San Francisco – Jimmy Butler ran down the right lane of the court and caught Gary Payton II’s pass to complete a 2-on-1 fastbreak. He jumped two feet, and was perpendicular with 7-foot Lauri Markkanen, absorbing the Utah Jazz star before taking the ball to his right and kissing the glass for two points.
The Warriors snapped a three-game losing streak by defeating the Jazz 134-117 on Monday night at Chase Center. Butler was their prize at last season’s trade deadline. Markkanen is a player he highly liked during the summer of 2024.
There’s no talk the Warriors would make a change about acquiring Butler to co-star Steph Curry with Draymond Green.
“Lauri Markkanen has been incredible. He’s been playing at a high level the last few years,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after practice Sunday.
Heading into his game against Golden State, Markkanen was averaging a career-high 29.3 points per game, which was tied for seventh-best mark in the NBA, just ahead of Curry. This season he already had 51-point games, three games with 40 or more points and eight games with at least 30 points. The 2023 All-Star and former NBA Most Improved Player winner looked to make a leap into one of the league’s leading scorers, especially given his size.
Whatever Markkanen does as an off-ball 3-point threat who can score in a variety of ways for Jazz coach Will Hardy can be envisioned in Kerr’s offensive system. Both coaches have history with Team USA Basketball, and Kerr greatly respects the younger Hardy’s approach.
“That’s how we approach the game, but to be really efficient at it, you need someone like Markkanen or Steph or Klay (Thompson),” Kerr said during his pregame press conference. “You need someone who has to attract that type of attention to create reactions from the defense. What I see is a team that creates space well, that is pushing it forward, that is playing aggressively, playing with confidence.
“Yeah, it’s hard to protect them.”
So, Kerr framed a player 10 inches shorter on Markkanen in the Warriors’ first game against the Jazz this season. With injuries to Draymond Green and Al Horford, Gary Payton II was tasked with guarding Markkanen to start the game and a handful of Warriors were part of the Jazz star’s second-worst scoring night of the season. Markkanen scored 17 points on 31.6-percent shooting (6 of 19), nearly 13 points more than his average last season, and was only 1 of 5 from 3-point range.
He was at minus-20 in 33 minutes.
Butler, meanwhile, was plus-19 in 28 minutes, looking dominant at his best. Always in control, Butler scored 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting, had six rebounds (equal to the team) and seven assists (one behind Payton’s eight). The farthest he shot was a 13-foot jumper after recognizing a mismatch guarded by rookie Walter Clayton Jr.
Butler recovered his first miss, a contested layup through traffic, and returned it for two points. His second miss was a driving layup where Butler expected more contact, and his third miss was actually caused by Clayton swiping down and blocking the initiation of a shot around his waist.
The summer of 2024 was all about Paul George and Markkanen for the Warriors. They dodged a bullet for George, who played only 41 games last year and only three games this season. Markkanen had a poor season playing in 47 games last season and Butler, who didn’t get a chance to play against George as a Warrior last season, outplayed him in his first game with Golden State against Utah.
At the trade deadline the Warriors’ focus turned to a Kevin Durant reunion, which could not happen due to KD not wanting to reopen that chapter of his career. Durant did not play last April when Butler and the Warriors defeated the Phoenix Suns. He will miss the Houston Rockets’ game against the Warriors on Wednesday due to a personal family matter.
Any type of warriors Markkanen, George or Durant have been given a rest because of Butler’s presence. The trio of Butler, Curry and Green have played 14 games together this season and are plus-61 with a 15.0 net rating. Green missed Monday’s win, but the Curry-Butler duo has been plus-50 in 15 games this season and has produced a 120.6 offensive rating.
After defeating the Jazz, the Warriors at 10-9 are one game above .500, powered by three players age 35 or older who are still elite. The Warriors were again reminded that although Butler was not the franchise’s first choice before they knew he was available, he was the perfect choice for a move where they were able to keep all of their best assets to keep Curry and Green in their first full season together.
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