LOS ANGELES – On the far end of the UCLA men’s basketball practice court at the Mo Ostin Basketball Center, Steph Curry still is working following Warriors shootaround, more than seven hours prior to their game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena.
Draymond Green is getting shots up on the same hoop. So is Jimmy Butler, with the rest of the team shooting on the opposite end or at a side hoop. Curry, Green and Butler are the center of the Warriors’ solar system. They aren’t surrounded by fellow stars in the starting lineup, but key components who can keep everything in sync or throw the Warriors out of whack.
Since Butler’s arrival from the Miami Heat, the former has been the story of a resurgent Golden State squad. Curry has been rejuvenated. Green has stated his Defensive Player of the Year case, with an equally competitive comrade to lean on.
The rest of the Warriors’ usual starting five when at full strength is made up of Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody, two 22-year-olds shining in their own regard.
"We make sure when teams look at us, they don't look at us as the weak links out there,” Podziemski said.
They haven’t been. The Warriors are 18-5 since Butler made his team debut on Feb. 8 in Chicago, and one of those losses came in a game he missed as an injury precaution. None of the five losses have been with Curry, Podziemski, Butler, Moody and Green all in the starting lineup.
After beating the Grizzlies in Memphis on Tuesday night, the Warriors jumped to the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference and improved to 12-0 using that starting five, giving them perhaps the best group in the NBA. Their 12-game win streak together is the longest by any team in the league this season, passing the Oklahoma City Thunder’s five-man unit of Cason Wallace, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Lu Dort and Isaiah Hartenstein that had an 11-game win streak together from Dec. 3, 2024 through Jan. 5, 2025.
"It's been pretty simple since Jimmy's gotten here,” Podziemski said. “We got really high-IQ guys in the starting lineup and guys kind of just know how the floor is supposed to look, what shots you're going to get it and it all meshes good."
Adding Butler next to Curry has simplified everything for the Warriors, particularly for Moody and Podziemski.
"It's a good flow out there on the floor,” Moody said. “Playing through Jimmy, playing through Steph opens a lot of things up."
Podziemski has played 19 games in the Butler era, missing five to a lower back problem. In that span, Podziemski has averaged 13.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. Moody hasn’t missed any action, averaging 11.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game with Butler on the Warriors. Both have seen their defensive responsibilities increase, too.
With Andrew Wiggins gone as part of the Butler trade, Moody has individually taken on the challenge of defending the opposition’s top scorer. Though he’s only shooting 33.9 percent on 3-pointers in the past eight weeks with Butler in the fold, Moody’s defensive intensity has shined, as has Podziemski’s on plenty of occasions.
Each player has averaged at least a steal per game for the new-look Warriors.
“We know Jimmy and Steph do so much for us offensively,” Podziemski said. “Me and Moses have taken on the challenge of guarding the best guys every night and making it easier on the other guys."
The quintet technically has played 14 games together, producing a 120.3 offensive rating and 102.4 defensive rating in 133 minutes, giving the group a 17.9 net rating. There have been 20 five-man lineups in the NBA that have played at least 100 minutes together since Butler’s first game in a Warriors jersey. The Curry-Podziemski-Butler-Moody-Green lineup has the sixth-best offensive rating during that duration, plus the third-best defensive rating and third-best net rating.
"We're just trying to win games,” Moody said. “When it comes down to the stretch, whatever it takes. Young guys, old guys, everybody's really just all-in, putting everything they got on the floor and trying to come out with wins."
Golden State’s Big Three – Curry, Green and Butler – combined to score 92 of the Warriors’ 134 points against the Grizzlies. Moody (10 points) and Podziemski (eight points) accounted for 18 points. Yet they came through in the clutch for the Warriors when it mattered most.
Podziemski flew in for a wild tip-in, using his off-hand to save a missed three from Curry, putting the Warriors ahead by five points with a little over a minute left. Moody sealed the game, hitting a wide-open three of his own from the left corner, increasing the Warriors’ lead to eight points at the 40-second mark of the fourth quarter.
“We understood what was at stake going into that game,” Podziemski said. “We both didn't play particularly well offensively throughout the course of the game, but when it mattered most, we stepped up and made plays. His corner three, my tip-in at the end. It's a good feeling as a young guy to have Steve trust you out there when it matters most."
No weak links.
More weight is placed upon the shoulders of Curry, Green and Butler than anybody else. The play of Podziemski and Moody has provided a sense of relief, as well as added trust for what should be a brawling sprint to the regular-season’s finish line, before the pressure really turns on.
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