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00:00And I'm not angry about the Houston loss.
00:02I'm basking in 3-1, and I'm just curious about the Jimmy Butler that we're seeing
00:09and, like, why Jimmy Butler has not yet shifted into playoff Jimmy.
00:14Can I throw some numbers and numbers and numbers and numbers and numbers?
00:18Go ahead.
00:18Do you want me to do that?
00:20Since Jimmy Butler has joined the Warriors,
00:21how many times do you think he's shot the ball more than 15 times in a game?
00:26I would say probably once.
00:29It's a good guess.
00:30I've got the answer.
00:32Yes.
00:32Yeah.
00:34Twice.
00:35Don't worry about it.
00:35Twice.
00:36Do you know how many times he's shot the ball less than 10 times?
00:40Probably five or six.
00:43I'd say five.
00:46Eight.
00:47Yeah.
00:48So what you saw Sunday was much closer to the norm than the opposite, I would argue.
00:55Like, that was not out of character.
00:56Again, four for seven, the exact same, exact same thing he did in L.A.
01:05And I, like, just me and Goo, I know you're probably listening.
01:08You know how much I love you.
01:10That's disingenuous to be like, yeah, but they won.
01:14Well, wait a minute.
01:16You didn't know that you were going to win until there was 20.
01:19Actually, that game was frightening until there was 10 seconds left to go.
01:24You're in it.
01:25You're in it.
01:26During the game.
01:27They didn't know they were going to lose against Houston.
01:30He is continually just trying to make the best basketball play.
01:35I find him very good at it.
01:37I find him absolutely delightful with the Warriors.
01:40I've noticed this thing that keeps happening when he plays with Steph.
01:43They win almost every single time.
01:47So that's all.
01:48This is just me feeling surprised that I've heard so much angst about the way Jimmy Butler
01:54goes about his business after they went through the gauntlet and went 3-1 because people didn't
01:59like the second half on Sunday.
02:01It's no angst.
02:01It's just something that I'm raising an eyebrow toward thinking about what might potentially
02:08be coming when Steph Curry has a game like that.
02:12And you mentioned all the games where he shot fewer than 10 times, and I'm looking at it.
02:16He shot nine times against Dallas.
02:18You won by 24.
02:19He shot eight times against Charlotte.
02:22You won by 36, and he played 19 minutes.
02:24So there's context to all of this.
02:27He shot seven times against Orlando, and he was patently not very good.
02:32Yeah.
02:32And you still won the game.
02:33Yeah, Steph went for 56.
02:35Exactly.
02:35Yeah.
02:35So all of this has context, and you could look at 2-5 against Sacramento.
02:41They won by 26.
02:42And a lot of these games where he went 4-5 against San Antonio, they won by 42.
02:48So what are we doing here with the numbers?
02:49No, because you're saying that as if when they win by 25, that's why he didn't shoot.
02:55I'd argue they won by 25 because of his brilliance throughout.
02:58Look, so many of those games you're talking about, his assist totals are eight or above.
03:03That's why they're beating teams so handily.
03:05They're beating these teams anyway is the point.
03:08No, they sucked before he got here.
03:10They beat San Antonio by 42.
03:13Is that because Jimmy Butler was throwing dimes?
03:16Come on, Mark.
03:16You're picking one game.
03:18I picked six games.
03:19No.
03:19I just gave you six in a row.
03:20I'll pick all the games.
03:21Pick them all.
03:21They sucked before he got here, and now they're awesome.
03:24So they were 12-3 to start the year.
03:26Did that suck, Mark?
03:27Dibs.
03:27Mark, be fair.
03:28That was 100 years ago, and you know it.
03:30It was this season.
03:31Yes, and that was lifetime ago.
03:33It was all because of DeAnthony Mountain is what it was.
03:35No, it wasn't.
03:36It was lifetimes ago in terms of their roster structure, their rotation, everything.
03:41You're not arguing with me on the larger point.
03:43They sucked before he got here, and now they're good.
03:47You're not arguing that.
03:48I'm not arguing that they aren't better, but I am arguing that they sucked before that.
03:53They didn't suck.
03:53You said that.
