Jimmy Butler has hit the ground running with the Warriors, helping them to a seven-game winning streak at home since he was traded. In the Warriors’ last game of the regular season against the Clippers (119-124), there was a hilarious sequence at the free throw line that many Warriors fans may have missed.
Jimmy Butler was at the free-throw line in the first quarter of the play-in game when Podziemski seemed to have said something to him. In the following few seconds, Butler misses the free throw, the Clippers break out on transition until Harden misses the layup, and Podziemski runs out on transition the other way. After Podziemski finds Butler cutting into the paint for an easy lay-up. Butler got fouled on the way up, but he made the layup.
Following this, Butler turns around and yells at Podziemski. The fan who caught the incident on camera explained on Reddit how Butler visibly said, “Don’t talk to me at the free throw line.” Butler doesn’t seem to tolerate anyone talking to him when he’s at the free-throw line, even if it’s his teammates.
What Brandin Podziemski Said About Jimmy Butler Going Into The Playoffs?
Jimmy Butler was a deadline-day trade acquisition after the Warriors sent the former NBA champion Andrew Wiggins to Miami in return. With Butler’s arrival in Golden State, the general expectations around the Warriors’ season have changed. And with that came a change in the locker room atmosphere.
In an interview with the Warriors’ press a few days ago, Brandin Podziemski spoke about what the Warriors expect from Jimmy Butler in the playoffs.
“I think everybody knows Jimmy, that’s Playoff Jimmy. The guy who scored 50 in the Finals. I think so far, sometimes he almost passes to a fault. We want Jimmy to be ultra-aggressive. I talked to Steph before the game, when the tipoff started, we just tried to get Jimmy the ball as much as we could at the start of the game to get him into rhythm. He only shot 4 shots tonight, but he made the right play over and over again. But I know when playoffs roll around, it’s time, Jimmy will be there”, he said.
Jimmy Butler’s Record vs. The Rockets
Jimmy Butler has only faced the Rockets once in the playoffs in his career. During his time with the Minnesota Timberwolves, they qualified for the Playoffs in 2018 and faced Houston in the first round. They lost that series 1-4. Butler averaged 15.8 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for that series.
However, it’s been 7 years since Butler last faced the Rockets in the NBA playoffs. A lot has changed in that time, and Butler has clearly shown with the Miami Heat how he earned the nickname ‘Playoff Jimmy’. So the Rockets may have to pick their poison with Curry or Butler if Playoff Jimmy resurrects once again. This incident from today’s game should send the message to Butler’s teammates that he is locked in and expects them to be locked in, too.
