As the Golden State Warriors try to find a new, and unfamiliar, offensive groove in the absence of Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler's unwillingness to take contested and physical layups is preventing the team from making a genuine run at this series.
Curry, who looked to be returning to his typical superstar-level performance in the 13 minutes he played in Game 1 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, strained his hamstring in the second quarter of that game and is projected to miss at least a week.
Now, the Warriors must lean on their second star, Butler, to take on the primary offensive load for the team, but, in order to do so, Butler must take on a more physical role: a tough challenge for the aging forward.
Jimmy Butler needs to get physical to keep the Warriors in this series
When Golden State acquired Butler, who is known as a notorious playoff performer, they knew that they would need him to step up in a time such as this.
Against the physical Minnesota defense, which is packed to the brim with lengthy wings and athletic on-ball defenders, this series was already going to be an uphill offensive battle. Now, with Curry out, that defense has gravitated toward Butler, whose lack of spacing relative to Curry has also left players such as Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody and Quinten Post with very little room to operate.
During the regular season, roughly 41% of Butler's shots came in the form of lay-ups, and he shot an efficient 56.8% on these attempts.
Yet, as Butler has aged, it has become evident that he is unwilling to take as much contact as he was in his younger years. Now, he often settles for mid-range jump shots or attempts to draw the foul with a flail or awkward shooting motion, leaving almost no opportunity for the original shot to go in.
While free-throws are a large part of Butler's game (he's averaged 6.9 attempts this postseason), the Warriors need him to become even more of a pure scorer in order to drive the offense in a productive direction.
While part of this is likely a result of his lingering pelvic contusion that he suffered against the Houston Rockets, it is also a larger symptom of his overall lack of physicality this season.
In Game 2, which Golden State lost 117-93, Butler attempted only 13 shots on the night, 9 of which were in the mid-range or from beyond the arc.
If the Warriors are able to clear behemoth Rudy Gobert out from under the basket, Butler must drive, even at the risk of taking contact, in order to drag his team's offense forward.