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The Golden State Warriors appeared to be in real danger of making the postseason at the trade deadline as they sat at 25-26 and were tied for tenth in the Western Conference. Following their acquisition of Jimmy Butler, they went 23-8 the rest of the way, including a 23-7 mark with him in the lineup, finishing seventh in the conference.
The six-time All-Star averaged 17.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.3 blocks per game while shooting 47.6% from the field as he changed the dynamic of the team. Butler had a monster performance against the Memphis Grizzlies in the Play-In Tournament as he dropped 38 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals on 12-20 shooting to secure the seventh seed.
He continued to live up to his reputation as 'Playoff Jimmy' in Game 1 as he helped lead Golden State to a 95-85 victory over the Houston Rockets. Butler finished with 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals while shooting 10-for-19 from the field.
The Warriors star played just eight minutes in Game 2, however, as he was forced to leave late in the first quarter after taking a scary fall. He attempted to grab a rebound following a missed shot by Amen Thompson before he was undercut as the rising second-year player attempted to grab his own miss.
Butler landed on his tailbone and was later ruled out with a pelvis contusion. Golden State was unable to recover from the injury as they fell 109-94, allowing Houston to even up the series.
The Warriors could be without their star forward as the series shifts back to the Bay, according to a recent update from ESPN's Shams Charania.
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"Golden State's Jimmy Butler has been diagnosed with a deep glute muscle contusion and his status for Game 3 against the Houston Rockets is in serious jeopardy, league sources tell ESPN," Charania reported Thursday. "This is best case because (the) MRI showed Butler avoided any fracture or structural damage."
Game 3 will not take place until Saturday, giving Butler an additional day to recover. While he is doing everything he can to be ready for the 5:30 p.m. PST tip, it appears that he is in real danger of being sidelined.
Golden State will likely give Jonathan Kuminga a bigger role if Butler is unable to go, as they did when he was ruled out of Game 2. The fourth-year forward played 26 minutes, his most in over a month. He finished with 11 points, three rebounds, two assists and one block, however, he shot just 4-for-12 from the field.
Kuminga had been out of the Warriors' rotation altogether prior to Butler's injury. He did not see the court in Game 1, the Play-In Tournament or the regular season finale against the Los Angeles Clippers where a top-six seed was on the line.
If the five-time All-NBA forward is unavailable in Game 3, someone will need to step up and take the pressure off of Stephen Curry or Golden State will be at risk of falling behind in the series.
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