The Thunder beat the Warriors 126-102 on Tuesday night and Golden State has now lost four of its last five games to drop to 6-6 on the season. Draymond Green offered a harsh assessment of the team after the game, saying that it didn't seem like everyone was committed to winning, and he was not alone.
Jimmy Butler spoke with the media in the locker room after the game and agreed with Green's assessment, saying the players have to fight every night, which they aren't doing right now.
"I think he's partly correct," said Butler. "We just gotta get back to doing whatever it takes to win. Everybody might have to sacrifice something. I can’t tell you what that sacrifice might be for every individual. It may be different for every individual, every single night. It’s got to get back to winning is the main thing, and the only thing. It's gonna be the collective of the group has to figure out what is needed to win."
"I just think that the fight’s not always there," Butler said in a follow-up. "If you're not making shots, it's giving us an out to not guard. Whatever reason that might be. You gotta fight no matter what."
Butler was traded to the Warriors last season after he lost his joy playing with the Heat. Butler played five years in Miami before things went south with the franchise. In March, the Warriors sounded like they weren't worried about Butler's honeymoon phase, but he's only been with the team for 41 regular season games and things are already sounding kind of joyless.