The Basketball Gods have not been appeased, and apparently have dealt the NBA another serious injury to a star player.
Jimmy Butler — Minnesota’s leader, an All-Star, and a guy having a fringe of the MVP ballot NBA season — went down grabbing his knee on this play against the Rockets Friday night.
Butler reportedly said “it’s torn” while being helped off the court.
After the game, Tom Thibodeau said it was a right knee injury that would be re-evaluated with an MRI tomorrow.
Thibs said Butler will have MRI after Team returns home tonight, wouldn’t “speculate” but mood is very somber
— Jerry Zgoda (@JerryZgoda) February 24, 2018
Sources: X-rays on Jimmy Butler's right knee returned negative tonight, with MRI scheduled tomorrow in Minnesota and some hope around the severity.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 24, 2018
On @fsnorth, Taj Gibson says Jimmy was smiling and in good spirits in locker room. But MRI will tell the tale. Wolves holding their breath.
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) February 24, 2018
This is a non-contact injury that has the appearance of an ACL tear (hope that is not the case). Butler had ripped an offensive rebound away from Nene and was making a move to go back up when he went to the ground grabbing his knee.
Butler leads the NBA in minutes played per game. He was selected an All-Star but chose to sit out that game because he said he needed rest for the rest of the season. His coach, Tom Thibodeau, has a reputation for running players into exhaustion with heavy use (ask Joakim Noah) and does not subscribe to the kind of rest we see in Golden State, San Antonio, and other elite programs trying to keep players fresh.
This is troubling for a Timberwolves team looking to end an 11-year playoff drought — Minnesota is -8.3 points per 100 possessions when Butler is not on the court this season. While tied for the three seed going into Friday night, Minnesota is just four games from falling out of the playoffs in a competitive West.
