HOUSTON — The Warriors’ first-round series against the Rockets hinges on Jimmy Butler’s injured pelvis.
San Francisco, CA
What Jimmy Butler's injury means for the Warriors
Butler flew home to San Francisco ahead of the team to get an MRI after a pelvic contusion knocked him out of Game 2, a league source told The San Francisco Standard. Without him, a shell-shocked, roughed-up Warriors team lost 109-94 in a hostile Toyota Center.
Losing Butler would put a sour note on an otherwise successful trip, as Golden State stole home court advantage for the series by winning Game 1. The 14th-year NBA veteran has until 5:30 p.m. on Saturday to recover in time for the start of Game 3.
“If Jimmy’s out, we have to rethink everything,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “Rotations, who starts, the best combinations.”
Butler’s injury occurred with 2:28 left in the first quarter. The Warriors had expected the Rockets to rough up Game 2 even more than they did in the series opener, and they’d already been proven right. Houston mauled Steph Curry off the ball, crashed the glass like maniacs, hand-checked ball-handlers and poked jabs in between plays.
Even though Curry and Draymond Green both said postgame that Houston was more physical in Game 1, there were three technicals and a flagrant foul handed out by officials on Wednesday.
Butler’s injury, though, wasn’t part of Houston’s concerted effort to play more physically. It came on a freak play in which wing Amen Thompson stumbled going for an offensive rebound under the basket. His lower half got tangled up between Green and Steven Adams before he undercut Butler, who was airborne in an attempt to haul in the board.
“This is the playoffs,” Kerr said. “This is an incredibly physical sport. Stuff happens. People get injured. It’s all part of it. There’s no time to lament anything. You feel bad for your player, but you have to go on to what’s next.
“Hopefully, Jimmy will be able to play. But if not, we’ve got to (put together a plan).”
Butler writhed on the court in pain, slow to get up. He gingerly limped to the free throw line to shoot foul shots before checking himself out shortly thereafter. He made his way to the locker room with his trainer and Warriors director of sports medicine and performance Rick Celebrini.
The initial impression, per a source, is that Butler’s injury isn’t too serious, but the team will know more about the severity on Thursday after he gets an MRI.
After the game, Butler told coaches and teammates that he’ll be fine. But that’s what he always says.
Both Curry and Jonathan Kuminga recently suffered pelvic injuries. Curry missed two games and Kuminga missed one. Generally, as long as a player doesn’t suffer a fracture, the injury becomes a pain management issue after swelling subsides.
Butler had a similar fall in the first round of the Heat’s 2023 playoff series against the Bucks. He didn’t miss a game and finished the series by scoring 56 and 42 points to eliminate Milwaukee.
While the training staff tended to Butler, Brandin Podziemski joined him in the locker room. The second-year guard toughed out a stomach bug he’d been dealing with all day, but missed the middle chunk of Game 2. Podziemski got an IV at halftime and returned halfway through the third quarter.
Without Butler and Podziemski, the Warriors dusted off both Pat Spencer and Kuminga, the latter of whom hadn’t played in Golden State’s previous three games.
Kuminga scored 11 points in 26 minutes, including five points toward the end of the game with Houston up big. Spencer also chipped in 11 points in 12 minutes.
Butler turned the Warriors’ season around when Golden State acquired him. Including the postseason, the Warriors entered Wednesday’s game with a 25-7 record with him in the lineup. Without him, they’re a pedestrian team.
After he left Game 2, the Warriors trailed by double digits the rest of the way.
With Butler on the court, the Warriors have blended his isolation style and ability to draw fouls with their free-flowing motion. If he’s sidelined, they’ll have to make sweeping strategic changes.
“We’ll have to figure that out,” Green said. “It’s no easy task in replacing Jimmy. Obviously, we all know what he’s meant to this team since he’s been here. We’ve kind of tailored our offense a bit around him.”
The Warriors acquired Butler to make a true playoff run, and he instantly vindicated the decision. He logged 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals in the Game 1 win.
Butler is known as a tough player who plays through injuries. But one of the reasons the Butler era soured in Miami was because of his unavailability in the playoffs; he missed last year’s postseason due to a knee sprain.
