One has to blink twice to believe it! The Golden State Warriors have transformed into something that they had longed for. Especially, Stephen Curry’s historic night against the Orlando Magic has an important message to the NBA world. The superstar dropped a season-high 56 points tonight, orchestrating a fighting win against the Florida side. Apart from the 12 triples that Chef sunk, there’s something more to the performance, triggering a lot of questions against the refs.
The 4x NBA Champ took a trip to the free throw line 12 times tonight. Yes, that’s true. These are rare occasions where Curry had a hand of whistles blown in favor of him. Or else, it would be a never-ending debate about how he never received calls despite the brute physicality thrown against him. But is it rare anymore? Have things changed since the arrival of Jimmy Butler? Will get to that in a bit.
Before that, let’s look at how tonight’s game has put the refs on the spot. It wasn’t just Stephen Curry who had the whistles coming in. It was the entire team. Despite attempting more than half of the shots from the 3-point line, the Dubs received 34 FT attempts. That’s insane and Magic coach Jamahl Mosley wanted answers, as he said, ” I want… to be helped to understand how we can attack the basket the way we do, and they shoot a ton of jump shots, and they get 34 free throws. I really want to understand that.”
Yes, that’s a valid argument. The Magic side with dominant forwards like Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner thrive on the paint and often accumulate their points with three-point plays. Tonight, they managed to reach the FT line only 18 times. Well, we don’t have answers to that either. However, there’s one possible reason behind his massive shift. It could be Jimmy Butler.
Did the Warriors solve Stephen Curry’s long-pending problem?
“I’ve never been what they call a foul baiter or worried about selling calls… I made jokes like when ‘I got two free throws a day I cheered’ and let out a nice little yell just being sarcastic,” said Stephen Curry a year ago. Fast forward to the present, a lot has changed. There wasn’t a day that went by where Steve Kerr expressed his dissatisfaction with the calls that Steph received.
Once he had to keep his composure at the press, as he said, “I might comment on the free throws that they shot, but my mom is here right now, and I want to be on my best behavior.” Jokes apart, I think I made the point. The Dubs weren’t the team that had so many FT opportunities. But they made Magic feel what it’s like to be them.
Feb 12, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler (10) and guard Stephen Curry (30) during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Golden State Warriors at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
So, how did this happen? The answer is Jimmy Butler. Before the ex-Heat star came into the side, the Warriors attempted 20.4 FTs per game and there’s a significant increase in that with 24.6 attempts.
Many pundits argued that the number of stoppages in between games has allowed the superstar to take a breather, which he barely did during his never-ending off-ball movement. Above all, Butler has also habituated the refs to blow the whistles for the Dubs since his return, as he averaged 9.2 FT attempts per game since the trade.
So, the NBA world should be prepared to face the new version of Steph, a lethal one.
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