On Monday evening, the Golden State Warriors continued their winning ways with a home win over the Portland Trail Blazers, pushing their record to 37-28 in the process. The game marked the first triple double for Jimmy Butler since joining the Warriors, as the multi-time All-Star racked up 15 points to go along with ten rebounds and assists.
After the game, Butler was described as a “connector” for the Warriors by teammate Buddy Hield. Butler then teased Hield, showcasing the Warriors' increasing team chemistry in the process, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic on X, formerly Twitter.
“Don't listen to nothing Buddy says ever,” said Butler. “He can't even spell connector now that I think about it.”
Later in his media availability, Butler called out to Hield across the locker room.
“Buddy, spell connector,” instructed Butler. He then jokingly scolded someone else in the locker room who appeared to be Hield's phone-a-friend.
The Warriors are surging
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Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III (10) catches a pass over Portland Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe (17) during the second quarter at Chase Center.
John Hefti-Imagn Images
The Warriors have now won 12 of their 14 games since acquiring Butler, including narrow wins over the Detroit Pistons and the Blazers at home since returning from their Eastern Conference road trip.
While Butler hasn't been putting up Herculean stat lines (Monday's triple double aside), he has certainly provided a degree of stability on offense and versatility on defense for a Warriors team that was sorely lacking in both areas. His arrival has also seemingly unlocked a new element to Stephen Curry's game, as the former MVP has seen his averages take a dramatic uptick since the Butler trade.
Currently, the Warriors occupy the sixth seed in the Western Conference, which would set them up for a likely first round matchup against either the Denver Nuggets or Los Angeles Lakers. However, if the team keeps winning at this impressive clip, it's not outside the realm of possibility that they could move themselves up to fifth place, currently occupied by the Houston Rockets.
In any case, the Warriors now have a well-deserved couple days of rest before they next hit the floor on Thursday evening at home against the Sacramento Kings. That game is slated to tip off at 10:00 PM ET from the Chase Center.