03:54They were a 500 club.
03:55Yeah, about because of their 12-3 start.
03:57They went through an extended period where they were terrible.
03:59Right, where they were slightly below 500.
04:01Slightly.
04:01They didn't suck.
04:02Slightly.
04:02They still would have been a 10 seed.
04:03If they're 25-25 and they started 12-3, what does that mean they were after 12-3?
04:07That means they were 13-22.
04:09Sucked.
04:10Well, still good enough to be, and you know, you have to take the whole thing in totality.
04:15They were the 11.
04:17Right.
04:17They were, you know, probably on the cusp of being a 10 seed.
04:20So, to say that they sucked is, I think it's a little bit harsh.
04:24Dude, they sucked.
04:25A little unfair.
04:25For two months, they sucked.
04:26They sucked.
04:28They were subpar, for sure.
04:30And, you know, you had stretches where you didn't have everybody in the lineup and all
04:34the rest of it, and it's...
04:35I mean...
04:35Whatever it was, it's what happened.
04:38So, I'm not making excuses.
04:39They are better now.
04:40They're so much better.
04:41But they're extraordinarily a lot better when Jimmy Butler decides to not be Andrew Wiggins.
04:46That's all I'm saying.
04:47I have not seen one second of Andrew Wiggins' demeanor from Jimmy Butler.
04:53And he would probably punch you if he heard you say that.
04:56Like, there's not one comp from Andrew Wiggins to Jimmy Butler, in my mind.
05:01Let's go to the calls.
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05:24All right, with the playoffs right around the corner, do you believe we're going to see
05:27a different Jimmy Butler in the postseason?
05:30Head to 95.7 The Game's Twitter page and vote now.
05:34We'll read the results of the poll throughout and at the end of the show.
05:38Do you believe we're going to see a different Jimmy Butler in the postseason?
05:42How would you answer that?
05:44I say no.
05:45I sure hope not.
05:46Oh, we'd better.
05:47Oh.
05:48We'd absolutely better because you need a second score.
05:51You don't like 21-3, huh?
05:53I do like 21-3, and you're cherry-picking on games where Steph and he both played because...
05:58Yeah, because that's their team.
06:00They're not good enough without both of them out there.
06:02Right.
06:03That's not a cherry-pick.
06:04That's their two best players.
06:05Everybody needs their best players.
06:06But if you want to look at the games where he has been a negative and plus-minus, they
06:11have a losing record.
06:12So I don't want the Jimmy Butler that we saw against Houston.
06:17He was a minus-19 against Miami.
06:19He was bad.
06:20They lost.
06:21No Steph.
06:22No Steph.
06:22Minus-9 against Denver.
06:24He was pretty good.
06:26They lost.
06:27Yeah.
06:28Minus-7 against Orlando, they won.
06:29Minus-17 against Dallas, they lost.
06:31And I know Kyrie went crazy, and so we can chalk that up to Kyrie going bananas, but I
06:37want to see Jimmy Butler be their No. 2 score, which is not what he was against Houston.
06:42He was their No. 6 score.
06:44And if he's that player that he was against Houston, you're a first-round out.
06:50No. 6 score?
06:51In that game against Houston?
06:53No. 4.
06:53Okay.
06:54That's much better.
06:55Four players in double digits.
06:58Yeah.
06:58Four players in double digits.
06:59Then I take it back.
07:00Yeah.
07:00Yeah.
07:01I mean, he outscored Steph by 10 points.
07:04Interesting you'd come down Jimmy's road.
07:06Well, I can come down Steph's road, but I would tip my cap to Houston.
07:10So Houston takes away Steph Curry, and now you look at what you have, and you're going
07:14to rely on pods and GP2 and Buddy Heald.
07:19This feels so much more strategic than I think it actually is.
07:24A team is not like, okay, Steph's struggling.
07:26Let's call timeout.
07:27All right, Jimmy, you're next, so you go be the dog, and if that doesn't work, then we're
07:33going to go.
07:33No.
07:33Like, they play basketball, and on every possession, the ball ends up where the ball
07:38ends up as you try to create a good shot.
