Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr admits he has questioned himself about Jimmy Butler’s use in the playoff series opener.
Amidst expectations for a tough, tough series, the Golden State Warriors shed their first blood against the Houston Rockets.
The Warriors’ battle-tested experience led the way with a low score of 95-85 victory against the Rockets team.
Jimmy Butler played his first playoff game for the Warriors following a mid-season trade from the Miami Heat, delivering a typical assertive performance.
Butler scored 25 points. This came second only to Stephen Curry’s 31, 31 and valuable contributions, along with seven rebounds and six assists.
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is excited to see Jimmy Butler at his disposal.
And as he looks back at the game, Kerr admits that he feared he had made an error, and Butler plays for a total of 42 minutes.
Through Anthony Slater, Kerr is worried about whether he has his rotation right and should reevaluate it as he doesn’t want to play Butler for this long.
He explained:
“And I thought he played too many late on, and I definitely need to watch it.
Kerr doesn’t qualify for Butler’s ability to play for a long time, but he knows that more rounds are ahead in a potentially longer playoff series.
“I think Jimmy plays in 40-42 minutes. It’s not Jimmy. There are people in this league who can play for 42 minutes.
Steve Kerr’s comments can provide fresh hope for Jonathan Kuminga, who was the DNP of the third consecutive game.
Kerr admits he doesn’t believe Jimmy Butler and Jonathan Cuminga can play together and commented last week.
Butler’s 42 minutes against the Rockets in Game 1 meant there was no room for Kuminga.
However, Kerr’s comment that he “definitely” needs to see the rotation can provide Kuminga with hope that he may be involved in the upcoming game.
Even if Game 2 works just like Kuminga, it’s no surprise that games 3 and 4 will come in and the series potentially expanded to 5, 6, or 7.
Just because he can play forty-two minutes doesn’t mean that it’s wise, especially if he has a young, fresh and rested Cuminga on the bench.