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MIAMI – The quickest solution to make sure the Warriors don’t spiral and fall to the NBA play-in tournament is obvious: Have a healthy Steph Curry.
That always has been the case, even in the past with Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and any other star, and it remains the same with the addition of Jimmy Butler.
“We definitely need 30 back,” Butler said Tuesday night. “But we want him to be right. We’re still expected to win. We got to put out a better effort than we have the last two games. If he’s back, I think it’ll be different.”
Golden State dropped its second straight game without Curry as he recovers from a pelvic contusion after taking a hard fall Saturday in the Warriors’ win against the Toronto Raptors. He’s considered day-to-day and is expected to play Friday in New Orleans against the Pelicans, barring any setbacks.
The Warriors are playing a tough balancing act, knowing how badly they need Curry in a heated battle to remain as at least the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference, conversely knowing him being as close to full strength as possible for a playoff push is their only chance at making a real run at title contention.
With or without him, there are glaring deficiencies that must be resolved immediately.
Butler’s addition has made the Warriors a much better fourth-quarter team, giving them a closer they can rely on to shut the door alongside Curry. The start of games remains an issue, as seen in the Warriors’ last two losses. To start a six-game road trip, the Warriors looked like a team that traveled across the country and had to wipe off cobwebs, allowing 40 points to the Atlanta Hawks in the first quarter. Any motivation to play for Butler wasn’t enough medication to beat the South Beach flu, falling into a 17-point halftime deficit to the Miami Heat on Tuesday night.
What needs to change couldn’t be more clear to Butler after having his first losing streak since joining the Warriors.
“Probably the effort coming out of the jump,” Butler said. “We’ve got to guard a little better. Seems like as of late everyone’s been scoring…
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Publish date : 2025-03-26 12:46:00
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