But that’s what Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler gave media members during his postgame press conference on Saturday night, May 10, after the team fell just shy of what would have been a considerable upset in Game 3 of its second-round NBA playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Warriors held a lead into the middle of the fourth quarter and ultimately lost by five points at Chase Center in San Francisco.
“When Steph’s not on the floor, there’s no room for error,” Butler explained, per 95.7 The Game. “You can’t make mistakes. You can’t turn the ball over. You can’t give back all of those things. And then you’ve got to take the right shots.”
The Warriors have battled their way to a relatively dismal 95 points per game average over the past two outings, both of which Curry missed entirely due to a hamstring strain he suffered during the first half of Game 1 in Minnesota. Golden State put up 99 points in that contest and has yet to hit triple-digits in any game during this series.
Butler was excellent against the Timberwolves on Saturday night, dropping in 33 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Jonathan Kuminga also added 30 points off the bench, as the two forwards combined for nearly two-thirds of the Warriors’ total offensive output on the evening.
Curry will definitely miss Game 4 and will be reevaluated by team doctors on Wednesday, May 15 — the date of Game 5. Golden State doesn’t expect Curry will have any chance to return before Game 6, which the Warriors will host in the Bay Area on May 18 if they can win one of the next two contests.