07:40The ball starts in Jimmy's hands, and then it goes from there, and you're, yes, you have
07:46an approach, but like, what the defense is doing to you then calls for you to make a
07:51certain move.
07:52It's not like they know who's shooting the ball before they even, like, cross half
07:55court.
07:56So, like, yeah, if it's the right play, shoot it.
07:59But if it's not, if it's the wrong play, then don't.
08:02Right.
08:02Find somebody else who's open.
08:04No?
08:04Was it the right play?
08:06Like, when you go, you're a minus 18.
08:09Yeah, that's cherry picking.
08:10No, that's not cherry picking.
08:11We're talking about a game.
08:12Right, but you're making it.
08:13We're talking about a game where Jimmy Butler did not do anything, in my opinion, impactful.
08:18He got outplayed.
08:20Right.
08:20You can't go.
08:20He got outplayed, and he capitulated.
08:22They all did.
08:23You're making it sound like the plus minus is what determines the outcome of the game,
08:27and I'd argue it's the other way around.
08:29The outcome of the game is what determines the plus minus.
08:32They got outplayed by the Houston Rockets for a bevy of reasons.
08:35Right.
08:36I'd argue that his reason is the best.
08:38They turned the ball over 20 times and played a sloppy basketball game.
08:41They didn't get a wonderful whistle, and their best player had the worst night of his
08:46entire year, I'd argue.
08:48Right.
08:48So, like, does that mean, okay, Jimmy, take over against one of the best defenses in the
08:55league?
08:55That's the easiest thing.
08:56That's what they're hoping for.
08:58Jimmy, just get tunnel vision and score?
09:01Like, no.
09:02No, what they're hoping for is for...
09:03Make good basketball players.
09:04They're hoping for Steph to be taken out and for your number two scorer to decide that he's
09:09not going to be impactful, and so Houston's like, whatever he is, Houston's looking at
09:14it like, okay, buddy, and pods, and GP2, you go ahead and have career nights, all three
09:20of you, and maybe we'll be worried, but Jimmy Butler basically, in my opinion, made it easy
09:26on Houston by not being more impactful, attacking the basket, getting to the foul line.
09:31He was all too eager to just, you know, get the ball out of his hands.
09:35That's what I'm saying.
09:36Yeah, I don't...
09:37I just don't...
09:38I did not see that at all, and I don't care who scores.
09:41The leading scorer in the game was Dylan Brooks.
09:44I'd come up with nine people who, quote-unquote, should score more than Dylan Brooks, but that's
09:50who scored for the Rockets that night.
09:52Yeah.
09:52So that's how the Warriors should play, and they do.
09:55If it's pods one night, great.
09:58Pods was amazing in LA.
09:59Score 30, bro.
10:01Do it.
10:02Win the game.
10:03I don't need Willie Adamas to get every hit for the Giant.
10:05I don't care.
10:06I don't care who scores.
10:08But baseball and basketball are different.
10:09And football, they're all different, but like, the strategy of basketball is not,
10:14here, dude, go score.
10:16That's like, that's not...
10:17My God, that's not what the Warriors are trying to do.
10:20Why would you even practice?
10:21No.
10:21If that's what you're doing, here, dude, go score.
10:24You're awesome.
10:24But when your best player has a down night, you're looking for somebody else to step up
10:29and fill the void, and yeah, they had three role players do pretty well, and it still
10:33wasn't enough.
10:34And so I look to the other scorer, a guy who's a Hall of Famer, a guy who has shot the ball
10:39a lot more when he was with Miami, when he was the one, and when your one is being taken
10:44away, that's when I look at a $51 million a year guy and say, all right, it's your time,
10:50dude.
10:50Go carry us.
10:51And he didn't.
10:52When I asked you there in the crossover, what was the money thing?
10:55That's kind of what I was getting at.
10:57Right.
10:59He's paid that money to play great basketball.
11:02Sure.
11:02Did he play great basketball against Houston?
11:05I guess I'd argue no, but he was absolutely nowhere near the first person I'd point to
11:12as to, wow, he played terrible, so they lost.
11:14I mean, not at all.
11:17Again, he turned it over one time.
