As the Golden State Warriors defeated the Toronto Raptors 117-114 on Thursday night, fans watched in shock as superstar Stephen Curry left the game after dropping heavily to the floor on an attempted drive to the rim in the third-quarter.
The team later revealed following an MRI that Curry suffered a pelvic contusion, with the 2x MVP set to miss Saturday's game against the Atlanta Hawks before being re-evaluated on Monday.
Yet in the wake of Curry's exit from the game, Jimmy Butler III -- Golden State's blockbuster trade deadline acquisition -- stepped up and secured another win with some big plays down the stretch that included a crucial block to help to seal the game in the final 30 seconds. Butler posted his second triple-double as a Warrior, scoring 16 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists in one of his best games yet in his new home.
Now, with Curry out for at least one game and presumably longer, Butler has his work cut out for him to keep Golden State in a playoff spot, and this could be his chance to show the dominance that took the Miami Heat to two NBA Finals appearances.
Butler needs to take over the Warriors in Curry's absence
Despite the Warriors' recent hot stretch, which took them from an outside play-in team to a sneaky championship contender, they are still surrounded by traffic in their push to earn a bona-fide playoff berth.
The Minnesota Timberwolves and the Los Angeles Clippers both sit only a game behind Golden State for the sixth seed in the Western Conference, with both teams having been playing very well of late. The Warriors simply cannot afford to lose a step in Curry's absence.
With Curry on the floor this season, Golden State has posted an offensive rating of 119.4 per 100 possessions, but with Curry off the floor, this number drops to a mediocre 108.3: a difference of 11.1 points per 100 possessions.
Yet the Warriors certainly still have some offensive dynamism even in Curry's absence. Among two-man combinations on the team's roster, the four with the highest net-rating include Jimmy Butler as part of the pairing (Butler and Curry have the fifth-highest).
While Butler has largely taken a step back in regard to his scoring so far in his tenure with the Warriors, his playmaking and willingness to be part of a larger effort to help the team win has been incredibly impressive.
The veteran forward still certainly holds the capability to lead the team in scoring, having scored 20 or more points in 16 games this season. While the Warriors upcoming schedule is relatively easy with games against the Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat, New Orleans Pelicans and San Antonio Spurs, things will quickly get much more difficult if Curry's absence is prolonged.
Therefore Butler now has the chance to show that he can truly take over the team and lead them through the gauntlet to a playoff berth.