Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III gave Dub Nation a real scare Saturday night, taking a hard fall in the first half against the New Orleans Pelicans at Chase Center.
Golden State beat reporter Kenzo Fukada noted that the spill looked similar to the one Butler suffered in last season’s playoff series against the Houston Rockets. This time, Butler walked to the bench under his own power, checked in with head coach Steve Kerr, and looked intent on trying to gut it out, but the arena went quiet for a moment. No official word has come from the Warriors yet on his status.
Before the fall, Butler was doing a bit of everything. Midway through the second quarter, he had a game-high 12 points on 3-of-9 shooting, to go with six rebounds and five assists in 17 minutes, helping the Golden State Warriors to a 35-31 lead. Gary Payton II added 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting, while Draymond Green already had six rebounds as Golden State tried to grind out a low-scoring game.
The Warriors can’t really afford another blow. Stephen Curry is already out with a left quadriceps contusion suffered in Wednesday’s loss to the Houston Rockets, and will be re-evaluated next week. They came into the night at 10-10 and stuck in a 1-4 stretch, with Steve Kerr openly blaming turnovers for dragging down an otherwise improved defense. Early on against New Orleans, Golden State at least kept that problem manageable, committing five turnovers to the Pelicans’ six.
Given how important Jimmy Butler III has become as a primary creator with Curry sidelined, any lingering issue from this fall would be a major concern for the Warriors’ upcoming homestand. For now, all eyes in the Bay are on the bench, waiting to see if their new star can shake it off and get back on the floor.