The Warriors are cautiously optimistic they won’t have to face that same reality.
“If for whatever reason he’s not out there, I’ll carry a lot of the lift and the load on trying to create shots and create advantages,” Curry said. “We’ll have different rotations out there. (There’s) a couple plays that we call for him specifically, but the rest of it is trying to make the simple play.”
The San Francisco Standard’s Tim Kawakami contributed reporting.
San Francisco, CA
George Kittle used bottle of tequila to deal with devastating Achilles injury
San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle finished a bottle of top-shelf tequila after tearing his Achilles in the 49ers’ eventual 23-19 wild-card victory in Philadelphia Sunday night, according to The Athletic.
Kittle, who popped his Achilles in the second quarter, requested it after the injury, and a San Francisco employee was seen delivering a bottle of Patron to the 49ers’ locker room.
The bottle reportedly was sent from the owners’ suite at Lincoln Financial Field.
49ers owner Jed York personally visited Kittle in the locker room and asked if he could get him anything — and that’s when the bottle of tequila was delivered a few minutes later, according to The San Francisco Standard.
Kittle was pushed out of bounds on a 6-yard reception and immediately grabbed his leg.
The All-Pro tight end was carted off the field and hobbled on one leg into the locker room, as seen in videos online.
He was ruled out for the rest of the game.
York and Kittle’s wife, Claire Kittle, both appeared visibly somber as they entered the locker room, according to The Athletic.
The Niners were the underdogs heading into the wild-card clash with the reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles.
San Francisco was already down two key players in defensive end Nick Bosa (knee) and linebacker Fred Warner (ankle).
The Eagles’ offense was a mess.
They committed four drops on third down, the most in a playoff game since 2006, per ESPN stats.
The 49ers visit the top-seeded Seattle Seahawks in an NFC divisional playoff game on Saturday.
San Francisco, CA
49ers Show ‘Resiliency’ in Upset Victory, Thanks to LFG Winner Demarcus Robinson
The San Francisco 49ers suffered another devastating injury on Sunday. But, thanks to a strong supporting cast, they found a way to prevail once again.
San Francisco pulled off the biggest playoff upset so far in what’s been a wild wild-card round, defeating the Philadelphia Eagles, 23-19, on the road. Unheralded wide receiver Demarcus Robinson was a major reason behind Sunday’s upset as he hauled in six receptions for a game-high 111 yards and a touchdown en route to winning Tom Brady’s LFG Player of the Game.
When Robinson spoke with Brady after the game, it didn’t take long for him to find the one word to describe the 49ers.
“If it was one word, I’d say resiliency. Resilient,” Robinson said of his team. “These guys play with resiliency. We’ve got a lot of injuries throughout the year. Even tonight, like you said, losing Kittle, guys stepped up and knew they had to make plays. That’s what we were able to do today, go out and make plays.”
Sunday’s victory also came in comeback fashion for the Niners, who rallied from a 16-10 fourth-quarter deficit despite losing tight end George Kittle in the first half to a torn Achilles.
Tom Brady’s LFG Player of the Game: 49ers WR Demarcus Robinson 🏆
Robinson’s resiliency was on full display on the 49ers’ opening possession. He turned an intermediate pass from Brock Purdy over the middle into a 61-yard gain, zigzagging through the Eagles’ secondary on his way to Philly’s 16-yard line. He then caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from Purdy to end the drive.
There was possibly no greater sign of the team’s resiliency, however, than the play that gave them a 17-16 lead early in the fourth quarter. After their offense seemed stuck in the mud for most of the game, the 49ers found the end zone when wide receiver Jauan Jennings threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to running back Christian McCaffrey on a trick play.
Robinson was just one of a few supporting characters who contributed to the 49ers’ win. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk had a season-high four receptions for 49 yards, making a pair of big grabs that helped set up touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Defensively, linebacker Garret Wallow had a game-high 11 total tackles after recording just nine total tackles in the regular season.
