The Golden State Warriors made a brilliant start to their post All-Star break schedule on Friday night, demolishing the Sacramento Kings in a 132-108 victory at Golden 1 Center.
After building some momentum prior to the break, the Warriors continued their impressive recent play to move to 4-1 since Jimmy Butler's arrival. While so much of the focus has been on the new star pairing of Butler and 2x MVP Stephen Curry, the veteran duo didn't have to do a whole lot from a scoring standpoint in Friday's win.
The best aspect to Butler's arrival has been his ability to make others better. While Andrew Wiggins was a very good player in his own right, the 2022 All-Star was never making life easier for his teammates in a way Butler can and has with his playmaking capacity.
Warriors duo might be the biggest winners from Jimmy Butler trade
While a number of teammates are feeling the benefit of Butler's arrival, none may have been helped more so than young duo Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody. Both were already finding good form prior to the Butler trade, but have since taken an even bigger leap that's subsequently making the Warriors a far more formidable outfit.
Podziemski and Moody, along with an improved performance from Buddy Hield, were arguably the biggest of the host of positives to emanate from the win over the Kings. Moody drilled five threes and had a season-high 22 points, having shot 8-of-11 from the floor while continuing to show an ability to attack closeouts and finish off the dribble.
Season-high in points for No. 4, and then some 🙌@googlecloud || Player of the Game pic.twitter.com/I9Ovx0Moyc
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) February 22, 2025
Podziemski had 21 points, three rebounds and five assists, finishing as a +21 in 30 minutes of game-time. Most importantly for Golden State, the young pair don't appear afraid to take and make the big shots -- an incredibly important element given defenses will continue to load up on Curry and Butler.
Neither Podziemski or Moody were starters in Butler's first game as a Warrior just two weeks ago, yet have since solidified roles in a starting lineup that's beginning to cement itself after so much change across the course of the season.
Podziemski, in particular, appears to have a strong chemistry with Butler already. Of the 161 minutes the 6x All-Star has played with Golden State so far, Podziemski has been alongside him on the floor in 114 of them. The pair share a 20.5 net rating in those minutes -- ranked second on the team of any two-man combination to play at least 100 minutes together this season.
On the other hand, Moody is starting to develop into the 3-and-D wing Warrior fans have envisioned for years. The 22-year-old ranks second on the team behind Curry in 3-point percentage (of players to take at least 70 threes), with that element becoming all the more important given neither Butler nor Draymond Green are legitimate spacing threats.
Many have characterized the Warriors into the veteran trio of Curry, Butler and Green, along with Jonathan Kuminga as the X-factor who could become a big-time star. But it shouldn't be ignored if Podziemski and Moody can consistently deliver at this level, that's a fifth and sixth option that few teams around the league possess.