After once being viewed as the favorite in their first-round series against the Houston Rockets, the Golden State Warriors have suffered a massive blow. Jimmy Butler left Game 2 with a pelvic contusion late in the first quarter and didn’t return. The Dubs have been a different team since adding Butler in February, and it was evident that Golden State was missing their second star throughout the contest.
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Golden State made a valiant comeback attempt despite the Butler-sized hole in their rotation, but this time, the youthful Rockets didn’t allow their opponent to shut the door on them. Led by a 35-point explosion from Jalen Green, Houston was mostly able to coast to their 109-94 victory in Game 2.
Possibly without the six-time All-Star for the rest of the series, the pressure is once again on Stephen Curry to bail his team out of a jam. While it’s hard to be against the two-time MVP in any capacity, Monica McNutt stressed that this will be a more difficult matchup than Steph has seen in past opening rounds.
“Look, I’m not going to say no [about the Warriors winning the series] in that we’ve seen Stephen Curry show up with 50-point performances when it matters most,” McNutt began. “What I will say is the degree of difficulty on such a task is very, very high. Especially because Houston is a team that really hangs their hat on the defensive end.”
NBA insider Bobby Marks questioned who else on the Warriors is capable of stepping up to fill the void of Butler’s absence. The Warriors searched for Steph’s costar throughout the first half of the season, but with Butler down, the team will once again be hoping for more contributions from its role players.
“Jimmy Butler’s not on there. That allows Ime Udoka to game plan more around Stephen Curry,” Marks explained. “And now you’re asking, ‘Who’s going to be the other offense you’re going to get from?’ Are you gonna get more Draymond Green, Moses Moody, Brandin Podziemski… that’s the big concern as far as removing Butler.”
Marks stressed his belief that if Butler had been able to play the whole game, the Warriors would have been the team to win. Golden State boasts arguably the two best players in the series and years of playoff experience, making this series a true matchup between battle-tested veterans and rising stars.
Without Jimmy’s contributions, though, Marks believes the best-case scenario for the Dubs is a 1-1 split at home, knowing they’re capable of winning on the road. The amount of playoff experience separating these two rosters is what drives many to believe the Warriors can still achieve the unexpected.
The Dubs are no strangers to playoff adversity, but the team has shown their ability to respond time and time again, especially with Curry leading the way. But 37-year-old Steph’s wizardry alone won’t be enough to beat these Rockets. Others on the team need to step up offensively, which we have yet to see so far in this series.
