With Jimmy Butler playing as expected, Warriors in great shape

Of course Jimmy Butler is tough. How else would he have been able to survive after his mother threw him out of their home as a high school senior?

How else would he persist in that long holdout while under contract to the Miami Heat?

Tough and stubborn and gifted with an athletic talent that has enabled him to advance as far as he has, and now has enabled the Golden State Warriors to advance in the NBA playoffs as far as they have.

True, the Warriors heading into Wednesday night’s game against the Rockets at Houston, still need one more victory to get past the Rockets.

But they’ll get it.

Especially with Butler performing the playoff magic on which his reputation has been built. And was one of the reasons the Warriors traded for him in February, giving up Andrew Wiggins.

Butler may be 37 and was hurting so much from a back contusion he couldn’t play the previous game, however he was a star in the 109-106 victory Monday night. Maybe the star, although that’s dangerous to say on a franchise led by Steph Curry and Draymond Green.

Butler, although seemingly showing the effects of his injury early on, was productive in the second half, when the need was greatest. He had 27 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. His presence allows the Warriors to play the slower tempo style on which the Rockets thrive.  

“First three quarters he couldn’t move,” Draymond Green said of Butler. “Yet he never complained. He stuck with it. I think what was most important, when the time was right, everybody on our side looked to get him the ball. When you get the ball, he made great things happen for himself or for others. It was huge.”

The Warriors' Steve Kerr, who has seen it all and been through it all as a player—yes Michael Jordan’s teammate on the Chicago Bulls—called Butler’s game both rewarding and necessary.

“We had to have him,” said Kerr. “If this were the regular season, he’d probably miss another week or two. But it’s the playoffs. He’s Jimmy Butler, so…this is what he does.”

The basketball in the playoffs is more physical and wearing than during the season. Usually fewer fouls are called, leading to more than occasional confrontation and technical fouls. That Draymond was called for a T was no surprise, but that Kerr also was called for one, for yelling at the referees, certainly was a surprise.

Tensions are higher when the playoffs begin.  And as a veteran team the Warriors should be aware. You’d also think that the headline writers, referencing the old mystery stories, someplace would say “the butler did it.”

Most likely he’ll need to do it again and again.