The impact of Jimmy Butler has been felt in a variety of ways for the Golden State Warriors, perhaps most notably in regard to interior scoring and the 35-year-old's ability to get to and convert at the free-throw line.
Add in Butler's positive impact on his teammates and you have a formidable Warrior unit right now, having won 10 of their past 12 games including the final three of a five-game road-trip. Yet there's been another element in the recent success that's going under the radar, at least in contrast to the aformentioned aspects.
The Warriors have eliminated their turnover issues
Steve Kerr's high-motion offense has usually been prone to a large amount of turnovers, with that so often proving the downfall for the Warriors in losses over the years. In fairness to Kerr and Golden State, it's an area they had already addressed prior to the Butler trade. After ranking 23rd in turnovers per game last season, they'd improved to 12th in the 51 games this season prior to the blockbuster trade for Butler last month.
Yet in 12 games so far following the trade, the Warriors have lifted that even more to sixth in turnovers and turnover percentage. Sure, Golden State are still prone to ridiculous giveaways that needlessly give the opposition momentum -- as was showcased in Thursday's first-quarter against the Brooklyn Nets -- but Butler's presence has helped eliminate what was once a huge issue.
ESPN's Tim Bontemps recently referred to Butler's ability to provide a calmness to the Warrior offense, particularly in comparison to the fellow veteran stars he's now playing alongside.
"Warriors coach Steve Kerr singled out Butler's steadiness on the ball -- a direct contrast to the frenetic, often turnover-prone way Curry and Green play -- as already having a significant impact, and Butler's ability to attack the paint brings a different dimension to the Golden State offense," Bontemps wrote.
It's not as if Butler's arrival has simply led to more isolation possessions and less assists either, with the Warriors having jumped from ninth (28.6) to second (31.6) in assists per game over the last 12 appearances.
Butler's 4.2 assist-to-turnover ratio with Golden State is nearly double that of Curry's (2.2), and sits well clear of his next best teammate which is Brandin Podziemski at 3.2. The 6x All-Star also ranks sixth in the entire league, with former Warrior Chris Paul (5.3) currently holding the best assist-to-turnover ratio.
Whether Golden State and Butler can maintain the ball security remains to be seen, but the fact they've improved this element has been a key factor in their fifth-ranked offense over the last 12 games.