The Golden State Warriors suffered a massive setback, as it was confirmed that Jimmy Butler is out for the rest of the season due to a torn ACL he sustained during their 135-112 win over the Miami Heat on Monday night. Butler tweaked his right knee with less than eight minutes left in the third quarter after catching an entry pass in the paint.
Butler’s impending absence leaves a huge void in the Golden State Warriors’ rotation, so much so that Steve Kerr may have no choice but to reintegrate wantaway forward Jonathan Kuminga, which the multi-titled head coach confirmed during the postgame press conference.
“I don’t know any timeframe or how much time Jimmy would miss… Could you go to Kuminga if there’s a need for that position?” the reporter asked before Butler’s official MRI result via KNBR. “Is he ready? Practice and all those things?”
“Sure, absolutely. Yep. Yep,” Kerr responded.
Golden State Warriors shared their initial reaction to Jimmy Butler’s knee injury
Golden State Warriors fans collectively held their breath when Jimmy Butler went down with his knee injury against the Miami Heat. However, according to Butler’s teammates, the six-time NBA All-Star was in good spirits and even made them laugh when he needed help to get up on the floor.
“He (Jimmy) was still cracking jokes over there while he was on the ground. In true Jimmy fashion, always gonna have a good time no matter what the situation is… He was trying to get to the FT line. He said it was two shots,” Stephen Curry stated.
“I think Jimmy is gonna be fine. You can’t be talking like that right now. Gotta keep the spirits up. We don’t think negative around here, and whatever’s to come, he’s gonna attack it,” Buddy Hield added.
