Any hope Golden State had of tacking on another championship to their dynastic run evaporated when Stephen Curry went down with a hamstring injury.
Jimmy Butler, the club's vaunted midseason acquisition, wasn't so much a non-factor as he was a negative factor in Games 4 and 5. Over the course of 76 minutes, Butler posted a -47 and hoisted all of 20 shots as the Minnesota Timberwolves easily dispatched the depleted and aging Warriors.
Butler has taken some heat for the performance, though Steve Kerr came to his defense and reasonable minds can disagree about whether the playoff specialist was ever capable of extending the Warriors's run. If, in fact, Curry could have returned had the series gone to a sixth game is a major unknown.
Jay Williams was fairly nonplussed with the meek exit, directing some pointed criticism in Butler's direction during Thursday's Get Up.
"You weren't asked to win the war, you were asked to hold the damn line," Williams said. "For one game. One game! Not two games, not three games. Just one game. Give the sun in your solar system a chance to rise again for Game 6."
.@RealJayWilliams sounds off on Jimmy Butler's performance after the Warriors' loss to the Timberwolves in Game 5.
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) May 15, 2025
"You weren't asked to win the war, you were asked to hold the damn line." pic.twitter.com/YS1LgqgUN7
Williams was shocked that Butler followed up his nine-shot effort with an 11-shot showing and he's not alone. It's especially confusing given the circumstances in which Butler came to the Bay Area and how he was thought to be a sheer force of will with everything on the line.
So yes, there's probably some warranted critiques to offer. Yet it's assuming an awful lot that Curry, perhaps not near 100 percent, was simply going to come back and win two more elimination games against a good Timberwolves team.
We'll never know.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ESPN NBA Analyst Has Strong Words for Jimmy Butler's Playoff Showing.
