Steve Kerr Admits to Misusing Star After Trail Blazers Loss

Jimmy Butler went just 3-of-11 for 16 points in the Golden State Warriors' 136-131 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.

After the game, Steve Kerr was asked about Butler's performance.

"I gotta find a way to get him more into the groove of the game. You know, 11 shots. You know, I don't really consider Jimmy's game to be dependent on how many shots he gets. But we do need his scoring. We do need his playmaking.

"I thought we did a better job last year of putting him in position to attack and create shots for people. We need to get back to that type of control of the game where we're going to him in the half court, especially when Steph's out. Going to him in the half court, taking care of the ball, turning the other team over, controlling the game.

"And we're not there. We've had a few moments during the season, but we're not able to consistently put the ball in Jimmy's hands and let him control games like we did at the end of last year."

The reporter asked why not, and this was Kerr's response:

"Well, I think we're a little more in a random flow, and I think we need to be more particular with getting to some sets where we know we can get him the ball. The Minnesota game, he went like four straight possessions without him touching the ball when Steph was not on the floor. That's on me. That's also on our players to understand. I mean, I can't call a play every time, nor do I want to. So we have to find a way in collaboration—the players and the staff—to make sure we're playing through Jimmy and getting the game under control."

Butler is averaging 19.1 points and 5.0 assists this season, which is similar to his stats with Golden State last year (17.9 points and 5.9 assists). But several factors—including the team's turnover rate—are making Butler's contributions less impactful.

The Warriors are playing a slightly faster pace than they were last year. They might be better off slowing games down and trying to avoid track meets like Sunday's. When there is lots of transition play, Butler can get lost in the shuffle.

Warriors Need More from Butler in the Clutch

Kerr was talking more about getting Butler touches to avoid long droughts and less about his lack of touches down the stretch of games.

Both are issues, and the latter reared its ugly head again Sunday.

In the final four minutes of the game, Butler had just two shot attempts, both of which were missed tip-ins after Stephen Curry missed a layup. He otherwise had no stats in that stretch. Just the two offensive rebounds from that one sequence.

Overall, Butler has played in 10 games this season that fit NBA.com's definition of a clutch game (within five points with five minutes or less to go).

Butler has just 13 points on 4-of-14 shooting in those games.

Meanwhile, Curry has 44 points on 13-of-35 shooting in nine clutch games.

I wouldn't expect Butler to score as often as Curry in the clutch, but the gap between them is surprising.

In his last full season with the Heat, Butler had 61 clutch points in 31 games, which isn't elite but is better than 13 in 10 games.

In 2022-23, Butler had 151 clutch points in 43 games.

Perhaps Butler is no longer the caliber of player he was in 2022-23, but he's clearly capable of more than 13 points in 10 games.