Steph Curry has paid his running mate Jimmy Butler the ultimate compliment after a comment from Charles Barkley.
After the Warriors’ impressive win, where Curry and Butler combined for 56 points, Barkley spoke about Jimmy being the second option behind Steph.
“Obviously, he’s a heck of a player,” Barkley said. “He’s giving you the ability to rest more. He’s not as great as you, but he’s a really nice second closer to have on the team, correct?”
To which Curry replied:
“Jimmy’s nice. Don’t get that twisted,” Curry said. “He’s carried teams to the Finals. The idea of what he brings to us is another guy who is just comfortable with the ball in his hands to create for himself and others, no matter what the situation is. You saw plenty of times, he kind of made something out of nothing. He is a legitimate ballhandler, where we can give it to him in space, on the post, at the elbow, wherever, and teams have to respect him. So if I can space and give him room and keep the defense honest, that helps. And we’ve had a really good chemistry since he’s been here.”
Butler’s other veteran teammate Draymond Green was very complimentary of the possessions that go through Jimmy.
“It always just settles the offense down,” Green observed of the possessions that run through Butler. “That’s what we want, and I think we’ve got to do an even better job of making sure we’re getting him the ball. Overall, he’s such a huge calming force for us.”
Green is going to win this year’s DPOY, former NBA Player Chandler Parsons says.
“Draymond Green is gonna win Defensive Player of the Year because Jimmy Butler went to Golden State,” said Parsons.
The Warriors have the number one defense in the league since trading for Jimmy.
