Butler, Leonard’s impact is focal point of Warriors-Clippers game originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO –The stakes will be high Sunday afternoon when the Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers meet. The incentives are similar and there is a deep mutual familiarity. Yet it’s the nascent unfamiliarity that could prove pivotal.
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This is the first time since Dec. 2023, 16 months, that the Warriors will face LA star Kawhi Leonard. This is the first time ever that the Clippers will see Jimmy Butler III as a Warrior.
Each of the two veterans hope to be the difference for his team when the ball goes up at Chase Center. Coverage on NBC Sports Bay Area begins with “Warriors Pregame Live” at 11:30 p.m. PT, with tipoff scheduled for 12:30.
“It should be a Game 7 type of vibe,” Stephen Curry says.
Oh, it will be. It is circumstances such as these that led the Warriors to acquire Butler at the Feb. 6 trade deadline. If “Playoff Jimmy” still is a thing, this would be a good time to see it.
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The sixth-place Warriors (48-33) are chasing victory because it would lock down the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference and a guaranteed playoff berth. A loss would drop them to seventh place and into the play-in tournament.
The fifth-place Clippers (49-32) would finish no lower than fifth if they win, but could tumble as low as seventh if they lose.
The Warriors are 0-3 against the Clippers this season, and injury maintenance kept Leonard inactive for all three games. He has been a regular presence since midseason. He has played in 13 of LA’s last 15 games, averaging 25.8 points per game on 54-percent shooting from the field, including 49.2 percent from deep. Leonard is relatively new to Golden State, but he is back to playing at All-Star level.
All three of LA’s wins over Golden State came when Butler was a member of the Miami Heat. The Clippers have not faced Butler at all this season.
“They beat us three times this year,” Draymond Green concedes, “but we’re a new team.”
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The Warriors were 25-26 before Butler made his debut, but since have posted a 23-7 record – 23-6 in games including Butler. He is averaging 17.5 points per game, shooting 46.8 percent from the field and 87.8 percent from the line, adding 5.8 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game.
Can the addition of Butler bring an end to LA’s bullying of the Warriors?
Is Leonard’s availability enough to overcome the progress of the “new” Warriors?
The veteran forwards will see plenty of each other in the regular-season finale, and whoever has the superior individual game puts his team in position to win.
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