The Golden State Warriors continued their hot start in the Jimmy Butler era on Tuesday night, easily accounting for the lowly Charlotte Hornets in a 128-92 win at Chase Center.
Butler's arrival has revived the Warriors season, having gone 6-1 in seven games with the 6x All-Star which has pushed the franchise up to eighth in the Western Conference standings.
Heat fans have realized the franchise should have paid Jimmy Butler
Butler is having a significant impact on Golden State without even needing to do a whole lot from a scoring standpoint, with the team sixth in offense, first in defense and second in net rating over the last seven games.
Former Warrior Andrew Wiggins may have had three-straight 20-point games for the Miami Heat, but things otherwise aren't going well for the franchise following the tumultuous ending of a Butler era that had proven so successful.
The Heat are the opposite of the Warriors, having gone 1-6 since the trade in a stretch that's seen them drop to ninth in the Eastern Conference standings. Yet more so than just the record, Miami haven't been overly exciting to watch during a period that included scoring just 86 points against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.
Heat fans have grown frustrated watching their team over recent games, having come to the realization that the team probably should have simply paid Butler to avoid the drama and underwhelming situation they find themselves in.
Pat Riley was so focused on making sure his team's culture won over Jimmy Butler that he totally lost sight of the product on the court.
— Naveen Ganglani (@naveenganglani) February 25, 2025
Which has turned to absolutely 100% garbage.
They suck. And they don't even suck in an entertaining manner. Heat games are a snooze fest.
As the Heat losses keep piling up, Jimmy Butler continues to thrive. Life comes at you fast…
— All U Can Heat (@AllUCanHeat1) February 25, 2025
The Miami Heat have won just three basketball games since January 29 pic.twitter.com/sC9DSE8DWR
Jimmy Butler absolutely pantsed Pat Riley dawg. Got exactly what he wanted, the Warriors look like a dark horse, and the Heat are now completely irrelevant. https://t.co/uXhX55FEug
— Chris (@chrisdigiusto) February 25, 2025
Fortunately unlike the Heat, Mike Dunleavy Jr. and the Warrior front office realized that Butler was worth paying. Golden State gave the 35-year-old a two-year, $112 million extension immediately following the deal, eliminating the risk of losing Butler for nothing as a free agent in the summer.
While there's a long way to go before anyone determines whether or not the extension was worth it for the Warriors, the early signs are overwhelmingly positive as Butler has completely rejuvenated the team to the point where veteran teammate Draymond Green is openly talking about winning the championship.
As for the Heat, they're now in a similar position to where the Warriors found themselves prior to the Butler trade. They're battling uphill just to reach the playoffs, and even then they're not inspiring any confidence of making an impact in the postseason.
If anything Heat fans should already have an eye on the offseason to see if Pat Riley can conjure a trade for a superstar, otherwise their current roster is one that appears very limited.