Jimmy Butler will be inactive tonight as the Warriors host the Rockets in Game 3 of their playoff series, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). Butler is recovering from a deep gluteal muscle contusion that knocked him out of Game 2 in the first quarter.
Butler had been listed as questionable and was expected to be a game-time decision. With his status leaking more than an hour before tip-off, he may not have been close to getting medical clearance from the training staff.
Butler was a huge presence in Golden State’s Game 1 win at Houston, finishing with 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals in 42 minutes. He only played eight minutes in Game 2 before landing hard on his back after a collision with the Rockets’ Amen Thompson (Twitter video link).
On Friday, coach Steve Kerr told reporters that Butler is “day-to-day” and described it as a “pain tolerance thing.” Butler tried to stay in Game 2 after the hard fall, but was in obvious discomfort and had difficulty moving.
Game 4 is set for Monday, so Butler will have just one more night off to recover.
Jonathan Kuminga will take Butler’s place in the starting lineup tonight, Charania adds. The fourth-year forward sat out the Warriors’ play-in game and the series opener, but he was on the court for 26 minutes in Game 2 after Butler’s injury, contributing 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting and hitting two of his five three-point attempts.
Kuminga will get another chance to impress Warriors management before becoming a restricted free agent this summer. He averaged 15.3 points and 4.6 rebounds in 47 games this season, but saw his playing time drop sharply after Butler was acquired at the trade deadline.
Rookie center Quinten Post will also start, according to Charania (Twitter link). Post hit 4-of-8 three-point shots in Game 2 and finished with 12 points in 25 minutes.
I thought he would play. When they showed him walking in. Best to be cautious. Get well Jimmy.
Need HOF Curry tonight anf HOF Dra tonight.
Kumings is my guy. Sorry you ain’t winning. But I want to see a goid game. Put Kerr on notice.
Jalen Green the next one ……. cone on player
Dream rotation Kerr the idiot will never use, but will likely cook:
Post, TJD, Kuminga, Curry, Green
TJD does not belong in this ball game.
He’s slow. He’s a poor man’s Kevon Looney who doesn’t offensive rebound.
Plus, he doesn’t have the experience on the pick roll, and doesn’t have experienceon the defensive end. He doesn’t even offensive rebound like Kevon Looney.
Why would you wanna put him in the game? What does he offer that Looney doesn’t?
The non-Greymond Kuminga Post minutes should be givento Looney.
There’s no minutes left for TJD. Wake up Davey.
Gary, how is that not the GSW of version of Atkinson’s ’25 Cavs?
lol are you the guy who was mad hating on Kerr during the Olympics run? I’m pretty sure the entire NBA community disagrees with you
Hate to break it to you, but there is more than one person online who severely dislikes Steve Kerr’s game choices, coaching and development methods.
Davey you were sure wrong because Kerr out coached Udoka tonight.
Look at Steph Curry’s line and tell me what about that had to do with Kerr’s coaching.
You don’t have to break it to me, there are always people online hating. I’ll take the consensus of the professionals over random people online, but he’s definitely not an “idiot” like you say.
Kerr just rides Curry to victory, every time. Tonight, 4 rings, its always the same. We should have more rings, if we had a better coach.
“I’ll take the consensus of the professionals over random people online,” so why are you even replying to me? lol go away
lol, what a loser.
No Davey, you’re the only person here or anywhere who thinks Kerr is garbage and the “worst coach in the league” as you like to say. The world is full of nuance Davey. There’s more gray than black and white. The reason your posts get mocked so much is because you always take extreme positions one day and then the exact opposite one a few weeks later. It’s a joke.
I like TJD he’s tough. Also should get mins.
Its like Achiuwa and Thibs man. He don’t play him either. And he’s perfect against Pistons.
The problem with TJD is that he needs to be more aggressive. But, it is only his 2nd season. He is learning.
I almost guessed that this would happen.
You’re not guaranteed to win game three anyway might as well rest him two more days Saturday Sunday, play Monday.
Get ice get treatment whatever it is. Must win game 4 then go from there tied 2-2.
Yes, Assuming a lot, but I’m confident. Well that plus maybe a little bit of a homer warrior fan lol. Bought two pairs of rose colored glasses today at the dollar tree.
Jimmy was never going to be available for today.
Kerr is old-school about not showing his hand.
Who didn’t see this coming?
General Soreness strikes again…
General soreness? We already talked about this and it was settled.
I’m not even being a homer here, but did you see the fall? It was brutal.
He was 5 feet in the air and horizontal. Any real player would miss a game or two in that situation.
There is no “general soreness” that applies to this.
You’re lying, you’re misrepresenting, and you are not being true to the sport.
You’re making this up because it’s not even close to reality.
