Jimmy Butler Will Not Play vs. Warriors Due to Knee Injury

Minnesota Timberwolves swingman Jimmy Butler will miss Thursday's game against the Golden State Warriors due to a knee injury, according to Marc J. Spears of ESPN.

This will be the fourth straight game he's missed, and Minnesota's gone 2-1 in his absence.

Despite the nagging injury, he is one of the Timberwolves' leaders when healthy. He is averaging 21.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists in his first campaign with the team after it acquired him via trade from the Chicago Bulls last June.

Butler is a four-time All-Star and three-time member of an All-Defensive team and consistently guards the opponent's best perimeter and wing players while serving as a go-to option on the offensive end. He reached All-NBA Third Team status last season for the Bulls with a career-best 23.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.9 steals per game.

While it is unrealistic for the Timberwolves to expect anyone to replicate what Butler does, they do have other pieces to shoulder the load on the wing while he is out.

Jamal Crawford, Andrew Wiggins and Marcus Georges-Hunt all figure to see more playing time, and Karl-Anthony Towns can anchor the offense from the frontcourt.