The Golden State Warriors won Game 1 of the NBA Playoffs first round series against the Houston Rockets. However, Game 2 did not go in their favor as the Rockets tied the series up. To make things worse, the Warriors saw superstar Jimmy Butler leave the game after a hard fall, putting his immediate status in question.
If Butler is forced to miss time, it makes the road even more difficult for the Warriors, and means more pressure for Stephen Curry as the No. 7 Golden State squad tries to get the upset.
With Game 3 on Saturday in California, everyone is wondering whether or not Butler will play.
Will Jimmy Butler Play in Game 3?
The short answer is most likely not. The Warriors have listed Butler as questionable for Game 3, and it remains unclear if he will return for the series at all.
ESPN's Shams Charania revealed that Butler was diagnosed with a deep glute muscle contusion, although he did avoid structural damage. The Warriors confirmed the injury hours later.
Charania had mentioned that Butler's Game 3 status was in "serious jeopardy," so that surely doesn't sound promising for the Warriors star.
With Butler leaving Game 2 after just seven minutes, that meant the previously-benched Jonathan Kuminga earned a ton of minutes, as did Quinten Post. If Butler misses Game 3 and more, Steve Kerr's options are very limited, and it could be a massive wrench thrown into the Warriors' hopes of making a deep postseason run.
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