The dust has settled on a below-par regular season for the Jimmy Butler-starved Golden State Warriors, and they will be back in action in just a couple of days.
The No. 10-seeded Warriors will take on No. 9-seeded Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference play-in, in what will be a rematch of the regular season curtain closer — except this time, a spot in the playoffs is up for grabs.
One player who won’t be in action for Golden State is (sigh) Butler.
GettySAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 19: Jimmy Butler III #10 of the Golden State Warriors. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
The veteran forward tore his Achilles tendon in January and was ruled out for the rest of the season. His first full season in the Bay Area was ultimately cut short.
Jimmy Butler Injury Update: Sign of Good News?
The timeline for Butler, as with every ACL injury, is that he will miss significant time, which will overlap the start of next season.
However, that may not be the case. Warriors insider Anthony Slater provided a positive visual update on Butler’s rehab.
“Jimmy Butler in L.A. off crutches; he’s kind of bouncing around a little bit. Just the vision of that is a reminder [the] second best player is at least trending back at some point,” Slater said.
Butler appeared on the court during the Warriors’ warmups on Sunday in a 115-110 loss to the Clippers. The sighting, according to Slater, is a morale booster for Golden State that the 36-year-old star could be a part of next season earlier than anticipated.
Before that unfortunate injury, Butler had been the secondary scorer behind Steph Curry, averaging 20.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 38 games. When he went down, the Warriors lost a veteran contributor as well as one of their main offensive heads.
It didn’t help their cause that Curry was also hurt not long after, which effectively ended any realistic title aspirations for the Warriors this year.
Their early-season stride was the sole reason they managed to maintain a grip on the play-in spot.
Positives On Dubs Injury-Plagued Campaign
Not just Butler, this season has been an injury-filled one for Golden State.
Curry was sidelined for 27 consecutive games and only returned for the final few games of the season. Moses Moody, who is having a career-high year, was ruled out for the season in late March. Trade deadline addition Kristaps Porzingis has also had his fair share of missed games.
It has been a handicapped year for the Warriors, and head coach Steve Kerr could do with a player like Butler at this stage of the season. However, an early return next season could be the next best thing.
“The positives of this Warriors season show you how negative the Warriors season was in general,” Slater added.
Heading into Wednesday’s do-or-die game against the Clippers on the road, the Dubs’ positive is having Curry back on time. But a No. 10 seed is far from being a positive, because a win sends the Warriors to face the loser of the No. 7 and No. 8 seed play-in game; a loss ends their season.
The plan for Butler either way is to have him return in the best shape next season in hopes of putting a disappointing season in the rear view.
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