Hoiberg acknowledges Butler has some soreness in his knee. Calls Butler a "warrior." Butler will get treatment and will play in Game 6.
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) April 27, 2017
Did this play a role in Butler’s lack of aggression last night? I don’t know. It does seem odd that he’s suddenly go from 23 free throw attempt to 1. As much as I love our wing defenders, they’re still the same wing defenders from Games 1-4 so it would stand to reason that there was something else going on last night.
Butler is Chicago’s only hope. They’re riding him all they can, jacking up his minutes as much as possible and hoping he can deliver. The soreness can be a symptom of overuse or maybe it’s something else… but if Chicago is going to have any hope of forcing a Game 7, he’ll have to play another 45 minutes and be awesome.
If he’s limited, then chances are Chicago will fold. They just don’t have the horses to survive without him. Dwyane Wade can only carry those guys so far.
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