11:19Sure.
11:19Pods four.
11:20Curry four.
11:21Draymond four.
11:22Curry scored three points.
11:23Draymond had two.
11:25Like, I'm not, like, I'm going to get mad at Jimmy Butler.
11:28I'm not mad at Jimmy Butler.
11:31He's not paid that to go be a 30-point-per-night guy.
11:34He's paid that because he's a great basketball player who does wonderful things with the ball
11:41in his hands.
11:42And that means scoring.
11:44It means foul line.
11:45It means passing.
11:46It means decision-making throughout the process.
11:49And he's been incredible at doing it with the Warriors to the point where they've won
11:54just about most of the games that they've played since he arrived.
11:58But not on Sunday.
11:59Yeah.
11:59And this is where, you know.
12:00Not on Sunday.
12:01We're talking about Sunday.
12:02Well, no, we're not.
12:03I'm talking about Sunday.
12:04But we're talking about Jimmy Butler.
12:05I'm talking about Jimmy Butler on Sunday.
12:07But you've referenced at least 12 different games just in this conversation.
12:11So you can't suddenly make it only about that day.
12:14And those other games, it didn't matter because you beat San Antonio by 45 and you won by 28.
12:21So that doesn't matter.
12:22But you referenced games that they've lost.
12:24Like, I don't know why.
12:26I'm not expecting him to be spectacular every game and for them to win every game.
12:31I'm just looking at Sunday when Steph Curry is clearly taken out of the game.
12:36And the only shot he makes is a 37-foot prayer.
12:39However, that's a game where I would look to my number two score and say, all right, this
12:43is a game where you're going to be playoff Jimmy and you're going to shift into that
12:47mode.
12:47And I didn't see it.
12:48Like, your argument sounds like you want and you did vote for.
12:52You said they better.
12:53He better be different in the playoffs.
12:54That's not focusing on one game.
12:56That's focusing.
12:57Well, if he's not better in the playoffs, they're out in the first round.
13:00Yeah.
13:00No, I disagree.
13:01If they're exactly who he has been since his arrival, they're one of the favorites.
13:05If they are exactly what they've been since the trade deadline, then they are one of the
13:12best teams in the NBA and they're one of the favorites.
13:16I am not going to pick on a night when one of the greatest players who has ever put on
13:20a pair of sneakers went one for 10 and scored three points.
13:24Go find some other guy in the locker room and point to him and say, you better be better
13:30on a night when you lost to a two seed by 10 points in the middle of total exhaustion
13:35after going through a gauntlet.
13:37That just feels like we're, I don't know, we're pointing in the wrong place.
13:41That's how I feel.
13:42I'm not pointing it at him.
13:43I'm pointing it at all of them.
13:45Of course we are.
13:45We're like our conversations about Jimmy Butler.
13:47Exactly.
13:47And so to the extent of Jimmy Butler, when he plays like that, when Steph Curry is not having
13:53a good game and in fact, he's having one of the worst games he's had in his past 10
13:58years and I can pull out the list again, there are 17 games he's had in the last 10 years
14:03where he hasn't reached double digits and five of those he's gotten hurt.
14:07So of the other 12 games where he didn't get 10 points, they are rare and alarming.
14:13And most of those are games where they lost by 50.
14:16And so Steph only played about 20 minutes because they were down big and they pulled the plug.
14:22So in a game like that, which Steph was not good, he was bad and it was competitive.
14:27That's where you look to somebody else to step up and he didn't.
14:30Yeah.
14:31Boy, again, all of these phrases I wholeheartedly disagree with.
14:37He didn't quote step up.
14:39He wasn't quote aggressive.
14:41No.
14:41All of these words, in my opinion, are being misused here.
14:46Like even when they asked him, should you be more aggressive out there?
14:49And his answer was maybe, maybe not.
14:51Right.
14:51I thought that's a great answer because like, dude, what do you even mean by aggressive?
14:54Why does aggressive have to equal scoring?
14:59Aggressive to me means playing ball, dude.
15:02Like get the ball and try to make something happen.
15:04That can mean passing, leadership, free throws, scoring the basketball.
