With their dominant win over the Chicago Bulls, the Golden State Warriors have now won four of their past five games in the absence of Stephen Curry.
Yet, while one of these wins was earned by a scraped-together starting lineup in the absence of their other star, Jimmy Butler, his return on Sunday night against Chicago reminded the team of a crucial point. Butler can still be the scorer this team needs in its most pivotal moments.
On the night, Butler posted 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists while shooting 50% from the field, and while the Warriors were buoyed by solid performances from Quentin Post and Pat Spencer as well, it was Butler who was truly the star of the game.
Jimmy Butler can still be the guy even when Curry is out
This season, the Warriors have been held back by a combination of injury issues and inconsistent play from their peripheral scorers, having now settled into a 13-12 record and the eighth seed in the Western Conference even following their recent hot streak.
Yet, Butler's performance during this stretch has served as a poignant reminder of exactly what he provides the team with.
In their 104-96 win against the New Orleans Pelicans, Butler's box score stats looked even better. He posted 24 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists. Yet, his performance against the Bulls, a team that was uniquely poised to give Golden State problems given the pace at which they have played the game this season, was considerably more important.
Coming back from a brief absence as he managed a nagging knee injury, Butler took the team on his back, earning a much-needed win at the end of a week that tested the team's depth immensely. Curry is set to return on Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Butler now, with his return, has left the team in a position to enter their period of rest with another win under their belt.
When Golden State traded for Butler, it was with the clear intention that, in addition to providing secondary scoring services with Curry on the court, he would be able to keep the team afloat when Curry, inevitably, needed to miss time.
Through this stretch that Curry has missed with a quad injury, Butler has done exactly that, and, although there have been some ups and downs through his time with the team as far as his ability to be a primary scorer is concerned, he showed up in a big way against Chicago.
Over his last six games, Butler has averaged 18 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists. While he has maintained this level performance over the course of the whole season so far, his importance is now truly beginning to show again as the Warriors find their footing.