HOUSTON — The Warriors’ first-round series against the Rockets hinges on Jimmy Butler’s injured pelvis.
Butler flew home to San Francisco ahead of the team to get an MRI after a pelvic contusion knocked him out of Game 2, a league source told The San Francisco Standard. Without him, a shell-shocked, roughed-up Warriors team lost 109-94 in a hostile Toyota Center.
Losing Butler would put a sour note on an otherwise successful trip, as Golden State stole home court advantage for the series by winning Game 1. The 14th-year NBA veteran has until 5:30 p.m. on Saturday to recover in time for the start of Game 3.
“If Jimmy’s out, we have to rethink everything,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “Rotations, who starts, the best combinations.”
Butler’s injury occurred with 2:28 left in the first quarter. The Warriors had expected the Rockets to rough up Game 2 even more than they did in the series opener, and they’d already been proven right. Houston mauled Steph Curry off the ball, crashed the glass like maniacs, hand-checked ball-handlers and poked jabs in between plays.
Even though Curry and Draymond Green both said postgame that Houston was more physical in Game 1, there were three technicals and a flagrant foul handed out by officials on Wednesday.
Butler’s injury, though, wasn’t part of Houston’s concerted effort to play more physically. It came on a freak play in which wing Amen Thompson stumbled going for an offensive rebound under the basket. His lower half got tangled up between Green and Steven Adams before he undercut Butler, who was airborne in an attempt to haul in the board.
“This is the playoffs,” Kerr said. “This is an incredibly physical sport. Stuff happens. People get injured. It’s all part of it. There’s no time to lament anything. You feel bad for your player, but you have to go on to what’s next.
“Hopefully, Jimmy will be able to play. But if not, we’ve got to (put together a plan).”
Butler writhed on the court in pain, slow to get up. He gingerly limped to the free throw line to shoot foul shots before checking himself out shortly thereafter. He made his way to the locker room with his trainer and Warriors director of sports medicine and performance Rick Celebrini.
The initial impression, per a source, is that Butler’s injury isn’t too serious, but the team will know more about the severity on Thursday after he gets an MRI.
After the game, Butler told coaches and teammates that he’ll be fine. But that’s what he always says.
Both Curry and Jonathan Kuminga recently suffered pelvic injuries. Curry missed two games and Kuminga missed one. Generally, as long as a player doesn’t suffer a fracture, the injury becomes a pain management issue after swelling subsides.
Butler had a similar fall in the first round of the Heat’s 2023 playoff series against the Bucks. He didn’t miss a game and finished the series by scoring 56 and 42 points to eliminate Milwaukee.
While the training staff tended to Butler, Brandin Podziemski joined him in the locker room. The second-year guard toughed out a stomach bug he’d been dealing with all day, but missed the middle chunk of Game 2. Podziemski got an IV at halftime and returned halfway through the third quarter.
Without Butler and Podziemski, the Warriors dusted off both Pat Spencer and Kuminga, the latter of whom hadn’t played in Golden State’s previous three games.
Kuminga scored 11 points in 26 minutes, including five points toward the end of the game with Houston up big. Spencer also chipped in 11 points in 12 minutes.
Butler turned the Warriors’ season around when Golden State acquired him. Including the postseason, the Warriors entered Wednesday’s game with a 25-7 record with him in the lineup. Without him, they’re a pedestrian team.
After he left Game 2, the Warriors trailed by double digits the rest of the way.
With Butler on the court, the Warriors have blended his isolation style and ability to draw fouls with their free-flowing motion. If he’s sidelined, they’ll have to make sweeping strategic changes.
“We’ll have to figure that out,” Green said. “It’s no easy task in replacing Jimmy. Obviously, we all know what he’s meant to this team since he’s been here. We’ve kind of tailored our offense a bit around him.”
The Warriors acquired Butler to make a true playoff run, and he instantly vindicated the decision. He logged 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals in the Game 1 win.
Butler is known as a tough player who plays through injuries. But one of the reasons the Butler era soured in Miami was because of his unavailability in the playoffs; he missed last year’s postseason due to a knee sprain.
The Warriors are cautiously optimistic they won’t have to face that same reality.
“If for whatever reason he’s not out there, I’ll carry a lot of the lift and the load on trying to create shots and create advantages,” Curry said. “We’ll have different rotations out there. (There’s) a couple plays that we call for him specifically, but the rest of it is trying to make the simple play.”
The San Francisco Standard’s Tim Kawakami contributed reporting.
