Draymond Green sends clear 4-word message to Jimmy Butler as they gear up for NBA Playoffs run
The Golden State Warriors took care of business at home and punched their postseason ticket on Tuesday night.
Despite Ja Morant's big game, Steve Kerr's team came through with a 121-116 win to clinch the seventh seed in the Western Conference and a first-round matchup with the Houston Rockets.
Notably, they needed a big effort from Jimmy Butler to pull it off. He took charge in the first half and finished the game with a team-high 38 points, adding seven rebounds, six assists, three steals, and two three-pointers.
That's why, after the win, Draymond Green took to Instagram to give his new teammate a big shoutout and get him hyped up ahead of the actual start of the playoffs:
"Now we roll Jimbo!" Green wrote.
The Grizzlies kept giving Butler wide-open looks on the perimeter, and he punished them over and over. Then, on the other end of the floor, he was a driving force as always, forcing misses and tough shots left and right.
Jimmy Butler wants to win a ring for Stephen Curry
The Warriors took a big swing when they traded for Butler mid-season. They did so because they still felt they could make a championship run with Stephen Curry, and Butler is up for the task.
More than that, he knows this might be Curry's last shot at another championship, and he wants to do whatever is in his power to make sure he gets a fair chance to pull it off:
“When I talked to Steph and Dray and Steve before I even got here, I told them I can help,” Butler said after the win. “I feel like I can give any team, especially this one, a chance to win a title. I want everybody to be happy, especially Steph. He deserves it. What he’s done for the game of basketball—not just this city and this organization—is incredible.”
Curry bounced back after a somewhat slow start to the game. He scored 37 points with eight rebounds, four assists, one steal, and six three-pointers. Needless to say, any time two players combine for 75 points, you're bound to have a big chance to win.
The Houston Rockets will be a tough team to get past. They play physical and pesky defense, and they have multiple players to throw at Curry. Then again, this team has championship pedigree, and they posted the third-best record in the NBA after the Butler trade.