Golden State Warriors star Jimmy Butler has been added to the injury report just hours before tip-off against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night.
The six-time All-Star is dealing with right lower back soreness and is listed as questionable to play, according to the NBA’s latest official injury report.
The Warriors will already be without veteran center Al Horford, who is resting on the front end of a back-to-back set. Golden State will travel to Sacramento to face the Kings on Wednesday.
The potential absence of Butler — the team’s top perimeter defender and emotional leader — would be a major blow for a Warriors squad trying to regain its footing after a sluggish stretch.
Warriors Reeling From Pacers Collapse
Golden State is still recovering from a 114–109 loss to the injury-depleted Indiana Pacers, a game that snapped their early-season momentum after a promising 4–1 start.
The Warriors were outscored 32–21 in the fourth quarter and sputtered at the finish, allowing the Pacers to score a 20-5 closing run, prompting Butler to unleash a fiery postgame critique of his team’s effort and communication.
Getty Jimmy Butler III of the Golden State Warriors dunks the ball in the fourth quarter against the Indiana Pacers.
“We’ve got to get back to playing our roles to a T,” Butler said, per The Athletic. “Giving a damn whenever we turn it over. Giving a damn whenever our man scores. We guard as a team, we score as a team. Everybody’s got to be on the same page. I think we’ve gotten away from that a little bit.”
Butler filled the box score as usual — 20 points, seven assists, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks — but Golden State was still outscored by six points in his 35 minutes on the floor.
Curry, Kerr Call for Discipline and Focus
Every Warriors starter except rookie Brandin Podziemski (+7) posted a negative plus-minus rating. Stephen Curry finished with 24 points on 8-of-23 shooting (34.8%), including a minus-21 on the floor — the worst among starters — and five turnovers for the second consecutive game.
“This is one of those games where you just look in the mirror,” Curry said. “There were parts of the game where I made it too hard on all of us — not getting organized, bad possessions, a little lack of energy. You give a team like that life.”
Curry emphasized that the Warriors’ struggles have been as much mental as physical.
“Even if you don’t have it physically at a 10 out of 10, you need to control a game with your mind,” he said. “Sometimes we just make things harder for no reason.”
Head coach Steve Kerr warned that the Warriors cannot afford to lose focus in a tightly contested Western Conference.
“We know the West is loaded, and it feels like we just gave away two games,” Kerr said. “At the end of the season, it’s always one or two games that separate everything. We have to be sharper and be better.”
Tough Test Ahead vs. Booker-Led Suns
The Warriors’ defense has shown cracks, and Butler’s possible absence only complicates things. If he joins Horford on the sidelines, Golden State will be short-handed against the red-hot Suns, who have won back-to-back games behind Devin Booker’s 30.0 points and 7.4 assists per game.
The Warriors, who rank 25th in turnovers (17.1 per game), will need a cleaner, more disciplined performance to avoid their third straight loss and rediscover the form that fueled their fast start.
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