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Any hope the Golden State Warriors had of making a run into the postseason might have just come to an abrupt halt as Jimmy Butler went down Monday night with what is said to be a torn right ACL, according an ESPN report citing sources, in a game against the Miami Heat.
With 7:41 left in the third quarter, Brandin Podziemski tried to float a post entry pass over the top to Butler, who had his man sealed; however, as he went up for the catch, Davion Mitchell collided with Butler, who came down awkwardly on his right leg.Â
The immediate pain felt by Butler and the seriousness of the injury were obvious.Â
One can hear Butler scream in pain immediately, and he was unable to put any weight on the leg as teammates helped him to the locker room.
All the Warriors said on Monday night is that Butler suffered a “knee injury,” though by early Tuesday morning Shams Charania reported that sources have said that it was an ACL tear in his right knee, an injury that would end his season.Â
If Butler’s season is in fact over, Golden State’s campaign would be as well. The Warriors were already going to have to go on a big second-half run to crawl above the play-in line, but without Butler, who was in the middle of a terrific season, there is no chance they can do anything in the playoffs, even if they were to somehow qualify. Aside from monitoring Butler’s status, this development figures to impact Golden State’s approach to the Feb. 5 trade deadline.