The Golden State Warriors picked up a 104-93 win over the Milwaukee Bucks tonight while resting Stephen Curry after load concerns for the Warriors guard prompted his teammates to step up in his absence.
Jimmy Butler was the star the Warriors needed, putting up 24 points (6-13 FG), eight rebounds, and 10 assists. Brandin Podziemski had 17 points (6-10 FG) and seven rebounds while Draymond Green put on a defensive masterclass with 10 rebounds, two steals, and four blocks. Buddy Hield scored 15 points (5-7 FG) with six rebounds while Quinten Post had 14 points (5-10 FG).
The Bucks were led by Kyle Kuzma’s 22 points (7-16 FG). Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 20 points (5-16 FG), nine rebounds, seven assists, three steals, and two blocks, with Damian Lillard contributing 16 points (6-18 FG). Brook Lopez also had 16 points (7-10 FG) in a game where the Bucks offense sputtered out of control.
Let’s take a deeper look at this game and analyze its major takeaways,
The Warriors Have A Strong Record Without Stephen Curry
This was Curry’s 10th missed game of the season. For a team that’s extremely reliant on Curry’s production to win games, they seem to consistently rally around each other when their franchise superstar is out. They’re 7-3 in non-Curry games this season, with most of these wins coming earlier in the year before the acquisition of a certified No. 2 option like Jimmy Butler.
These wins haven’t even been highlighted by hot shooting or strong offense, as the Warriors have shot 43.3% from the field and 36.5% from three when Curry doesn’t play. However, the team managed to ramp up its defensive intensity to an extremely high level. They have held three teams to under 100 points without Curry in the lineup, with Kerr embracing a specified defensive ethos when Curry isn’t there.
If anyone’s conclusion is that the Warriors are better off without Curry after reading this, they’re completely wrong. This is just a testament to the grittiness of the overall squad and the tactical expertise of coach Steve Kerr to have maximized these results in a season where one or two extra wins could be the difference from an automatic Playoff spot or the No. 9 seed.
A Defensive Masterclass
As we touched upon in the previous point, this game went in Golden State’s favor because of their excellent defense. The Bucks went 31-79 (39.2 FG%) from the field and 12-38 (31.6 3P%) from three on the night, completely clueless on how to attack the Warriors to get consistent buckets.
Active perimeter defense ensured Damian Lillard struggled to get his offense off, losing his third straight game to the Warriors since joining the Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo shot a paltry 5-16 from the field, with most of the credit for this going to Draymond Green’s incredibly intelligent defense on him. The Warriors really made it a point to neutralize Giannis, which went on to affect the entire Bucks roster anyway.
Jimmy Butler has had a defensive edge to the Warriors alongside Draymond that they didn’t have before the trade despite having a positive defensive asset like Andrew Wiggins. There’s a clear mentality shift within the organization, and this win was a result of that.
Bucks Looking A Step Away From Contention
Despite having most of their primary Playoff rotation players on the floor tonight, the Bucks just couldn’t beat a middle-of-the-road West team without their best player tonight. This should ring some warning bells within the organization, who tried doing everything they could against the Warriors but fell short nonetheless.
This performance is also coming off an equally rancid offensive showing against the OKC Thunder, showing the Bucks might have some built-in limitations that will put a ceiling on their competitive future. This doesn’t look like a Playoff threat right now, let alone an NBA Finals threat.
They made a strong comeback after falling to a near 20-point deficit in the first half but didn’t have the stomach to shut the Warriors out of the game after they took a third-quarter lead. Their defense was solid but their offensive execution looked completely flat in the face of the aggressive Warriors’ defense.
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