On Jimmy Butler providing a more balanced attack by keeping opponents off balance

02/09/2025 02:07 AM

The Warriors' Butler era is off to an auspicious start.

One would expect that the first set the Golden State Warriors would run involving Jimmy Butler would be something that got him into the low post — perhaps after setting a screen for him or him setting a screen for a teammate in order to coax a switch from a smaller defender. That would be the most common-sense approach to get him acclimated to the Warriors' offense, while also keeping things simple and straightforward. Furthermore, the prospect of Butler scoring against a smaller defender would force the defense to have to react in a myriad of ways.

However, while the first set of the game did have Butler bring down the ball, it wasn't him who finished the play. Rather, it was on a variation of the typical pick-and-roll setup, preceded by a bit of window dressing, that Steve Kerr chose to draw up, one that resulted in a Buddy Hield three:

An "out" screen for Steph Curry, who pitches the ball back to Butler (called "Touch" action) while clearing out to the opposite side, is the window dressing for the real meat of the set: Hield coming over to set a backscreen for Draymond Green after Green sets the ball screen for Butler, after which Hield pops out to make himself available beyond the arc. This maneuver — termed as a "Spain" or "Stack" pick-and-roll — creates the look for Hield, who promptly buries the three.

While this belies the previously mentioned intention by Kerr to keep things simple for Butler, who is quite new to the team and is still in the process of learning play calls and terminology, it provides a window into the varied ways through which the Warriors can make use of Butler. His threat as a downhill attacker makes defenses think twice about going under ball screens, despite his lack of pedigree as a pull-up shooter off the dribble. That fact alone makes "Spain" pick-and-roll a threat; it takes advantage of the fact that teams will most likely have their bigs drop back into the paint against a Butler ball-screen possession, which makes those bigs more vulnerable to backscreens from shooters such as Hield.

More than Butler being used in this manner on the ball was how he was used off the ball by the Warriors. One aspect of Butler on offense that isn't mentioned as much among mainstream circles — but just as important as everything else he offers on offense — is his willingness and effectiveness as a screener.

More specifically, Butler's early offense screens stood out against the Chicago Bulls. Even on possessions where he doesn't touch the ball, the Bulls' defense reacts quite significantly at the prospect of 6'5" Coby White having to defend the 6'7" Butler, who also has a 35-pound weight advantage. As such, the Bulls choose to send an extra defender to overload the strong side against the Butler post-up.

Instead of making the entry pass to Butler, Moses Moody decides to skip the ball to Brandin Podziemski in the weak-side corner, left open by the man sent over to help against Butler. With help from a Kevon Looney pin-in screen, Podziemski gets his man up in the air and drills the three:

On a similar note, Butler getting the touch in the post after setting the screen — and therefore having a favorable matchup — forces the weak-side help to have to make a choice. Seeing that White is in trouble against Butler in the left block, Nikola Vučević comes over to help — but at the cost of leaving Quinten Post open in the corner. Butler accordingly dishes the ball to Post:

What was mostly a one-note attack by the Warriors — that one note going by the name of Steph Curry — becomes a more balanced and harmonious picture with the versatility that Butler brings as a screener. Multiple avenues of attack can be opened, such as on this early offense butt screen by Butler that forces Matas Buzelis (20 pounds lighter) to have to switch onto Butler, who takes Buzelis in the paint and shrugs him off easily to get the open look underneath the rim:

When those attempted switches are a bit late or are otherwise botched, Butler can quickly slip his way to the paint to take advantage of top-side position:

Butler's methodical approach to seeking out the mismatch and breaking down his man extends to when he's off the ball. While Kevin Huerter is the same height as Butler at 6'7", he gives up nearly 45 pounds. Butler is able to control Huerter around like a puppet — and that extends to his ability to get proper positioning underneath the rim. Paired with a passer such as Green, Butler is a deadly weapon to have for the Warriors, a team struggling to score underneath the rim this season:

Butler's high basketball IQ and ability to not only act as the finishing touch but also as the connecting piece allows him to slot in seamlessly within this infrastructure that, at times, seemingly has little-to-no rigid structure. When things feel like they're about to flow into the pit of stagnation, Butler can make sure the ball keeps moving and teammates get good looks:

It's also a testament to Butler's high IQ that he can recognize patterns on the floor right away and react accordingly. He sees the ball being fed to Green in the post and immediately seeks out Curry to set a screen in split action. Butler gets run over and draws the foul — but the fact that he already knows to screen for Curry in his first game as a Warrior is an extremely bullish indicator of his fit.

(It also helps that he's quite familiar with the split action concept, having run variations of it during his time with the Miami Heat):

Ultimately, the highest value Butler can provide is his ability to be the sought-after scoring support behind Curry, who was able to break out of his slump against the Bulls: 34 points on 10-of-19 shooting (8-of-16 on threes) and a 75.5% True Shooting mark. Behind him was Butler's 25 points on 7-of-12 shooting and 70.5% True Shooting — with the most notable line being his 11-of-13 mark on free throws.

Butler is a not only a willing attacker up close — he gets to the line at quite a decent frequency through his downhill excursions. Early on in the game, Curry did not waste time in attempting to set an inverted ball screen for Butler, who rejected the screen and was able to get two free throws:

For a team that profiles as one of the worst teams in the league in free throw attempts per 100 possessions (27th), free throw percentage (30th), and field goal percentage in the restricted area (20th), Butler is a much-needed godsend:

While the game wasn't by any means perfect nor devoid of potential embarrassment — the Warriors were down by as much as 25 points to a team that just traded away Zach LaVine — Curry and Butler went on a 24-3 run over a five-minute stretch to flip the game on its head. The Bulls aren't the best competition out there, but to see the Warriors have a glimmer of competitive hope with the Curry-Butler pairing is something of value to take away.

That's not to say the Warriors are on their way to a bona fide playoff seed, let alone a breakthrough toward the Western Conference's inner circle of contenders. Make no mistake: Butler is both a win-now acquisition and an investment for the near future. But with how the Warriors have thrown this season away, the latter provides a much more clear pathway than the former.

What has also been made clear: Butler fits on this team. More importantly, he fits with Curry, a polar opposite that proves that both ends of the offensive spectrum attract each other and are very much capable of coexisting with one another.