The Golden State Warriors put their pre-game prediction aside to maintain their home court advantage despite Jimmy Butler never taking a 2-1 series lead over the Houston Rockets.
Steph Curry received competent support from Buddy Hield, Gary Payton II and others in a 104-93 victory over the Houston Rockets.
Draymond Green was at his brutal defensive best, doing all the little things that checked his team, rather than showing up in the box score.
Jimmy Butler missed the game due to injury in the second game, but Steve Kerr was not noticed his contribution.
It reminded me of Andreig Odara, the 2015 NBA Finals MVP.
The moment it was revealed that Butler would miss this game, the Warriors became an outsider of this game with an already fantasized rocket costume.
Fred Vanvriet even hinted that the warriors could not defeat them without a butler before the match.
According to Steve Kerr, the main reason it happened is that he was invaluable to victory despite Butler’s not actively contributing to his team score.
Kerr spoke about Butler’s contributions on the bench and what he did as a major reason for the Warriors to unleash this unlikely victory.
He states: “Jimmy is very smart. He reminds me of a lot of Andre Iguodara, reminding me of his incredible basketball IQ and his ability to communicate what he sees to his teammates.
“He was really important to us in that respect. He talked to the guys throughout the game, gave them advice, gave them help, and that was huge.”
After 74% of the time, the team that wins the third game wins the series.
If the Warriors are still feeling unwell about their chances, this victory will bring their confidence to high, especially due to the situation it came in.
Defeating the Rockets without the town’s Butler is a huge thing for their prospects and also sends a message to the rest of the NBA that they are here to be here.
Anyway, the Warriors weren’t the normal seventh species, but they were on the .500 team before Butler’s addition. So the playoff version of this team is a different animal with or without Butler.
The experience and know-how to win when the lights are brightest, can’t be measured, only felt, and the young rocket felt it perfectly in Game 3.
The Warriors are good at running deep into this playoff, and fantasize about the possibility of defeating young startups in the process.