Butler’s arrival gives achy, fatigued Steph vital shot of support

[ad_1]

Butler’s arrival gives achy, fatigued Steph vital shot of support originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

It has been almost three years since Stephen Curry shed tears before the world, pouring out on the TD Garden floor in Boston after a challenging season ended for the Warriors and, particularly, for him, ended with both on top of the NBA.

Pardon Curry, though, if he is weeping a bit on the inside. He has spent recent weeks being the good solider, laboring through various aches and pains, with commendable dedication. His stubborn strain is strong, and his star would be “super” without it.

But it’s not going well, not by his lofty standard. He is trying to carry the Warriors through considerably troubled waters, as he has before, and his futility is visible on paper and video.

We don’t know how badly Curry wanted to be teammates with Jimmy Butler, but it’s evident that the newest Warrior, acquired Thursday from the Miami Heat, brings something he needs: High-quality help, particularly on offense.

“Being able to utilize the space that I can create, the gravity, as we call it,” Curry told reporters at Crypto.com Arena after a 120-112 loss to the Lakers. “But that’s a two-way street. I’ve got to be able to help him, he’s got to be able to help me. And in those type of situations, when the game kind of slows down, he’s a guy that you have to worry about. You might have to send a double to him in the post, or he can take advantage of mismatches. Or if there’s kind of unique defenses that are trying to take me away off ball, he can use that to his advantage.”

Butler is not necessarily stylistically compatible with Curry, not in the way that prime Klay Thompson was, but he brings a change of pace that’s more reminiscent of Kevin Durant but without the dangerous deep shooting. Like KD, Butler can score from all three levels but excels in the midrange, has the handle and skill to orchestrate a good shot for himself or a teammate and knows how to use his lure defenders into fouls that result in free throws.

Mostly, though, Butler will allow Curry to breathe more easily, whether on or off the…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/butlers-arrival-gives-achy-fatigued-075305386.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2025-02-07 07:53:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.