The Golden State Warriors are just one win away from advancing to the second round of the NBA Playoffs.
As Warriors fans know, getting even this far wasn’t a guarantee. At their lowest point, the Warriors were the No. 12 seed looking up at a stacked Western Conference.
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Mike Dunleavy pulled the trigger on what could be a franchise-altering move when he traded away Andrew Wiggins to bring in six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler.
Ex-NBA player omits Warriors duo from list
Butler’s impact was immediately felt and the Warriors went 23-7 in the regular season with Butler.
After Butler left Game 2 with a pelvic contusion, the Warriors allowed Jalen Green to score 38 points.
Stephen Curry picked up the slack in Butler’s Game 3 absence and scored 36 points.
Butler returned for Game 4 and the Warriors needed every bit of his production. He led the team with 27 points, 14 of which came in the fourth quarter. He was 12-for-12 from the free-throw line in the game and 5-for-5 in the final minute to help the Warriors hold off the Rockets.
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For the series, Butler is averaging 26 points per game, as is Curry.
However, despite the top-tier production, former NBA Player Chandler Parsons hasn’t been impressed.
In a recent segment for FanDuel TV, he gave his five best duos in the NBA Playoffs. Noticeably, Curry and Butler were omitted from the list.
Instead, Parsons named Jayson Tatum /Jaylen Brown, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander/Jalen Williams, Donovan Mitchell/Darius Garland, Jalen Brunson/Karl-Anthony Towns and Jamal Murray/Nikola Jokic.
There are plenty of arguments to be made for and against this list.
While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is favored to take home the Most Valuable Player Award, seeing Williams in a list of top duos over a pair like Curry and Butler may leave fans scratching their heads.