All of your comments have to be considered the same if we use this today as an example. They’re all crap. They’re all misrepresentation and they’re all lies and not based on reality.
But why would I be surprised since you’re Satan 666 the Scarlet colored beast.
You have no desire for the truth, no desire for any kind of basketball conversation and no desire for civility.
Your entire existence, if we are to measure it by your username, is lies and deception.
This is my annual Scarlett rant. Look for the next one in 2026. Thank you.
I believe there is a Russell Westbrook gif where he is yawning…
Insert that here…
Look forwards to next years rant… lol
I think I like the Russell Westbrook meme where he’s in the locker room and says, “Whaaaaat?” better in this situation.
It is pretty obvious that Scarlett666 has never played sports. I bet he gets a bruise reaching over his beer-belly to tie his shoes.
I think he’s a big sports fan, but he likes ragging on the Warriors. It’s entertaining for him because we react out of our passion and that’s what some folks get a kick out of.
Most sports fans have played some kind of sports in high school and afterwards.
It’s all good, but he has to know that occasionally we’ll put him in his place. It’s to be expected when you throw crap against the wall.
He can’t carry on with false accusations forever and not get called on it.
But tomorrow we move on and it’s a new day.
Ya know. If you play sports, you are going to get injured. A fall like Butler’s could have led to structural damage. I’m still dealing with a knee injury that happened a couple of decades ago. To mock Butler’s injury tells me maybe you’ve never had an injury before, at least a debilitating one. Have a little empathy even if you don’t like the team.
Funny. People forget that Kuminga had the best game of his career against the Rockets this year. Having Podz back should be a major boost.
Kuminga is locking up Green. He needs to move in offense. Warriors have to look fir him
Moses Moody needs to step up right now.
Otherwise stepping up when we have a full squad means zero.
He’s needed tonight and he has to come through or else I am seriously done with him and I don’t care how well he plays from here on out.
Warriors are playing D. Thats a good sign without Jimmy. Jalen needs to get going. Jalen doesn’t need picks. They only bring another defender ib. Just leave him alone
I agree Al but we have to remember the Rockets are young. They’re inexperienced. They’ve never been here before.
The Warriors have been here a gazillion times and have the upper hand as things get tight in the fourth quarter.
Question is can the Warriors keep the game close? Probably not but hopefully Monday they win and tie the series and we go from there.
Yeah I agree. At some point young talent has to play to win. These games are what you need to own. Has to happen at some point lol.
I’ve been on record saying OKC and Houston’s time is not this season.
But the way things have played out so far in the west anyone could come out as the West finals representative.
Lakers and Denver don’t look like sure things so the thunder and Rockets actually could succeed THIS year?
I kind of feel the same way cause of youth. But like you said. The West has been up and down. And OKC has just been the most steady. I see Minny as a threat. OKC definitely the team to beat.
OKC has it all. Guards wings, big men.
But again I think they’ll get tight in the fourth quarter.., and they are so SGA reliant.
He can get it done but if you double team him they may crumble under pressure.
But yes, in a regular season game you have to pick them against every other team in the league. That’s for sure.
Let’s see what happens this year in the playoffs. Veteran teams like nuggets and Lakers have issues so it’s wide open really.
Gary, You’ve stood by this take for many months. If you’re right, it’s another notch on your genius belt.
In further support of your take, OKC is the youngest #1 seed in the history of the NBA playoffs, making them even more vulnerable to panic under pressure.
My take: all upcoming young teams have to experience losing under pressure before they gain the confidence to win big series, and OKC did that last year in losing in the 2nd round. I believe OKC believes in themselves this year.
They remind me a lot of the 2105 Warriors, who were also heavily dependent on a single player (Curry), but who have several other young stars that can carry the load (Green, Thompson), and with enough experience losing in previous years to break through.
Yes, I agree with you and an important part of that 2015 championship team was defense.
Just like the thunder this year. Lotta similarities.
Well except for the big men lol but didn’t the Warriors have McGee and David West and Pachulia and Bogut at different times? So yes similarities are there.
Gary,
Actually that 2014-15 Championship team was huge. Other than the “death lineup” in the closing minutes, Kerr always had 2 true bigs on the floor. In addition to Draymond, at least 3 of these 5 players were in the rotation in each game:
Bogut, 7′
Ezeli, 6’11”
Mo Speights, 6’10”, 255 lbs
David Lee, 6’10”, 240 lbs
James Michael Macadoo, 6’9″, 240
It’s a misconception that the Warriors were a “small ball” team during the glory years (2014-2019). They were bigger, not smaller, than most NBA teams during those years. They always carried at least 5 true bigs, and usually 6. And they were long.
