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Butler's arrival rejuvenates achy, fatigued Steph, providing a much-needed boost of support as reported by NBC Sports Bay Area

It has been almost three years since Stephen Curry shed tears before the world, pouring out on the TD Garden floor in Boston after a challenging season ended for the Warriors and, particularly, for him, ended with both on top of the NBA.

Pardon Curry, though, if he is weeping a bit on the inside. He has spent recent weeks being the good solider, laboring through various aches and pains, with commendable dedication. His stubborn strain is strong, and his star would be “super” without it.

But it’s not going well, not by his lofty standard. He is trying to carry the Warriors through considerably troubled waters, as he has before, and his futility is visible on paper and video.

We don’t know how badly Curry wanted to be teammates with Jimmy Butler, but it’s evident that the newest Warrior, acquired Thursday from the Miami Heat, brings something he needs: High-quality help, particularly on offense.

“Being able to utilize the space that I can create, the gravity, as we call it,” Curry told reporters at Crypto.com Arena after a 120-112 loss to the Lakers. “But that’s a two-way street. I’ve got to be able to help him, he’s got to be able to help me. And in those type of situations, when the game kind of slows down, he’s a guy that you have to worry about. You might have to send a double to him in the post, or he can take advantage of mismatches. Or if there’s kind of unique defenses that are trying to take me away off ball, he can use that to his advantage.”

Butler is not necessarily stylistically compatible with Curry, not in the way that prime Klay Thompson was, but he brings a change of pace that’s more reminiscent of Kevin Durant but without the dangerous deep shooting. Like KD, Butler can score from all three levels but excels in the midrange, has the handle and skill to orchestrate a good shot for himself or a teammate and knows how to use his lure defenders into fouls that result in free throws.

Mostly, though, Butler will allow Curry to breathe more easily, whether on or off the floor. It has been almost three months since he was comfortable enough to exhale.

The Warriors would like to be successful enough to avoid playing Curry on back-to-back nights, especially when traveling to different cities. They needed him Wednesday in Utah, and there he was, playing 35 minutes in a loss to the Jazz. They needed him Thursday in LA, and there he was, playing 37 minutes in the loss to the Lakers.

Curry scored 69 points in the two games. He took 66 shots – the most attempts in consecutive games in his 16-year career – and made 25. That’s 37.9 percent; he’s a career 47.1-percent shooter. He was a combined 12-of-38 (31.7 percent) from beyond the arc. That’s 31.7 percent; he’s a career 42.4-percent shooter from deep.

To put a finer point on it, Curry took 31 percent of Golden State’s shots Wednesday and 33.7 percent of them Thursday and ended up with Ls in both games. The competitor that he is, that brings a trace of agony.

To illustrate a recent pattern, Curry over his last 13 games is averaging 22.6 points per game while shooting 38.8 percent from the field, including 32 percent from beyond the arc. Never in his career has he shot such low percentages. Not even as a rookie.

Never has he tried to singlehandedly drag a sluggish offense out of the mud while coping with two tender knees and a bum right thumb.

“That’s a big reason for the trade, to help Steph, help alleviate some of that pressure,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters. “Jimmy’s a guy who gets to the line quite a bit, doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. So, the possession tends to be very stable when he has the ball in his hands. I imagine that Jimmy is going to be really important for us both with Steph next to him and when Steph’s off the floor.”

Here comes a partner to lend a hand to Curry and bring balance to an offense that ranks 20th in scoring, 26th in overall field-goal percentage, with a rating that ranks 19th this season but 25th over the last 36 games, 23 of which ended in defeat.

In five-plus seasons with the Heat, Butler averaged 21 points per game, shooting 49.8 percent from the field but a mere 30.6 from beyond the arc. He was the leader of teams that overachieved in the postseason mostly because he raises his game to a higher level.

“You look at (Butler’s) body of work,” Curry said. “There’s two (NBA) Finals appearances. It seems like when the stakes get higher, he rises to the occasion. He’s a dog. He’s a winner. And just the idea that he has a lot to prove with a new situation. He’s excited to help us, and we’re excited to help him.

“He has a certain style that right now I think we lack in the sense of shot creation, being able to get to the line, controlling half-court possessions just with his skill set. We’ve got to put it all together. And I like a motivated, hungry team with Jimmy on there, the best that we have, to try to put it together.”

Assuming Butler makes his Golden State debut Saturday against the Bulls in Chicago, the Warriors have 31 games to put it together. From CEO Joe Lacob to general manager Mike Dunleavy to Kerr and his staff, they know how much Curry has put forth in vain.

Which is why they gambled on a trade that some around the league are questioning. Butler might not be a panacea for all that ails the Warriors, but he is built with a vigor that should assuage some of the turmoil roiling Curry’s competitive soul.

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