Jimmy Butler III lands on Warriors’ injury report for 76ers game
Jimmy Butler is banged up before Saturday Primetime.
The Golden State Warriors seem to have turned things around with their big swing at the trade deadline. Many people didn’t think the Warriors’ trade for Jimmy Butler III from the Miami Heat was a needle-moving deal, but Butler and Golden State have proved everyone wrong so far.
Unfortunately, the Warriors may have to play Saturday night’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers without Butler. The star wing popped up on the injury report on Friday with back spasms and is listed as questionable just 24 hours before tip.
The Warriors are 7-1 with Butler in the lineup, and he has clearly made an impact and helped fix a lot of their biggest weaknesses.
Defensively, Butler gives the Warriors a reliable wing defender who can guard the opposing team’s best player on any given night, especially when he really ratchets up the intensity come playoff time. However, Andrew Wiggins already had that responsibility, so Butler is just filling the gap that he left in the trade
The offensive end is where Butler’s impact has really been felt. For the last few years of the Stephen Curry era, the Warriors have struggled to put pressure on the rim while also not having the same array of perimeter shooters that they had during their championship years.