15:08I don't know.
15:09Getting in the ears of the official, working with the coach.
15:12Like lack of aggression to me means passivity.
15:15And that's why I hate when you're bringing up Wiggins' name next to Butler's.
15:21Like, dude, I see no similarities at all between Andrew Wiggins and Jimmy Butler when you're talking about like that engagement in a basketball game.
15:32I have not seen Jimmy, maybe if you want to make the argument of the game, in Miami, but I have not seen Jimmy just out on the court looking like, eh, kind of here, kind of not.
15:42Like, I just have not seen that at all.
15:44Not in my eyes.
15:47Let's go to Pat in San Jose.
15:48Hey, Pat, thanks for calling Willard and Dibbs.
15:50What's up?
15:52Hey, Willard and Dibbs.
15:53I just thought, you know, when I saw that Houston game, I said, oh, man, the Warriors are going to have trouble if they ever face this team.
16:01But then the beauty is they played them early.
16:06I mean, still, you know, at the end of the season.
16:09So it's not even the playoffs.
16:10But this is a game you can use to use it as a blueprint to figure out what you can do when this type of defense comes at you.
16:19Pat, and your phone's a little wonky there, but thank you very much for the call.
16:25I also don't take from Sunday night that the Rockets have some sort of a blueprint.
16:31I really don't.
16:32Like, that was Sunday night.
16:34Yeah.
16:34That was our basketball game.
16:35Anthony Slater said, absolutely, it's a blueprint.
16:38No, that's fine.
16:38I don't see it that way.
16:40I see the Warriors as being a very, very flexible machine that has got so many smart basketball players.
16:47They'll work with that.
16:48You know what I mean?
16:49Like, this is the same Rockets team that Jimmy Butler's Warriors went in there the night before the All-Star break and beat them up.
16:57It dominated them.
16:58Same team.
16:59So, like, I get it.
17:01They've got some pieces, clearly, that will give the Warriors athletic problems.
17:06But I feel like, I don't know, don't you think that's something we've been talking about for years?
17:12The Warriors' lack of size and athleticism.
17:15Well, at the same time, a dynasty happened.
17:18And I understand that Durant was a part of some of that and all that, but you get what I'm saying.
17:21The Warriors have been way more successful than just about anybody else.
17:25So, this lack of size and athleticism thing has much more often not been a problem than it has.
17:31Yeah, depends on the matchup.
17:33And, you know, when Houston comes in here and they play that hard on defense and they shoot it as well as they did.
17:39And you mentioned Dylan Brooks and he had basically a career game.
17:42And I'm looking at the previous matchup that you referenced.
17:45And Dylan Brooks had nine points in 20, 21 minutes.
17:49Actually, he had seven points.
17:50And Jalen Green had nine points on three of ten.
17:53And Shen Goon was four of ten.
17:56And, you know, Amon Thompson was two of seven.
17:58So, all of their starters in that game at home, they were ordinary or below par.
18:05So, when you come in and you play defense like they did and you shoot it like they did, you're going to win.
18:10Totally.
18:11Now, does it mean that that's a blueprint to stop Steph?
18:13Probably not because, you know, Steph ultimately is going to be able to get free.
18:17And he had 27 in that previous matchup.
18:20And Jimmy Butler actually shot the ball 15 times.
18:23So, there you go, Jimmy.
18:24Feel free to shoot it 15 times.
18:26No, they were extraordinary.
18:27Dylan Brooks went 10 of 13.
18:29And Jalen Green, 9 of 19.
18:31Amon Thompson, 7 of 14.
18:33Even Shen Goon, 7 of 17.
18:35Got to the free throw line for 10 attempts.
18:37Like, they were extraordinary in that game.
18:40And won.
18:42And they're a very, very good basketball team.
18:44I don't think they've somehow unlocked the key to taking down Golden State.
18:49And, oh, by the way, the Warriors better not play Houston in round one.
18:52Because if they do, that means they ended up in the play-in tournament.
18:56So, that's why I don't want Houston.
18:58Not because they're a bad matchup.
18:59I don't want Houston because it means they did not get a top six seed.
19:04That's my answer there.