All the good vibes the Golden State Warriors generated with their Game 1 victory over the Houston Rockets have gone out the window after a disastrous Game 2.
Not only did the Rockets blow out the Warriors, 109-94, on Wednesday, but Golden State lost Jimmy Butler to a pelvic contusion in the first quarter after a hard fall on a rebound attempt. Butler is expected to have an MRI on Thursday, which will give us more information on his status moving forward in this series.
As you can see, Butler was undercut by Rockets guard Amen Thompson on the play, which left him completely vulnerable in midair. But it wasn’t a dirty play by Thompson. That’s pretty easy to see if you watch the replay with any sort of a neutral eye. Steve Kerr even said as much after the game.
“I asked our guys behind the bench and they just said it looked like there was some physicality on the rebound and I think Thompson just inadvertently found himself underneath Jimmy just based on the tug-o-war that was going on there,” Kerr said. “We didn’t think there was anything wrong with the play. Just one of those things.”
The Warriors also basically had to play without Brandin Podziemski in Game 2. He nearly didn’t take the floor at all as he was dealing with a stomach illness. He gave it a go but clearly wasn’t right, and even had to get IV treatment at halftime. He finished with zero points in 14 minutes.
Even before Butler got hurt, the Warriors were being taken completely out of their game by Houston’s physicality on both ends. The officials are really letting these teams play — not just in this series but across the playoffs — and it is allowing a team like Houston to really rough up the Warriors, who are plenty tough in their own right but lack the athleticism that can make it a little easier to create space and get downhill against tight pressure.
With the series now tied 1-1, the Warriors will head home to host Game 3 on Saturday. In the meantime, they’ll be holding their organizational breath for some positive Butler news.