The Warriors started to “shrink” in size with the 2019-2020 season, meaning that the average height and weight of the players both on the floor and the bench became smaller. Notably, we’ve carried fewer PF’s and C’s on our roster than any other NBA team over this period. It’s Steve Kerr’s preference.
Has going small worked? Consider that over the previous 5 seasons, outside of Steph Curry, the remainder of the Warriors roster ranks 26th (that’s 6th from last) in the NBA in win contributions by all players other than a team’s best player.
In other words, other than Steph, our “small ball” roster has sucked.
What makes OKC so good in the playoffs is their team is so deep. A injury happens and they have a good player to take their place. They are not just a offense oir defense team but can do both. What should be concerning for their fans is allthe time off between 1st and 2nd round. Too much rest can take a team out of synch. Also n playing a team like Grizzlies and getting a easy series win against a team down players. Gives them a false sense of how easy it is in the playoffs. Whoever they play in round 2 LAC or DEN willtest them.
arc89 , All the historical data indicates that the longer a team rests between series, the better it fares in the next series. The positive effect is not as great as getting an additional week off before an NFL playoff game, but it’s surprisingly close. Rest and injury recovery matter.
But, statistically, the bigger effect to consider is that the opposing team has had less rest — often *much* less rest. In this case, OKC will be playing the winner of the Denver-Clippers series, currently tied at 2-2. Those teams have numerous injuries and are already showing fatigue. When that bloody series finally ends, the winner gets only 2 days off before facing a rested OKC.
@arc89
I doubt it. After watching every game, IMO neither team realistically stands a chance against OKC.
@ Gary
OKC is favored for good reasons, I think they’ll win it.
Zero chance for the Rockets.
Houston D right now. Warriors have missed shots. Its a defensive gm so far. Rockets winning it.
Rockets FOUL FOUL FOUL
(no calls helping the Rockets)
You know how you help Kuminga. Run him on offense. But you gotta look for him. Give him some iso. He is playing good D.
Rockets are showing their depth. Kerr has to trust his bench. Warriors are playing good D. Someone else besides Steph has to steo up on O.
Plenty of chances to jump out front and extend it. Any chance the “future” (Kuminga, Moody, Podz) can make some damn shots!!!!
As I mentioned above today is the day Moody needs to step up. Not game 53 of the regular season. It’s now.
This is a good game. Reminds of old Defensive games. They are battling
Great game to watch. That’s all you can hope for is to be entertained no matter who wins.
Moses Moody sucks.
Can’t believe the Warriors pulled this off.
We knew the Rockets were young and would get tight in the fourth quarter but wow loving this very good fortune tonight. Warriors got lucky to score this win.
Gary, it made no sense. Good GP2 and Good Buddy showed up? Post shot awful but still had a +7 with 12 rebounds? Steven Adams cooks us again, but we lose? Huh?
Houston lacks offense is why they are not ready for a long playoff run. Not 1 big offensive star on the team as the to go guy. They should trade for a all star offensive player in teh offseason they have enough assets to bring in a good offensive player.
@ Gary
Considering how the team that fouls more got given a double digit free throw advantage throughout, it took a lot of effort and skill to win playing 5 on 8.
Brooks was trying to injure Curry in last night’s game. Curry shoots up a 3 and Brooks swipes at Curry hand. Once the ball is over Brooks head hetakes a second swipe at Currys hand when there is no ball in his hand and the ball was going through the basket. Brooks is a cheat.
@ arc89
I posted the link to the video here – and I agree completely.
(I told you the refs weren’t going to give GSW home court advantage calls – the Rockets were +12 in ftas before the tech and take fouls in the final seconds).
Could you imagine being a NBA player and knowing how hard it is to be one and try to injure a player because you know he is the best player on the court. Thereis something wrong with Brooks. Guess who he sits next to on the bench? Thompson.
Experience over youth …. Hard lessons man.
Good game ….
People complain about Green but he can dominate on defense at times. Rockets trash talking makes him more motivated.
Rockets clearly need more time…
I don’t believe in Udoka as a coach either…
Bright future for them though…
Watch Brooks try to hit Steph’s injured thumb multiple times in this clip. Disgusting!
link to streamable.com
Yep, I see it as he shoots and after he releases it.
But that’s just how professional sports is. I think that’s why in hockey they don’t specify the guys injury. They just say “lower body injury” or “upper body injury.” It’s for that specific reason, so the opponent won’t key in on the area of weakness and take advantage.
But I also did notice when Brooks was taking Steph down low and Curry grabbed onto the ball when Brooks mistakenly exposed it and almost took it from him lol. I guess his thumb wasn’t hurting so much on that strength play?
@ Gary
That was a key defensive play. What a great game from Steph!
He’s so mean.
Dubs in 6