The 49ers’ top player in McCaffrey also showed his resilience in the win. McCaffrey turned 21 touches into 114 yards and two touchdowns, with the second TD coming via a 4-yard grab with 2:54 remaining to give the 49ers a decisive 23-19 lead.
“I think the guys are just playing with resiliency, man,” Robinson said of his team. “Everybody knew what we had at stake. Everybody came out there and did their part. So, that helped us get the dub.”
The injury to Kittle was his second serious injury of the season after he missed time earlier in the year due to a hamstring tear. San Francisco has also seen some of its other stars get sidelined for the majority of the year, such as edge rusher Nick Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner.
Warner could potentially return later in the postseason, but another key piece in wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, who missed Sunday’s game, remains in limbo as he battles a knee injury. Of course, Purdy missed time this year due to shoulder and toe injuries that cost him eight games.
Despite all of that, the 49ers will now move on to play for a spot in the NFC Championship Game when they take on the Seahawks in Seattle next weekend. They nearly hosted the divisional round game, but lost to the Seahawks at home, 13-3, in the regular-season finale to give Seattle the NFC West and the conference’s No. 1 seed.
Robinson is optimistic, however, that there will be a different result this time around.
“Hopefully, we get the dub, obviously,” Robinson said. “We’ve just got to lock in, man. We’ve got to lock in and put more points on the board than we did last week at home. Just put more points on the board. The defense played lights out tonight. Hopefully, we keep playing that same way, man, and it leads to more dubs.”
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San Francisco, CA
Philadelphia Eagles-San Francisco 49ers: Picks, odds for NFC Wild Card
The San Francisco 49ers (12-5) visit the Philadelphia Eagles (11-6) at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia for a Wild Card round showdown as the NFL playoffs get underway. USA TODAY’s panel of NFL experts have locked in their picks and predictions for the action. Here’s everything you need to know before kickoff on Sunday, January 11, including live updated odds and injury report news.
Name
Week 18
2025 Season
Blake Schuster
11-5
141-111-7
Jon Hoefling
11-5
137-128-7
Tyler Dragon
6-10
128-137-7
Chris Bumbaca
7-9
115-121-6
Lorenzo Reyes
8-8
119-131-6
Jordan Mendoza
8-8
113-123-6
Richard Morin
N/A
47-34-3
Eagles vs. 49ers live odds, moneyline, over/under
Opening Lines
- Spread: Eagles (-3.5)
- Moneyline: Eagles (-190), 49ers (+155)
- Over/Under: 46.5
Get the edge with our exclusive NFL betting picks
Eagles vs. 49ers picks against the spread
Jon Hoefling: San Francisco 49ers (+4.5)
The Eagles feel like a lesser version of the Seattle Seahawks, and SF had several opportunities to win against Seattle in Week 18.
Tyler Dragon: Philadelphia Eagles (-4.5)
San Francisco has too many injuries. The 49ers will compete, but the Eagles are the best team in the tournament.
Lorenzo Reyes: San Francisco 49ers (+4.5)
This season, it was San Francisco’s defense that let it down. The lack of a pass rush and lack of turnovers kept games closer. The thing is, Philadelphia’s offense was also underwhelming, which was surprising given the talent on the roster. I think this is a case where the Niner offense carries the day, though injuries on defense are a concern. Either way, this line feels too big.
Christopher Bumbaca: Philadelphia Eagles (-4.5)
This is a “go with the best unit on the field” play. The one I’m talking about? The Philadelphia Eagles’ defense. Kyle Shanahan vs. Vic Fangio should be a treat though.
Jordan Mendoza: San Francisco 49ers (+4.5)
The defending champions have been up-and-down this season, and that gives San Francisco to catch the Eagles off guard. Brock Purdy finds his form to deliver a stunner.
Blake Schuster: Philadelphia Eagles (-4.5)
All San Francisco had to do was beat Seattle in Week 18 and it wouldn’t have had to leave home once during the postseason. Now the Niners have to go to Philly and face an Eagles team that’s probably furious after their season finale letdown. The Bay is about to experience some intense whiplash.
Eagles vs. 49ers updated injury report
NFL Playoffs Wild Card picks, predictions, odds
Super Bowl 60 updated odds
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