Jimmy Butler has been ruled out for Thursday’s game between the Golden State Warriors (11-11) and Philadelphia 76ers (11-9).
Butler was listed as questionable earlier Thursday after suffering a knee injury in Tuesday’s loss to the Thunder. Stephen Curry will also miss this game and the next two with a quad injury.
Meanwhile, the 76ers will be without Paul George (knee), Kelly Oubre (knee) and Trendon Watford (adductor). One-time MVP Joel Embiid (knee) is listed as questionable. Embiid played 30 minutes in Philadelphia’s loss to the Hawks on Sunday. He then missed the team’s Tuesday’s win over the Wizards.
Jonathan Kuminga (ankle), Quinten Post (ankle) and Al Horford (sciatica) are available after previously being listed as questionable.
Numbers Suggest Butler’s Absence Will Doom Warriors
Butler has done a great job propping up the non-Steph minutes this year.
According to Cleaning the Glass, the Warriors have a plus-3.2 net rating with Butler on the court and Steph off.
With both off, Golden State has a minus-10.1 net rating. Most alarmingly, the Warriors score just 102.0 points per 100 possessions with their two best offensive players off the floor. That ranks in the 1st percentile.
The only silver lining is that the Warriors scored 68 points in the second half against the Thunder without Steph and Butler. If that performance carries over to this game, they will a great chance to win.
Melton Tasked with Slowing Down On-Fire Guard in Debut
De’Anthony Melton is making his season debut after suffering an ACL injury in November 2024. His task after missing more than a year? Slow down Tyrese Maxey.
Maxey is averaging 32.0 points per game. He’s scored at least 30 points 11 times, at least 40 points four times, and he had a career-high 54 points two weeks ago against the Bucks.
Melton has been a great on-ball defender his whole career, and that has been reflected in his on/off numbers. Per Cleaning the Glass, Melton’s teams have been better on defense with him on the court in six of his seven seasons.
Last year, the Warriors were 9.9 points better on the defensive end with Melton, which was a 98th percentile differential.
Steve Kerr said that Melton is expected to be limited to 20 minutes of playing time. Keep an eye on how he looks guarding one of the best scorers in the NBA.
