It’s become obvious now that Jimmy Butler’s acquisition by the Golden State Warriors has yielded some wonderful fruits. Not only has the team gained another offensive force, they have also gained a tactical mind that isn’t afraid to highlight his own plays. Under him, the Bay Area franchise has now won 9 of their last 10 games! However, a Butler-linked failure gave a shaky start during the recent matchup against the Charlotte Hornets. While the Warriors recovered, Steve Kerr still didn’t choose to omit the lapse from his post-game remarks.

NBA reporter Dalton Johnson highlighted the Warriors head coach’s assessment of Jimmy Butler after the recent game at the Spectrum Center. According to the reporter, Kerr claimed that the recently acquired veteran small forward is at his best when the ball is moving. The Warriors squad, as a whole, can help Butler perform more efficiently if they do not allow the ball to stick early in possessions.

After all, as Kerr said, “If he can get it on the backside of a possession after it’s moved three or four times, he’s unstoppable on that drive and he creates so much for his teammates.” This play is something that the Warriors especially need to utilize after what took place during the recent matchup. The contributions that Jimmy Butler can make on the offensive front were seen right from his Warriors debut game.

As highlighted by Golden State of Mind, Butler put his ‘high basketball IQ’ on display by acting as the finishing touch during the Chicago Bulls game, and serving as a ‘connecting piece’. This allowed him to become an important part of the Warriors infrastructure that reportedly had “little-to-no rigid structure”. On top of that, Butler ensured that things were not too stagnant, and he kept moving the ball and giving his teammates good looks. The player’s strong point is now something the Warriors head coach wishes to emphasize.

However, during the first half against Charlotte, the team veered away from that strategy. “I thought the first half it was catch and hold. Catch and hold. He wasn’t engaged, he wasn’t involved, and that’s on us as a team,” said Kerr. “We have to play with ball movement and flow and Rhythm.”

The Golden State Warriors currently rank 4 for the most number of assists by a team this season. Therefore, it’s obvious that the Bay Area squad knows the importance of passing the ball around. However, the less they focus on ‘Catch and Hold’, the better. This is something the team needs to work with Jimmy Butler, now that he has returned after missing the previous game due to lower back spasms.

“It’s still a work in progress, but I love Jimmy’s fit here. I think he’s perfect next to Steph and Dray, and it’s showing, obviously. I think we’re 8-1 since we got him with him in the lineup. That’s not by accident,” the head coach further added,

That said, time is of the essence. After all, as Steve Kerr highlighted, the team can lose their current standing at any moment.

Steve Kerr warns the Warriors locker room despite attaining 6 seed: “Can’t take too much time to celebrate.”

Going on a 9-1 run has given the Golden State Warriors new life. The squad went from fighting to secure a good enough seed to at least make the Play-In series to now ranking 6 on the Western Conference points table. Having done the unexpected and revived their playoff chances, the team now has to face their next big task: maintaining their position. After all, going lower than the 6 seed will cause them to instead participate in the Play-In series.

Therefore, despite the recent win, the ‘clunky’ start was an indication that Jimmy Butler and Co. will continue to face tough challenges. Tough challenges can lead to failures, which in turn will lead to losses. Something the team cannot afford at all.

“It’s fantastic, but obviously everybody’s bunched together. Five teams within a game of each other. So, we can’t take too much time to celebrate,” Kerr said about the Warriors securing the 6 seed. “We got another game tomorrow and, you know, we could very easily find ourselves in 9 tomorrow, I don’t know. So, we just got to keep going”.

After being almost out of the race, the Golden State Warriors are back to having a fighting chance. Having slipped earlier in the season, the last thing the team would want is to make the same mistake again.