Warriors ‘relatively optimistic’ Jimmy Butler will play in Game 3
SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors believe there is a good chance that they will have Jimmy Butler in the rotation for Game 3 of their first-round series against the Houston Rockets on Saturday at Chase Center.
Butler was knocked out early in Wednesday’s Game 2 with what the team called a “deep” pelvic contusion.
The series is tied at 1-1.
“I’m relatively optimistic,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said on Friday. “I mean, it’s Jimmy, and we know he’s willing to play through anything. So we’ll see. This is a day-to-day thing for sure, and we’ll see how he feels tomorrow. But I think there’s a chance he plays.”
An MRI on Thursday showed neither a fracture nor structural damage.
Steph Curry also suffered a pelvic contusion during the regular season. The point guard missed two games in March, and has worn protective equipment since returning.
Butler was injured on a hard fall in the first quarter of Game 2, landing on his back after being undercut by Amen Thompson while grabbing a rebound.
Kerr said he and the Warriors’ coaching staff didn’t think it was a malicious play by Thompson, who squeezed between Draymond Green and Houston’s Steven Adams, stumbling into the legs of an airborne Butler.
With Butler out, Kerr turned to Jonathan Kuminga, who had not played in the Warriors’ three most important games of the season over the last week and a half. Kuminga scored 11 points in 26 up-and-down minutes.
Regardless of whether Butler plays, and if Kuminga or any other player receives more minutes, Kerr said the game plan will not change.
“There’s not two game plans, but two rotations for,” Kerr said. “The game plan doesn’t change.”