Curry vs Butler (Rocket Series)

[StrongLurk]

Butler: 27.3 PER, 65.8 TS%, .330 WS/48, 10.8 BPM, 20.1 PIE (3rd in playoffs), 12:1 AST/TO ratio (number 1 in playoffs)

Curry: 21.6 PER, 67.1 TS%, .167 WS/48, 7.2 BPM, 17 PIE (9th in playoffs).

I know playoff Butler isn't necessarily underrated, but I actually think he still is underrated among casual fans.

Butler has essentially been a top 6 playoff performer since 2020 and we really had a bunch of people, including the media, completely downplay Butler joining the Warriors. I knew it was a massive pickup and really don't know how so many people missed it.

[AlternativeAcc.]

Steph underwhelmed so vastly with an unbelievable roster that by the time the trade happened, people had no hope anymore for the Warriors. He literally had the Warriors in a hopeless state.

In reality, the Warriors are insanely stacked... 3pt snipers everywhere, DPOY (Dray), and now Butler who is the undisputed alpha of the team and like you said, one of the greatest post season players of all time.

OKC vs. Golden State will be a lot of fun.

[Axe]

Butler has proved himself to be clutch in crucial playoff moments and is a good two-way player. Unfortunately for him, he's also more prone to injuries.

Now this is just some random 'what-if' but if the gerbil is the leading star instead in the 2023 heat, would he be able to propel them otw to the finals in the very same manner as butler did two years ago?

[StrongLurk]

Butler is just a massive ceiling raiser for playoff teams. Pretty much all positives with his game on low usage, but huge impact.

[tpols]

Despite his poor game yesterday Curry has been by far Golden States best player. This demographic is actually comical.

https://i.postimg.cc/t4kzFBr1/Screenshot-20250429-095006-You-Tube.jpg

[tpols]

This is a direct quote from Butler himself from like 2 days ago.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Gor9kxCXAAABXiK.jpg:large

[Axe]

Also a good follow-up; how many times did butler win in the play-ins?

That should tell us all about his performance.

[999Guy]

Butler is somehow still in his athletic prime when you watch him. Fast reflexes, strong as a bull and lean, and his vertical is still ridiculous. Very LeBron-esque late prime.

[ImKobe]

Idk what these stats tell us other than Jimmy is very efficient in his role. Curry's been the more impactful player winning 2 of the 3 games with his shot-making, but his efficiency numbers are much lower because he has 16 turnovers to Jimmy's 1, but Curry's impact in these low-scoring games has been insane when you look at his point total and the shots he's created for others. He allows Jimmy to cook 1 on 1 and get to the FT line. This is why they got Jimmy though he's an absolute killer inside the arc and Curry's the best to ever do it behind the 3PT line. Perfect pairing.

[Axe]

Idk what these stats tell us other than Jimmy is very efficient in his role. Curry's been the more impactful player winning 2 of the 3 games with his shot-making, but his efficiency numbers are much lower because he has 16 turnovers to Jimmy's 1, but Curry's impact in these low-scoring games has been insane when you look at his point total and the shots he's created for others. He allows Jimmy to cook 1 on 1 and get to the FT line. This is why they got Jimmy though he's an absolute killer inside the arc and Curry's the best to ever do it behind the 3PT line. Perfect pairing.
Those are legit. But what's impressive about him is that he doesn't seem to need specific teammates or a certain system and some peculiar plays to dominate in the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the gerbil may be impactful but whatever success he enjoyed having wouldn't have existed if not for a top grade coach, bonafide allstar teammates and the element of surprise the league had seen a decade ago with their three-point prowess.

[ImKobe]

Those are legit. But what's impressive about him is that he doesn't seem to need specific teammates or a certain system and some peculiar plays to dominate in the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the gerbil may be impactful but whatever success he enjoyed having wouldn't have existed if not for a top grade coach, bonafide allstar teammates and the element of surprise the league had seen a decade ago with their three-point prowess.

Still took the team to the Finals in 2019 and was a Klay ACL injury away from potentially going 7 games and winning it, and that's with KD out and Iguodala and Looney etc hurt.

[StrongLurk]

Idk what these stats tell us other than Jimmy is very efficient in his role. Curry's been the more impactful player winning 2 of the 3 games with his shot-making, but his efficiency numbers are much lower because he has 16 turnovers to Jimmy's 1, but Curry's impact in these low-scoring games has been insane when you look at his point total and the shots he's created for others. He allows Jimmy to cook 1 on 1 and get to the FT line. This is why they got Jimmy though he's an absolute killer inside the arc and Curry's the best to ever do it behind the 3PT line. Perfect pairing.

Bro Jimmy's impact stats are off the charts. Far more than just "very efficient" lol. Curry obviously has a lot of impact but Butler is providing more when he is actually playing the court. Jimmy's raw box score won't pop out because he only played a few minutes in one of the games.

