It’s hard to adequately quantify momentum, but it’s something that can’t be ignored when a team is rolling like the Warriors are right now.
Golden State is 14-2 since acquiring All-NBA wing Jimmy Butler via trade, with confidence levels through the roof as the Warriors continue to rack up wins.
Following Saturday’s 97-94 victory over the New York Knicks, Draymond Green offered a very blunt assessment of Butler’s impact on the Warriors.
“It’s a real ball club now,” Green told ABC’s Lisa Salters. “With [Butler] on this team, whether he has 11 points or 30, it makes us a real ball club. And when we’re a real ball club, we usually win championships.”
Golden State’s gritty triumph over New York is the 12th consecutive game the Warriors have won with Butler in the lineup, improving the Dubs’ record to 14-1 overall when the six-time NBA All-Star takes the court for them.
The Warriors long have been synonymous with NBA greatness, and Butler’s presence now allows Green to enter games with a similar confidence Golden State exuded when it spent the better part of a decade at the pinnacle of the sport.
“Feels great. After getting beat up on a little bit the last few years, it feels amazing to just walk in and know that you have a chance to win,” Green told Salters. “That’s what we play for, you put a lot of work in, you want to play on the biggest stage. To put these wins together, it feels amazing.”
The Warriors (39-28) valiantly are hanging on to the Western Conference’s No. 6 playoff seed, with Butler’s presence sparking a crucial newfound energy that has allowed Golden State to keep pace in a frenetic postseason race.
While the days of Golden State’s dynastic dominance might be gone, the belief that they are capable of reaching basketball’s most prestigious mountaintop remain strong as ever.
Whether or not that comes to fruition remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain — the journey to get there will be must-see television.
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