Jimmy Butler's season-ending torn ACL destroyed rising momentum for the Golden State Warriors, with the franchise having lost six of their nine games since the 6x All-Star went down last month.
But if there is one positive for the Warriors to take from the otherwise disastrous Butler injury, it's that it's blown the door wide open for Gui Santos to become a bonafide member of Steve Kerr's rotation.
Jimmy Butler injury opens door for surprise Gui Santos development
Santos has been the main beneficiary of Butler's injury, while also seemingly being a winner of Golden State's decision to move on from former seventh overall pick Jonathan Kuminga in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.
The Brazilian forward is well and truly taking advantage of the increased opportunity, transforming himself from a nice hustle player who can impact in short bursts, to legitimately one of the team's best players right now given their injury issues.
Santos has averaged 27 minutes over the last six games, including 31.1 across Golden State's recent two-game road-trip against the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers. Quite incredibly over this six-game period, Santos has ranked second in total points behind Moses Moody, averaging 14.8 per game on 61.4% shooting from the floor and 44.4% from 3-point range.
Those shooting percentages are reflective of a player who has a sweet-looking jump-shot and needs to be respected from beyond the arc, but also one who is building confidence in getting past players on the perimeter and using smart and underrated footwork to finish around the rim.
That word confidence is key and might be the backbone to Santos' development. During Saturday's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, the 23-year-old went scoreless and picked up four fouls in only seven first-half minutes.
In a previous period, Santos may have lost confidence and subsequently been lost as a meaningful contributor to that game. Yet he knew he was going to get the opportunity and minutes to respond, doing just that with 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal on 6-of-10 shooting in the second-half alone.
It was just another demonstration of Santos going from strength-to-strength, and at just the right time for him too given he'll be a restricted free agent during the offseason. There's no reason this rise can't continue given Butler's injury and Kuminga's departure, meaning Santos could be in store for a nice payday as his stature as a valuable rotation player continues to solidify.