Curry was basically the 4th best player in game 4. Butler and Podz won the game for Curry.

[ImKobe]

Bro Jimmy's impact stats are off the charts. Far more than just "very efficient" lol. Curry obviously has a lot of impact but Butler is providing more when he is actually playing the court. Jimmy's raw box score won't pop out because he only played a few minutes in one of the games.

Curry was basically the 4th best player in game 4. Butler and Podz won the game for Curry.

Curry had to play almost half the series without Jimmy so his sample size is almost twice as big. Jimmy's had Steph for almost all his minutes on the court. That matters I think. Steph had his best game of the series without Jimmy but I'm not sure Jimmy could do the same if Steph was out and the Rockets could just focus their entire defense on him.

Curry's taking more shots and has a higher TS% despite not getting to the line nearly as much which is very impressive. It's just the turnovers that's bad for Steph but he's also seeing more double-teams and has to work harder for his shots. He was the 3rd most important player in Game 4 though you could argue 2nd, I think Jimmy and Dray had more impact on closing out the game but the attention Curry gets from opposing defenses creates a lot of shots for his teammates.

[Axe]

Still took the team to the Finals in 2019 and was a Klay ACL injury away from potentially going 7 games and winning it, and that's with KD out and Iguodala and Looney etc hurt.
He did. But they had hca all the way except in the finals, which was also their 5th-straight trip there bt.

[tpols]

Golden State would almost certainly be down 1-3 without Chef. Game 1 ended up being very close and they don't win that one without his 30+ points. Game 2 is obvious L. And Game 3 is blowout without his almost 40 point triple double. They might have won Game 4 on pride and heart alone and that's it. Dude carried them.

Even yesterday, if you watch the tape Houston was totally selling out on Curry with doubles and traps while leaving Butler in 1v1 coverage most of the time and guys like Podz wide open. Which is why podz had 26/5/5 yesterday as a role player. The Rockets clearly didn't want a repeat of Game 3.

It seems like some posters here don't actually watch the tape. Like... Jimmy Butler himself would admit coverage disparity and impact in this series. Hes missed half the games lmao.

[StrongLurk]

Curry had to play almost half the series without Jimmy so his sample size is almost twice as big. Jimmy's had Steph for almost all his minutes on the court. That matters I think. Steph had his best game of the series without Jimmy but I'm not sure Jimmy could do the same if Steph was out and the Rockets could just focus their entire defense on him.

Curry's taking more shots and has a higher TS% despite not getting to the line nearly as much which is very impressive. It's just the turnovers that's bad for Steph but he's also seeing more double-teams and has to work harder for his shots. He was the 3rd most important player in Game 4 though you could argue 2nd, I think Jimmy and Dray had more impact on closing out the game but the attention Curry gets from opposing defenses creates a lot of shots for his teammates.

My main point is so many people are crediting just Curry for getting a 3-1 lead in this series. He's been good of course, but Butler has been a top 5 impactful player in the playoffs WHEN he has been on the court.

[tpols]

My main point is so many people are crediting just Curry for getting a 3-1 lead in this series. He's been good of course, but Butler has been a top 5 impactful player in the playoffs WHEN he has been on the court.

He's only been on the court for half the series though. That's why your stats and post don't make sense.

[Axe]

Curry had to play almost half the series without Jimmy so his sample size is almost twice as big. Jimmy's had Steph for almost all his minutes on the court. That matters I think. Steph had his best game of the series without Jimmy but I'm not sure Jimmy could do the same if Steph was out and the Rockets could just focus their entire defense on him.

Curry's taking more shots and has a higher TS% despite not getting to the line nearly as much which is very impressive. It's just the turnovers that's bad for Steph but he's also seeing more double-teams and has to work harder for his shots. He was the 3rd most important player in Game 4 though you could argue 2nd, I think Jimmy and Dray had more impact on closing out the game but the attention Curry gets from opposing defenses creates a lot of shots for his teammates.
Well, he's had those impressive feats but i don't think they're quite convincing if you consider the fact that games 3 and 4 happened in their own floor. Where they're more or less expected to win important games there. But if he did in texas without butler? It's a whole different story imo.

[Im Still Ballin]

Jimmy's slow and measured approach is the perfect balancing act to Curry's frenetic attack. He provides an ideal change of tempo for the high-leverage environment of the playoffs.

[ImKobe]

My main point is so many people are crediting just Curry for getting a 3-1 lead in this series. He's been good of course, but Butler has been a top 5 impactful player in the playoffs WHEN he has been on the court.

