NBA – Amid Draymond Green controversy, Jimmy Butler honest: “On this team, he’s the only one”

Par Pierre-Andréa Fraile | Journaliste sportif

Capable of both the best and the worst since the start of the series against the Timberwolves, Draymond Green has been in the news for all the wrong reasons in recent days. Against this sulphurous backdrop, Jimmy Butler had this to say about him.

In the absence of Stephen Curry, they know that their margin for error is minimal, if not non-existent. The Warriors confirmed this in Game 3 against the Timberwolves, which they narrowly lost on Saturday at the Chase Center (97-102). Although disappointed by the result, Steve Kerr drew some positive lessons from the game. Or at least at the end of the first three quarters:

Steve Kerr: Our defense performed very well. We held them to 102 points, which is a pretty remarkable total. But (Julius) Randle and (Anthony) Edwards really found their rhythm in the second half and that was the key to this game. We couldn’t really contain them, especially in the fourth quarter, and that’s what made the difference.

Jimmy Butler on the importance of Draymond Green

Clearly dominated during the money-time of this game, the Warriors couldn’t really count on Draymond Green at that point. The latter was ejected after six fouls were committed, and was widely criticized for it. In his absence, however, the Wolves had a field day offensively, scoring 18 points in less than 5 minutes. A substantial and fatal total for Golden State.

A helpless witness to this decisive momentum, Jimmy Butler inevitably lamented the exclusion of his inside man in a press conference. It was an opportunity for him to reiterate the importance of the latter in the Dubs’ defensive system:

Jimmy Butler: Draymond is obviously one of the best defenders in the world. In any case, he’s the best of our group.

When he’s not on the court, everything is different. In this team, he’s the only one who can handle the defense the way he does, switch on any player, dive on every ball and take so many rebounds.

With these words, Butler could be trying to send a message to his teammate for the rest of the series.

Draymond will have to be much more cautious and manage his emotions better in the coming days. As a reminder, he had already come close to a hasty return to the locker room during Game 3 due to a controversial spat towards a referee. However, his franchise cannot reasonably manage without him, and even less so until Curry is back in business.