Jimmy Butler left the Golden State Warriors' matchup against the Miami Heat on Monday with an apparent knee injury.
The star veteran had an awkward landing, which was followed by Butler crashing to the floor and grabbing at his knee while clearly in pain. Butler went to the locker room early on Monday and needed assistance to make it back to get checked out.
The Warriors are suddenly facing a scary situation, as Butler has been one of their most consistent performers throughout the year. He was ruled out shortly after.
Leading up to Monday's action, Butler appeared in 37 games this season. During his first full run with the Warriors, Butler is averaging 20.1 points while shooting 51 percent from the field. He is also averaging 5.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists.
For the most part, Butler has been solid in the health department this season. He missed just five games leading up the Warriors' Saturday night action against the Charlotte Hornets.
A healthy Butler was announced as a starter, as expected, but he was surprisingly ruled out moments before the game. After, Steve Kerr explained that Butler had to tend to a personal matter. He was expected to be back on the court for the battle against his former team on Monday.
Indeed, that was the case. Butler was cleared to play and collected his 38th start of the year. When he checked out in the third quarter, Butler had 17 points on 6-11 shooting, three rebounds, four assists, and two steals in 21 minutes of action. The Warrirors were securing a comfortable lead, as they searched for their 25th win of the year.
It hasn't been all great for the Warriors this season. Butler previously assessed his team's performance as "mediocre" at this point in time. As the Warriors begin to get hot, putting together four wins in a row, they now face a concerning situation, as Butler's setback will have all eyes on the team in the coming days.
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