The Golden State Warriors continued their winning ways on Saturday night, having moved to 14-1 with Jimmy Butler after a hard-fought 97-94 victory over the New York Knicks at Chase Center.
It wasn't the most fluid performance from the Warriors offensively, and particularly from Butler as the 6x All-Star was limited to just 11 points on 3-of-11 shooting in the three-point win.
Jimmy Butler has sent an ominous warning after another underwhelming scoring performance
Butler's impact on Golden State has been undeniable, yet he's done that without having been at his best from a purely scoring standpoint. The 35-year-old is now averaging 16.4 points on 44.2% shooting (22.2% from 3-point range) in 15 games with the Warriors -- that's the lowest of his career since 2013-14 with the Chicago Bulls.
The lack of aggressiveness has been an intriguing discussion point surrounding Butler. It's not necessarily a criticism because Golden State's record with him has been so fantastic, but there's also a widely acknowledged view that the team is going to need more from Butler when it ultimately matters most.
Butler seemingly knows that and isn't worried, sending an ominous warning to potential playoff rivals in stating "you'll know it's my time" in regard to his individual scoring after Saturday's win over the Knicks.
“When it's my time, you'll know it's my time," Butler told Anthony Slater of The Athletic. "Until then, I'm going to pass the ball to the open man, get my guys some jumpers, get them out in transition and we gonna keep winning."
The veteran forward averaged at least 19.9 points in his previous five years with the Miami Heat, while he's also averaged 27.4 points and 26.9 points in each of his last two playoff runs which included a trip to the NBA Finals in 2023 (after his first in 2020).
Butler did have seven assists against the Knicks, taking his average with Golden State to 5.9 -- his best since a career-high 7.1 in 2020-21. His ability to make his teammates better has been a notable highlight, with the likes of Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski and even superstar teammate Stephen Curry all playing their best basketball of the season over the past few weeks.
With Jonathan Kuminga needing to re-integrate and find his confidence after a long injury absence, it's likely that Golden State's newest star will continue feeding his teammates. Yet as Butler himself points out, there will come a time (most likely in the playoffs) where the Warriors need his scoring capability.
