When Jimmy Butler returned on Monday after missing a game due to a pelvic contusion, many wondered if he was risking his health by rushing his return. He was clearly struggling on the court, constantly grimacing in pain, bothered by the injury. But that somehow didn’t affect his performance. In fact, he dropped a team-high 27 points to lead the Warriors to victory. When asked what helped him thrive amid adversity, he revealed the surprising motivating factor.

“Ah man, somebody said something to me. That’s all it takes, somebody to say something to me gets me going every single time… I thought it was winning time.” Jimmy said postgame, claiming that Dillon Brooks’ trash talk lit a fire in him to ball out. Unfortunately, the same trick did not work on Wednesday. Failing to close out the series in Houston, Jimmy scored merely 8 points on a highly inefficient 2 of 10 shooting – His worst performance of this series.

Naturally, Jimmy’s struggles raised massive concerns about his availability for tonight’s Game 6, fearing a reaggravation of his injury. Fortunately, Dub Nation has nothing to worry about. Butler is not listed on the Warriors’ injury report, which means he is highly likely to suit up tonight. That’s even better than the probable status he had heading into Wednesday’s game.

Obviously, that doesn’t mean Jimmy no longer needs to be cautious. He hinted after Game 5 that he is not at 100% but is making decent progress, “It’s getting better. It’s getting there. You know another day and some change of recovery and rest.” Moreover, he didn’t use his injury as an excuse for his underwhelming performance, “That’s no excuse for how I played, how we played as a whole. Like I always say if anybody takes that floor you are expected to go out there and produce. More than anything, you’re expected to go out there and win.” Sure enough, Jimmy plans on getting the job done tonight.

Jimmy Butler claims Warriors’ confidence hasn’t waivered after blowout loss as he reveals strategy for Game 6

Well, the Warriors are heading into tonight’s game completely healthy, at least on paper. They have a clean injury report. Even Jonathan Kuminga, who missed the last game with an illness, is now ready to go. So, the Bay Area team cannot put the blame on injuries if they fail again tonight. And Jimmy has his focus clear, as he said on Wednesday, “We’re fine. Our confidence isn’t gonna waiver.”

Yes, Butler’s plan is to avoid the mistakes his team made in the last game. Coming out with a lack of urgency, they got outscored by the Rockets 40-24 in the opening quarter and could never recover. “We’re gonna start out better. We’re gonna play a better overall game because we know how good of a team we are as a unit. We know how good our players are as individuals. We just gotta us starters, we gotta kick us off better, which we know that we will do. We’ll be fine.” The forward added, revealing the team’s strategy.

Another loss would put the Warriors under a lot of pressure. With a clean injury report and the home court advantage, the odds are in their favor to win. If they cannot finish the job despite that, it will be a massive challenge to win Game 7 on the road. Do you think Jimmy Butler and Co. can send the Rockets packing tonight?