You know it’s been a bad night when you get blown out in an NBA playoff game and it’s probably not even your biggest loss of the night.
This the situation in which the Golden State Warriors find themselves, having dropped Game 2 to the Houston Rockets, 109-94, on Wednesday and facing the possibility of having to move forward in this series without Jimmy Butler, who suffered a pelvic contusion after a hard fall in the first quarter.
There was some talk that Houston’s Amen Thompson undercut Butler in a dirty manner, but it was pretty clear that wasn’t the case. Warriors coach Steve Kerr said as much after the game.
“I asked our guys behind the bench and they just said it looked like there was some physicality on the rebound and I think Thompson just inadvertently found himself underneath Jimmy just based on the tug-o-war that was going on there,” Kerr said. “We didn’t think there was anything wrong with the play. Just one of those things.”
Butler is scheduled for an MRI, and obviously the Warriors are crossing their fingers that he’s able to play in Game 3 on Saturday back in San Francisco. If he isn’t able to, they’re in serious trouble. Actually, they’re in serious trouble either way.
Jimmy Butler injury update: Warriors star will get MRI for pelvic contusion, status for Game 3 uncertain
Brad Botkin
For starters, Butler, at the very least, isn’t going to be 100 percent, and Golden State is already fighting for its life against Houston’s relentless brand of defensive pressure that feels even more daunting to overcome given how physically the officials are allowing these games to be played.
That’s not an excuse for the Warriors. It’s been this way across all the playoff games so far. It looks like the 90s out there, damn near every possession threatening to spill over into a fight. And for a team like the Rockets…
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