That's fine. Jimmy's been great in 2 of their 3 wins. If you're saying he's been top 5 most impactful Curry's gotta be right there with him despite what these metrics tell you. They're kinda looking like Bron/AD in 2020 right now both with how efficient they've been scoring the ball, and doing it vs. the Rockets' defense is impressive.

[Neal Romer]

My feeling was the Butler addition added an extra round to the Warriors ceiling.

If they were gonna lose the play-in without him, they'd win the play-in with him. If they were gonna lose round 1 without him they'd win a round 1 with him.

I honestly didnt think it made them Finals contenders and I still dont. I know if you just look at the result of this series you probably think the Warriors are clearly better than the Rockets, but they really havent been. The Rockets missed 12 free throws last game and lost by 1 point. There was another game where they were right there and just some very small losses of composure cost them the game. The Warriors veteran experience has given them the slightest edge in this series and that's what's making the difference, but it's not like the Warriors are just visibly outclassing them from start to finish. It's been a very close series. The Rockets are beating themselves more than getting dominated by San Fransisco. Theyre still a year away at this point.

Whoever the Warriors play in the next two rounds are not gonna be the playoff neophytes these Rockets are. Could they win one more series? Sure, it's possible. But they dont look to me like a team with a very good chance of getting 2 or 3 more.

[tpols]

My feeling was the Butler addition added an extra round to the Warriors ceiling.

If they were gonna lose the play-in without him, they'd win the play-in with him. If they were gonna lose round 1 without him they'd win a round 1 with him.

I honestly didnt think it made them Finals contenders and I still dont. I know if you just look at the result of this series you probably think the Warriors are clearly better than the Rockets, but they really havent been. The Rockets missed 12 free throws last game and lost by 1 point. There was another game where they were right there and just some very small losses of composure cost them the game. The Warriors veteran experience has given them the slightest edge in this series and that's what's making the difference, but it's not like the Warriors are just visibly outclassing them from start to finish. It's been a very close series. The Rockets are beating themselves more than getting dominated by San Fransisco. Theyre still a year away at this point.

Whoever the Warriors play in the next two rounds are not gonna be the playoff neophytes these Rockets are. Could they win one more series? Sure, it's possible. But they dont look to me like a team with a very good chance of getting 2 or 3 more.

My feeling is the wolves will smoke them. They're like the Rockets on steroids in terms of size and athleticism plus they have legit star talent. If Houston big lineup dominated that much what will Minnesota do?

Kind of need the Lakers to win. Golden State can beat them at small ball and of course curry vs lebron isn't fair.

[StrongLurk]

My feeling was the Butler addition added an extra round to the Warriors ceiling.

If they were gonna lose the play-in without him, they'd win the play-in with him. If they were gonna lose round 1 without him they'd win a round 1 with him.

I honestly didnt think it made them Finals contenders and I still dont. I know if you just look at the result of this series you probably think the Warriors are clearly better than the Rockets, but they really havent been. The Rockets missed 12 free throws last game and lost by 1 point. There was another game where they were right there and just some very small losses of composure cost them the game. The Warriors veteran experience has given them the slightest edge in this series and that's what's making the difference, but it's not like the Warriors are just visibly outclassing them from start to finish. It's been a very close series. The Rockets are beating themselves more than getting dominated by San Fransisco. Theyre still a year away at this point.

Whoever the Warriors play in the next two rounds are not gonna be the playoff neophytes these Rockets are. Could they win one more series? Sure, it's possible. But they dont look to me like a team with a very good chance of getting 2 or 3 more.

I think the Warriors are the second best team out West with Butler. I think only OKC and Denver can beat the Warriors. Wolves vs Warriors would be an interesting series however.

[Axe]

The warriors were 3-1 against the wolves in the rs and that's before the butler trade happened. But being the 6th seed, the wolves will have hca if they happen to meet in the semifinals. Which probably wouldn't mean anything as long as butler is playing. Yikes, another path to the wcf for dingo it seems.

[ShawkFactory]

I think the Warriors are the second best team out West with Butler. I think only OKC and Denver can beat the Warriors. Wolves vs Warriors would be an interesting series however.

Clippers can absolutely beat them too. I'd give them the slight edge on the Wolves if they both hold on, but only very slightly. They'd be underdogs to OKC, Clips, and Denver for sure.

[Akeem34TheDream]

They are a pretty good duo but Rockets could have beaten them if they could have just made their fcking FTs and if Adams could play 30+ minutes.

[StrongLurk]

Clippers can absolutely beat them too. I'd give them the slight edge on the Wolves if they both hold on, but only very slightly. They'd be underdogs to OKC, Clips, and Denver for sure.

I mean sure, Clips on paper could do it, but I just don't trust them to. OKC and Denver I absolutely think would/could be Warriors.

Curry is a legend, but I think I am much higher on Jimmy and Draymond than most fans. They both have low usage% compared to the massive impact they bring to the court.