The Golden State Warriors are scheduled to face the Miami Heat on Tuesday, March 25. It will be the first time that Jimmy Butler has returned to South Beach since forcing his way out of the Heat franchise earlier this season.
During his postgame press conference following the Warriors’ 124-115 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, Butler shrugged off his impending return to his old stomping ground.
“Yeah, I was traded from there, yada, yada, yada,” Butler said. “Yeah, it didn’t end the way that people wanted to, yada yada yada. But that’s so far behind me now. I don’t even think about it, I don’t pay attention to nothing except for the trajectory of this squad…I’m a member of the Golden State Warriors. I love that fan base. They showed me a lot of love while I was there. But I’m there to win now. I’m on the opposing team.”
Butler was in his fifth season with the Heat before requesting a trade. During his tenure with the franchise, he helped Erik Spoelstra’s team make two runs to the NBA Finals. However, he was unable to taste the ultimate success, losing both times.
Warriors’ Draymond Green Frustrated After Loss
During his own postgame news conference, veteran forward Draymond Green shared his dismay at the Warriors’ loss to Atlanta.
“Bad loss,” Green said. “It’s a terrible loss. When you’re in a position we’re in, we’ve got a chance to compete for something. Eleven games left with everything to play for, you shouldn’t have a loss like this. Too much on the line. Got to win the games you’re supposed to win. Obviously, Steph’s out. Still a game we should win. So, it’s a terrible loss.”
Green continued.
“We just didn’t come out ready to play. We came out like we were just going to win the game. And we got diced up defensively in the first quarter and from that point on, you’re fighting an uphill battle. So everybody’s comfortable and they took it to us. We’ve got to be better. That starts with me. We were terrible defensively. It’s the NBA. Once guys get into a rhythm, it’s hard and they got into a rhythm and had it rolling. It’s tough to stop that, so we got to come out ready to play.”
The Warriors have clawed their way into the sixth seed in the Western Conference, half a game ahead of the LA Clippers. With the threat of the play-in tournament looming, Green will undoubtedly want the Warriors to get back to winning ways to put some daylight between Golden State and the Clippers.
Butler Calls for Warriors to Play Perfect Basketball
Stephen Curry suffered a pelvic injury on Thursday, March 20. He is set to be re-evaluated by the teams’ medical staff on Monday, March 24. When speaking to the media following Curry’s injury, Butler declared that the Warriors would need to play perfect basketball to mask the absence of the superstar guard.
“Whether he’s with us or whether he’s not, hopefully he is,” Butler said. “But if he isn’t, that’s just more perfect basketball that we’re gonna have to play. We can’t afford to turn the ball over. We can’t afford to foul. Because we don’t have the one individual that can automatically get us back into the game. But we want our guy with us.”
Without Curry in the rotation, Butler will step into a primary role on the offensive side of the floor. Having the luxury of another All-NBA caliber player assuming a bigger role is a prime reason why Golden State traded for the veteran forward. Nevertheless, Golden State fans will be hoping Curry is back in the rotation in the near future.
