The Golden State Warriors are looking to get back to the top of the mountain, even if these days, the third splash brother, Klay Thompson, has been replaced by Jimmy Butler. However, Butler has proven key to the Warriors’ success since his acquisition via a trade with the Miami Heat mid-season.
In fact, many thought that the Warriors’ chances of winning their first-round series against the Houston Rockets had evaporated when Butler had to leave their Game 2 loss with a pelvic and deep gluteal muscle contusion injury that kept him from playing in Game 3.
However, Golden State managed to win Game 3 and buy Butler some time to allow Butler to return in Game 4, where he proved critical to the Warriors’ win, which gave them a commanding 3-1 lead, scoring 14 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter.
Butler’s teammates and coaches had nothing but praise for the star following his performance.
“He played through the injury,” Warriors forward Draymond Green said, according to ESPN. “Was beautiful. But what his presence does for this team is humongous. The first three quarters, he couldn’t move. Not sure how he started moving in the fourth quarter, but he never complained. He stuck with it.
“I think what was most important, when the time was right, everybody on our side looked to get him the ball. When you get him the ball, he made great things happen for himself or for others. It was huge.
“I think my favorite play was the last rebound. I looked up, I thought it was [young and athletic Jonathan] Kuminga out there flying. It was Jimmy.”
Green wasn’t alone in his praise of Butler, either.
“But it’s the playoffs,” head coach Steve Kerr said, noting that Butler would likely miss multiple weeks were this the regular season. “He’s Jimmy Butler, so this is what he does. The rebound at the end was just incredible, the elevation, the force. Then, of course, knocking down the free throws to clinch it. Jimmy was just amazing.”
If Butler and the Warriors can seal the deal in Game 5 against the Rockets and allow Butler some extra time to heal, the Warriors will prove more than capable of making a deep run.
