While much is made of Stephen Curry's continued brilliance at nearly 38-years-old, the same can very much be said for Jimmy Butler who remains a dominant figure for the Golden State Warriors.
The 36-year-old is still near the top of his game and is more than capable of big performances, with the Warriors needing to realize that the veteran star duo of he and Curry can still take them far if they're to add one more supportive offensive piece prior to the February 5 deadline.
Jimmy Butler's play warrants Warriors making another big trade
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Golden State suffered a 124-111 loss to the Atlanta Hawks at Chase Center on Sunday night, but it was through no fault of Curry and Butler who each dropped 30-point games despite the double-digit defeat.
Butler may often prefer to play facilitator and get his teammates involved as a playmaker, yet Sunday's game proved he's still got big scoring games within him, making the Warriors a dangerous playoff threat if he and Curry are both healthy.
The 6x All-Star had 30 points, just the fourth time he's reached that mark so far this season. Butler shot 10-of-19 from the floor in his nearly 34 minutes, marking the second most field-goal attempts in a game this season. He also added seven rebounds, six assists and two steals in an impressive all-around performance despite the team result.
The loss also proved the team's lack of a genuine third scorer, with Butler and Curry again asked to do much heavy lifting from a scoring standpoint. De'Anthony Melton was the only other Warrior in double figures with 10, something that was in stark contrast to the Hawks who had six such players and four of who had at least 18 points.
While it's easy to state that the Warriors need to realize what they've got with Curry and that they should sacrifice draft capital for a win-now move, perhaps it would be fairer to allude to it as the Curry-Butler combination, such is the latter's importance to this team.
Butler is averaging 19.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.9 assists, shooting 50.9% from the floor and 38% from 3-point range. He's the perfect 'Robin' to Curry's 'Batman', yet Golden State still need more try and compete with the absolute top tier of teams in the league.
Whether it's Michael Porter Jr., Trey Murphy III or another bonafide scorer, the Warriors need to execute a seismic trade before the deadline to not only maximize Curry, but the greatness of Butler as well.