The Warriors prepare to move forward without Jimmy Butler III following his season-ending injury

Jimmy Butler was Golden State’s second-leading scorer, averaging 20 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists.

A post-injury MRI exam Monday revealed that Jimmy Butler tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the third quarter.
Steve Kerr and the Golden State Warriors are still coming to terms with how drastically their season will change following Jimmy Butler III’s right knee injury and how they will have to depend on their depth moving forward without the do-it-all guard.

An MRI exam Monday night after the injury revealed that Butler tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the third quarter of a 135-112 win earlier in the night against his former team Miami and will need surgery. He landed awkwardly moments after catching a pass in the paint following a collision with the Heat’s Davion Mitchell.
The date of the 36-year-old Butler’s surgery had not been set.

“Well, mostly, I’m just disappointed for Jimmy. He’s having a great year. I felt like the last couple of weeks he was really at the top of his game,” Kerr said before the home game against Toronto on Tuesday. “So for him and for us obviously, for him individually, in the midst of a really great season with a lot of possibilities, a lot of excitement with the way the team was playing, I really feel bad for him missing the rest of the year. It’s part of the game, I know, injuries are part of it, but it definitely hurts.”

Butler’s knee buckled on the landing and he screamed, grimaced and grabbed his knee while he was on the ground for a couple of minutes. He needed teammates Gary Payton II and Buddy Hield to escort him off the court to the locker room after his collapse on the Warriors’ offensive end. When he finally stood up with help, he couldn’t put any pressure on his knee.

In just under 21 minutes, Butler scored 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting, four assists and three rebounds. Brandin Podzeimski led Golden State with 24 points, Stephen Curry 19 and Jimmy Butler III 17. He was Golden State’s third-leading scorer, averaging 20 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists.

The team had yet to discuss the loss of Butler as a group because “everyone got the news after we dispersed last night,” Kerr said.
“Just look at it practically. We get it, this is part of the NBA, part of sports,” Kerr said.

“I’m not going to spend a lot of time analyzing where we are in the NBA food chain, I’m going to focus on what we can do to win tonight and win the next game. We have a good atmosphere, we have a really good rhythm, we’ve found, I think, a scheme to connect the game offensively and defensively. I think we can continue to do those things and win games. And if we do that, we build confidence, we build momentum and we move forward.”

Golden State had won four straight and 12 of 16 in the final game of its eight home games.

Kerr plans to experiment with rotations and said Jonathan Kuminga “could be” part of the mix despite not playing in more than a month — 16 straight games since Dec. 18 and 19 of 20 overall. He believes Kuminga wants to play and be a part of the team despite all the speculation that he would be traded before the February 5 deadline.
“It was [here] four years, so we’re comfortable with what he can do and how he might fit in,” Kerr said.

Kerr expects Al Horford and De’Anthony Melton to continue to play key roles.

“I think we have enough to compete. I think Al and Melt have given us a different dynamic, I think a lot of our young players – Quinten (Post), Will Richard – those guys are ready to contribute, have contributed,” Kerr said. “We have depth, so we can keep this thing going. Obviously, we’re going to miss Jimmy. He’s one of the best players in the league, you can’t downplay that, trivialize that, but you play with who you have and I like who we have.”