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I'll admit, when he first arrived, I was struck by what a perfect fit he was: a good defender, high basketball IQ, a surprisingly good passer, and a guy who was a threat in the paint and midrange. But I've noticed something that's gradually happening and want to point it out now, while the Warriors are still winning.

It's not that Jimmy is shooting less (which he is); it's his role in the offense. I've noticed him being more and more at the 3 point line. Yes, he's struggled there and we all know he's going to be better in time. But having Butler out on the 3 point line really limits his effectiveness and threat down low, and hurts the "inside-outside" game.

In order for this team to be it's best, I think Jimmy needs to be down on the blocks, in the paint, which of course also means he gets fouled more. Also, he's become more passive in general. He has space at times but seems content to simply pass the ball around rather than putting pressure on the defense.

Just a real concern. Hope to see a change tonight against the 76ers. Come on, Jimmy. We need you to be aggressive.

And... he's out with back spasms.

Romulus wrote:And... he's out with back spasms.

Yep, that is the risk. Still seems way better that the plan A they had this summer aka Paul George

Against the Hornets, they have Jimmy taking 3s and passing when he gets the ball down low (the few times it happens). I give up.

There were no mismatches in the post against the Magic which forced him outside. Was very passive in this hornets game which is understandable since he was having back spasms. The issue with jimmys game is that he searches for contact which draws fouls. Hard to want to do that against the hornets with a bad back.

Romulus wrote:Against the Hornets, they have Jimmy taking 3s and passing when he gets the ball down low (the few times it happens). I give up.

Jimmy is playing through the back issues.

DonaldSanders wrote:

Romulus wrote:Against the Hornets, they have Jimmy taking 3s and passing when he gets the ball down low (the few times it happens). I give up.

Jimmy is playing through the back issues.

and he is +15 when he is on the floor Jimmy is fine.

cpower wrote:and he is +15 when he is on the floor Jimmy is fine.

Yeah I'm not worried about the Jimmy minutes. I think we'll see him dip into his normal bag more if his back is feeling good, hard to do a lot of what he does with a back issue. Hopefully it's getting better!

Without Jimmy, Warriors have zero...ZERO chance of getting into anything other than playin....So whatever we get from him is a plus.
As far as his role, I think he takes Daymond's role on offense....running the half court through Jimmy. I'd like to see Curry, Podz, Jimmy, Kuminga and Post as a lineup.

Jimmy's a playmaker - he's not a tunnel vision scorer, he's just had to be in spurts in the past. The way he's playing right now is why Steph and Podz have completely unlocked

Jimmy's role is to ground the offense and make winning/high IQ plays. While taking a crap ton of free throws.

Jimmy is a great screen setter and screen reader.

Take Philly Andre’s scoring demeanor.

Take GSW Andre’s glue guy demeanor.

Mix them together and thats Jimmy. With the main difference being even GSW Andre was more explosive and athletic than Jimmy… but Jimmy is stronger and more physical. Very similar role though.

TB wrote:Take Philly Andre’s scoring demeanor.

Take GSW Andre’s glue guy demeanor.

Mix them together and thats Jimmy. With the main difference being even GSW Andre was more explosive and athletic than Jimmy… but Jimmy is stronger and more physical. Very similar role though.

I've been surprised by Jimmy's strength. It's not like LeBron where he's just a massive individual, but he doesn't get pushed around and frequently does the pushing, albeit in a methodical way that you don't really notice (maybe why he does so much physical stuff with a low foul rate). He doesn't give up position and can make his own space inside. And he does it on both ends. Much needed for a team that, outside of Draymond, let's face it, has been pretty soft.

Jimmy Butler's Role On This Team?

Someone who will walk on water trying to make Kuminga a team player.

Butler's 35 which is older, but he keeps his body in great shape year-round and his type of game should age very well deep into his 30s although he might be able to play as long as he can deal with the punishment his body takes but so far in Golden State Butler's only been in facilitating mode. I've not seen Butler in scoring mode yet in Golden State and it seems like he's trying to figure out his teammate's strengths and weaknesses, so he'll know what the right play is when he does go into scoring mode. Knowing things like should he force the shot if Hield or Moody are open at the 3pt line (we already know the answer with Curry at the 3pt line)? I don't think his legs are the problem with him not trying to be a scorer because Butler may be in the top 1% of players keeping themselves in shape year-round. Butler has been engaged for the most part on the defensive end which him and Draymond's defensive IQ can help cover up a lot of issues.

As long as you keep seeing Butler take set shot 3s, he's probably not in scoring mode, when he's in scoring mode he's taking jump shots which helps his shot greatly. He's tried adding the 3pt set shot in the last few years to help space the floor because before he'd only be a threat to attack if open from the 3pt line. The effort level is what goes up in the playoffs for Butler hence Playoff Jimmy but it's very taxing on his body hence the reason he tries not to do that in the regular season.

What's interesting about Butler to me, anyone his size with decent NBA athletic ability can do what he does if they're willing to put in the same amount of work on their skills and giving the effort level Butler gives.

Butler's 56 point playoff game vs Giannis less than 2 years ago (Butler 17 points in the last 4:51 left and down by 8)

Little known fact, Butler, not MJ, holds the Chicago record for points in a half with 40. Butler scored 2 points in the 1st half in facilitator mode then went to scoring mode and put up another 40 in the 2nd half.

40 point half shot chart (seems like his normal shot chart when in scoring mode)

There's certain teams I think Jimmy can be playoff Jimmy against. OKC, Mem, Hou. I'm curious about Den and Lal, as they have the requisite size, strength, and length that will be disruptive to Jimmy. But then again they'll probably throw a bunch of junk defenses out to stop Steph and don't really have the rim protection to guard 2 at the rim so it'll be interesting. Looking forward to those matchups.

Can't wait for Jimmy Buckets to be this methodical and take over.

Here's some good videos of what Butler does on offense. You should be able to see why his offense should age well and also why larger teams can slow him down, especially if he's not in scorer mode.

Nobody gets it. Jimmy's primary role is to serve as the team's barista.