The Golden State Warriors seem to have found a new energy. They're 5-1 with Jimmy Butler on the roster and have been winning games and talking with a new sense of swagger.
Things are exciting in Golden State. Players like Draymond Green are already proclaiming the Dubs are going to win another championship, and Butler himself seemed to back up Green's confidence. That being said, the Warriors haven’t proved much yet. Should we be holding our horses on the Warriors championship conversation?
The Warriors' record with Jimmy Butler is hard to ignore
5-1 is nothing to sneer at. On top of that, these wins have looked relatively easy and the entire roster looks invigorated by Butler’s presence. In those six games, the Warriors are 6th in the league in offensive rating and 4th in defensive rating. That is the making of an elite team, so there is no wonder why Green and Warrior fans are starting to talk about a championship.
One knock on that discourse however is that the Warriors have yet to really be tested. Of their five wins, only one of them was against a current playoff team -- that was the Bucks who were playing without Giannis Antetokounmpo. You can only beat who is in front of you but still, the Warriors have had an easy transition into the Butler era.
It doesn’t look like they will be tested much anytime soon either. Between now and the end of March, the Warriors schedule looks to be fairly easy. From now until April 2nd, their most difficult games are two against the Knicks, one against the Bucks, and one against the Nuggets. Every other team they play over that stretch is either out of the playoff picture or is fighting to stay out of the Play-In Tournament.
When will we know if a Warriors championship is possible?
To finish out the season, the Warriors have the second easiest strength of schedule in the Western Conference. This is great as far as the Warriors getting solid seeding for a playoff run, but it may not show us much as far as their resilience at being tested by contending teams.
It may not be until the playoffs start that we see how good the Warriors really are. Veterans like Stephen Curry, Green and Butler aren’t going to be afraid of anyone, but do they all have enough left in the tank to hang with the young and up-and-coming contenders in the West? Time will tell.