Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jimmy Butler will take the floor among the starters once again on Monday night against the Indiana Pacers, according to Chris Hine of the Star Tribune.
Butler missed Saturday's game against the Dallas Mavericks as a preventative measure, being the second game of a back-to-back after grabbing the first win of the season at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The mercurial forward leads the team in scoring with 28 points per game. He's also the best defender on the team and a vital engine for this group, despite a 1-2 start to the season.
Butler's intensity at both ends of the floor were clearly a need for the Timberwolves, considering how they allowed 140 points against an offense-in-progress of the Mavericks, as Derrick Rose's vintage 28 points weren't enough to lock down the win.
Karl-Anthony Towns led all scorers with 31 points, but the team was destroyed on the glass, as the Mavs grabbed 15 offensive rebounds, while the frontcourt duo of Towns and Taj Gibson combined for a mere 11 total boards.
“We have to as bigs get to rebounds,” said Towns, per Hine. “Get good box-outs and have to, as a team, gang rebound and get the ball. We got a lead by getting those rebounds, getting in transition and utilizing our athleticism and our speed and our talent. We have to be able to utilize that better.”
The Wolves will face the Toronto Raptors on the road on Wednesday before enjoying a three-game home stand, only to prepare them for a five-game West Coast road trip to start November.
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