The Golden State Warriors came confident after beating the West’s 2nd seed Rockets, in game 1. Draymond Green and Co. were charged, and hoped game 2 would be a cakewalk against the demotivated Houston side. Until the Rockets chose to flip the script, matching the series 1-1. But that wasn’t the only loss. Jimmy Butler had to leave the court with a pelvis contusion after a hard fall on a foul late in the first quarter. Later, the Warriors received some bittersweet news about Jimmy Butler. The MRI revealed he has a deep glute muscle contusion. According to Shams Charania, his participation in the next game is in “serious jeopardy”. But there’s still some hope that rest will make the pain bearable. However, one thing remains inconclusive. Who is to blame for his injury?

Fans have two culprits in mind. The Warriors faithful berated Amen Thompson, saying he intentionally uprooted Butler in the sequence. Others see Draymond Green as the reason for the injury, stating he pushed Thompson into his 35-year-old teammate. In Austin Rivers’ analysis of the situation, he isn’t blaming either of them. He thinks the Dub Nation is overflowing the situation.

“You know what that fan base does, and like they’ll just… First off, your own player pushed him into him. Draymond was doing dirty s*** all night,” the ex-Rockets players said on Off Guard. The matchup itself was highly physical. The Rockets and Warriors plummeted into each other. Green matched the intensity the night commanded. Speaking about the play on Jimmy Butler, Rivers did admit the four-time champion’s intent brought the situation. “That play specifically, he literally was like barreling through there and pushed Amen right into him,” Rivers further detailed.

But while the former Rockets guard did see some “dirty plays” from Draymond Green throughout the game, he doesn’t think the shove on Amen came from that place. “I don’t think it was intentional. Obviously, Amen got pushed. I don’t think Draymond meant to push him in. Obviously, he wouldn’t want to hurt his own teammate. It’s a part of the physical nature of the game,” he said.

The push itself, if visible, wasn’t deliberate. Draymond Green was looking to box out while Thompson went for the offensive board. The reaction, unfortunately, saw Jimmy Butler be the casualty, suffering a nasty fall. However, Rivers thinks the shift in physicality doesn’t just exist in this series.

Adam Silver answers the fans’ cravings

Fans have been longing for the NBA not to be ‘soft’. Through the regular season, unnecessary technical fouls and free throws for marginal contact ruined the fan experience. However, the postseason has been different altogether. The officials are holding back from blowing their whistles, allowing the game to be a physically taxing challenge.

It’s not just the case in the Warriors-Rockets series. Just last night, Ja Morant suffered an almost identical injury to that of Butler. Lu Dort accidentally caught him mid-air. However, where the regular season might have prompted a flagrant, Dort was only called for a normal foul.

The change itself has excited Austin Rivers, who thinks fans must be feeling the same exhilaration.

“Stan Van Gundy said it live last night, even as the accident happened. You know, Jimmy’s on the floor. Everyone’s like in awe. Van Gundy was talking about how great this physicality of a series is and how the NBA is letting these guys push, shove, touch. It’s kind of bringing that nostalgia back. People talk about how they missed the ’90s, early 2000s basketball. Well, we’re getting it now. This has been a very physical playoff so far for everyone’s first two games,” the former point guard said on his podcast.

Aside from these freak injuries, there hasn’t been much punishment for NBA players. However, the playoffs have been brutal. Officials have provided the leeway to play hard defense. Physical teams such as the Rockets and even the Timberwolves are benefiting the most from this, as they can make defense their identity.

However, Adam Silver might have to revisit the strategy with the onset of injuries. The league can’t afford to see stars going down and out of the postseason early. So, although having an elevated physical aspect is amusing, a threshold needs to be set.