The Golden State Warriors made it eight straight wins on Monday, destroying the New Orleans Pelicans 138-87, and the best seat in the building belonged to Jimmy Butler, who showed up dressed like a member of the coaching staff, as first reported by ClutchPoints.
Butler, who’s still recovering from a torn ACL, wore the same sweater and pants as Golden State’s coaches, sat next to Steph Curry with a clipboard in his lap, and passed out advice and encouragement all night, per Nick Friedell of The Athletic. Jimmy being Jimmy.
From 0-3 to 8-3
Remember when this looked like a lost season? The Warriors dropped their first three games, their offense looked stuck, and Kristaps Porzingis, their big offseason signing, stepped away from basketball to focus on his health. Since then, nothing but wins.
Curry needed just 10 shots to score 25 against New Orleans. Young guns Brandin Podziemski and Yaxel Lendeborg combined for 48 points on 18-of-29 shooting, and the bench keeps tipping games. According to Friedell, the last time Golden State won eight in a row in one season was 2021-22, the year they won it all.
The IAHHM Take
We love a star who stays locked in while he’s hurt, and Butler turning rehab into a bit is exactly why players want to run with him. Vibes don’t win rings, but they don’t hurt either, especially for a team that missed the playoffs last year after losing to Phoenix in the play-in.
The 2022 comparison is fun, but slow down. That team had Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole leveling up at the right time. If Podziemski and Lendeborg can be that duo, and Butler comes back healthy, Steph might have one more real run in him. With the Lakers sitting at 10-2 (Luka’s been talking his talk), the West just got interesting.
Real or fool’s gold: are the Warriors a contender again?
Sources: ClutchPoints, ClutchPoints
