Prior to Butler's first game with the team, the Warriors were 25-25, with a minus-0.2 net rating that ranked 16th in the league. Without him around to facilitate on offense and take on difficult assignments on the other end, Golden State might be drawing dead in a series many expected them to win (at least prior to Wednesday).

This the situation in which the Golden State Warriors find themselves, having dropped Game 2 to the Houston Rockets, 109-94, on Wednesday and facing the possibility of having to move forward in this series without Jimmy Butler,