Warriors-Bucks Preview: The Jimmy Butler Revenge Tour Hits Milwaukee

Butler is a notorious Buck-hunter; what will he and Steph conjure up against the Greek Freak and Dame Time?

Let’s talk probability and poetry, Dub Nation. The Warriors (26-26) roll into Milwaukee to face the skidding Bucks (27-23) with their new weapon of mass disruption, and the numbers are painting an interesting picture.

Talk about Jimmy Butler and the Milwaukee Bucks, a relationship that’s like Omar sauntering on the block in the Wire and spreading immediate panic. During the 2023 playoffs, Butler didn’t just beat the Bucks... he systematically dismantled the #1 seed with the kind of methodical ruthlessness usually reserved for heist movies where the protagonist explains the plan while wearing a really nice suit.

Golden State Warriors at Milwaukee Bucks

When: February 10th, 2024 | 5:00 PM PT

TV: NBC Sports

Radio: 95.7 The Game

Remember that series? Butler averaged 37.6 points against Milwaukee, the kind of number that makes you double-check the stats because it feels like a typo. He turned the Bucks’ defensive scheme into his personal playground, and then bullied them directly out of the playoffs. That wasn’t just scoring, it was performance art with a dash of psychological warfare.

But here’s the terrifying part for Milwaukee: that was Jimmy with Miami’s spacing. Now? He’s got the greatest shooter of all time warping defensive coverages like a basketball black hole. The Warriors aren’t just bringing Butler’s Bucks-hunting expertise. They’re bringing a completely revamped offensive attack that just dropped 132 points on Chicago.

The Bucks have historically struggled with their drop coverage against elite guards. Now he’s got Steph Curry’s gravitational field to work with (as Butler himself noted: “They’re not leaving him ever. I get to play 1-on-1 or in space.”). That’s like giving a master safecracker the building blueprints and telling everyone to take a lunch break.

The Butler-Curry combo produced 59 points in their first game together, engineering a 45-point turnaround that made the Bulls question their life choices. Here’s their combined shot chart where they combined to shoot 17-of-31 from the field:

What we saw in Chicago was a team that finally had a counterpunch to go with Steph’s haymakers. When defenses overplay Curry (who dropped 24 points in a QUARTER against Chicago), they now have to deal with Butler’s rim attacks. It’s like choosing between dental work and a root canal: both options end in pain.

The timing couldn’t be better for Golden State to catch Milwaukee, who are doing their best impression of a team trying to solve a Rubik’s cube in the dark, losing six out of their last ten. Their latest attempt at a fix? Kyle Kuzma, who’s shooting a career-worst 28.6% from three and 60% from the free throw line.

Milwaukee will counter with their own star duo of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, but they’re still adjusting to life without Khris Middleton. Meanwhile, the Warriors just turned a 24-point deficit into a 21-point win with their new lineup barely knowing each other’s coffee orders.

I have a feeling that Monday night somewhere Pat Riley will be watching through gritted teeth as his former player shows exactly why letting him go might have been a mistake roughly the size of Wisconsin itself.

The Jimmy Butler Revenge Tour continues. Milwaukee’s just another stop on the schedule, but something tells me this one might be circled in red.