good thing is that once the playoffs come around, Butler becomes a different beast. In the playoffs, Butler’s attempts skyrocket to 15.6 attempts per game for his career. During his finals run with the Heat in 2023, he was averaging over 20 attempts per game.
When more important games come up on the Warriors’ schedule, they need “Playoff Jimmy.” If he doesn’t show up in that way, the Warriors may be asking for “Play-In Jimmy” to save them.
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