Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler’s showing against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday was maybe overshadowed by guard Stephen Curry’s 52-point outburst, but the 35-year-old newcomer put together quite an impressive performance himself.
From a scoring standpoint, Butler was dominant, as he dropped 27 points while shooting 7-of-11 from the floor, 1-of-2 from deep and 12-of-12 from the charity stripe. He also contributed six rebounds, four assists and three steals in a game the Warriors won by nine points to pick up their third win in a row.
After Butler stuffed the stat sheet against one of the better teams in the Western Conference, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr gloated that Butler, who was traded to the team in February, saved Golden State’s season.
Kerr said Jimmy Butler saved Golden State’s season: “Everybody knows that. You watch what he did tonight — 12 for 12 from the line. Steph goes off the floor. We’re running everything through him. Just a big-time defender. Big-time two way player.”
— Sam Gordon (@BySamGordon) April 2, 2025
Kerr’s assertion doesn’t seem all that hyperbolic when factoring in Golden State’s record this season with Butler in the lineup.
Butler has played 23 games with the Warriors organization, and the team has an unbelievable 19-4 record in those matchups. That record equates to a winning percentage of .826, and the Oklahoma City Thunder are the only team in the league with a higher winning percentage overall this season.
The Warriors have been rolling of late, and so has Butler’s former team, the Miami Heat. Miami has won every one of its last five contests and earned a blowout victory over the Washington Wizards in its most recent game.
But Miami’s recent stretch of play aside, the team has struggled to adjust to life without Butler leading the way. The Heat are well below the .500 mark on the season with a record of 34-41 and endured a lengthy losing streak last month (10 games), which marked the longest losing streak of head coach Erik Spoelstra’s tenure leading the Heat.
The winning streak has been a nice change. The Heat will try to win their sixth game in a row when they take on the defending champion Boston Celtics on Wednesday. Boston is riding a lengthy winning streak of its own at nine games, and the Celtics own the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with a record of 56-19.
