With Stephen Curry injured, the Warriors need Jimmy Butler to flip the scoring switch

Butler is playing with fire by continuing to avoid his own offense

The Golden State Warriors won Game 1 over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday, but they lost Stephen Curry to a strained left hamstring. Curry exited in the second quarter with 13 points in 13 minutes. He looked much more comfortable than he did against the Rockets, and it felt like he was setting up for a big series. 

Officially, Curry's Game 2 status in unknown. But Steve Kerr said the Warriors are "definitely game-planning for him to not be available for Game 2."

"With a hamstring, it's hard to imagine that he would play Thursday," Kerr added. 

OK, so let's assume Curry is out for Game 2 at least, and account for the distinct possibility that he's actually sidelined for closer to 7-10 days, which is a typical timeline for a Grade 1 strain. That means the Warriors could be facing the next four games of this series without Curry. 

To put it mildly, this changes everything. Specifically, it changes what the Warriors need out of Jimmy Butler, who finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in Game 1 but was, again, extremely reluctant as a scorer. Butler looked hesitant to attempt any sort of shot that he either wasn't forced to take at the end of the shot clock or in good position to get fouled. 

Butler is a natural connector and a supremely poised player who isn't going to force plays, which has provided a much-needed source stability for a Warriors offense otherwise prone to some pretty chaotic miscues. But the line between poise and passive can be fine, and too often Butler lands on the latter side. 

The Warriors got away with it in Game 1 largely because Buddy Hield, who is the opposite of passive, poured in 24 second-half points and combined with Draymond Green for nine 3-pointers, and because Minnesota couldn't throw it in the ocean in the first half, finishing with just 31 points while missing all 15 of its 3-point attempts. 

The Wolves got it going in the second half and had a 20-point deficit down to nine halfway through the fourth quarter. The game was teetering. Hield hit a massive 3, as did Jonathan Kuminga, and a few other huge plays allowed to the Warriors to hang on. But it was getting tight, and this is when Butler is supposed to be a closer. 

"We want Steph back, I'll tell you that," Butler said. "It's hard playing without that man."

Butler's right. It is hard. Curry makes everything and everyone go for the Warriors. But the hard is what the Warriors got Butler for. They didn't make that trade so that Buddy Hield could be the guy saving them. It's fortunate that Kerr has so much overall depth to work with, but in terms of shot creators, Curry and Butler represent the only viable options. Everyone saw what the offense looked like down the stretch. Not good. 

This time, Golden State had enough of a head start to hang on, which is a credit, in part, to the defense the team will continue to lean on. And yes, to be fair, with a big lead, Butler was a little bit in protection mode, knowing Golden State only had to avoid dumb turnovers to hang on for the win. 

"You could see in the last six to eight minutes, all we were doing was high ball screens for Jimmy," Kerr said. "And we were even willing to take shot-clock violations at that point. It was all about protecting the ball. I think Jimmy is as good as anybody, any star in the league, at reading the game, understanding how to control the tempo, control the time and score and understand everything that's happening. Putting the ball in his hands in a situation like that is pretty comforting."

This is all true, but it's also true that the Warriors won't start Game 2 with a 20-point lead to milk the rest of the way. Fact is, the Warriors are unlikely to survive an extended Curry absence with Butler being as passive as he was to score in Game 1. 

His 20 points look decent on the score sheet, but save for a few exceptions, those weren't points that the so-called "Jimmy Buckets" forced. Rather, they were buckets largely forced on him. They were "no other choice" attempts by a man who would actually rather kick it out from the baseline to Kevon Looney at the 3-point line against a dwindling shot clock than dare that a contested shot. 

Again, this isn't meant to lose sight of all the great things Butler does for the Warriors. He had a bundle of huge offensive rebounds in Game 1. He settles everything down. He gets everyone involved. But there is no way, with anything resembling a straight face, that anyone who has honestly watched him play with the Warriors, and even with Miami, can say he isn't pretty damn reluctant to attack even slightly contested scoring opportunities. 

Now who knows, maybe Hield stays hot and the Wolves stay cold and Curry comes back in relatively short order. The Warriors did themselves a great service by closing out Game 1. It means they only have to win one of the next four to at least make it to Game 6 of this series, if indeed it takes Curry that long to get back.  

But if this thing starts to go south, and Curry isn't ready to return to save the day, Butler is going to have to start living up to the "Buckets" part of his nickname. Either that, or Curry might not even get the chance to come back.