Warriors forward Jimmy Butler didn’t live up to his “Playoff Jimmy” moniker in Golden State’s final two losses of its Western Conference semifinals series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Butler, under the weather during Games 4 and 5, attempted 20 combined shots and scored 31 total points, well below what was expected from the six-time NBA All-Star.
With Steph Curry moving closer to returning, the Warriors needed to win just one game to extend the series long enough for the 37-year-old to have a chance to play in Game 6.
But Butler wasn’t able to put the Warriors on his back. His performances on Monday and Wednesday were criticized by a pair of ESPN analysts on Thursday morning.
“You weren’t asked to win the war. You were asked to hold the damn line,” Jay Williams said on “Get Up” on Thursday. “Right? For one game. One game. Not two games. Not three games. Just one game. Give the sun in your solar system a chance to rise again for Game 6. That sun is Steph Curry. And what we came off last game, where he took nine shots, the fact that Jimmy Butler only took 11 shots when you needed him … the most in this game, it’s shocking to me. It’s shocking to me.
“It’s the biggest question I have from this series. This is a guy who is going to get paid $120 million over the next two years. $120 million. Took only 11 shots. Now, I know the game got away. But [Udonis Haslem], you’re going to swing. If you’re going to go out, you’re going to go out swinging, not taking two more shots than the nine shots you took in the game you didn’t come out for [two nights] before.”
While Stephen A. Smith believes the Warriors’ trade for Butler lived up to expectations, he echoed Williams’ sentiments, though in a more toned-down manner.
“When Butler first arrived in Golden State, a lot of us didn’t think much of it because we said, ‘How does this really pair with seeing a guy like Steph with a guy like Klay [Thompson]? How does this mesh? How does this work exactly?’ And then they were playing lights out together and so we got our hopes up. But then it came crashing down once Steph hurt his hamstring. And it is what it is.
“Here’s what makes this look bad. Butler obviously forced his way out of Miami. We know you didn’t want to be a No. 1 option. You wanted to play with someone who’s a No. 1. You didn’t mind being that ‘Robin.’ Then you go to Golden State and y’all have major success. Steph gets hurt. You got your money. And Joe Lacob and the Golden State Warriors, all they needed was one game.
“See, it ain’t like Steph went down like [Boston Celtics star Jayson] Tatum did [with a ruptured Achilles] and he’s out for the next year, at least. It’s not like that. Everybody had projected, it’s going to take about a week. Steph Curry should be back for Game 6. All you got to do, being [Game] 3, 4 or 5, give me one game and he couldn’t do it. Eleven shot attempts last night. Twenty shot attempts over the last two games.”
Butler’s arrival jump-started the Warriors’ season and helped them secure the No. 7 seed. But his last impression wasn’t good and he left himself open to sharp criticism.
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