Minnesota Timberwolves: 5 takeaways from 2017-18 NBA season

3. Jimmy Butler needs to get healthy this offseason

By the end of Game 5 on Wednesday night, Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jimmy Butler was at the end of the bench icing his knee. He sat out the final 14 minutes of the game.

Butler originally went down with a knee injury on Feb. 23, ironically enought, against the Houston Rockets. He returned with just three games left in the regular season in order to prepare for the playoffs.

After averaging 22.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.0 steals per game through 59 games, Butler returned to the postseason but he wasn’t his usual self. As a member of the Chicago Bulls during the 2017 NBA Playoffs, Butler put up 22.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

Coming off the injured list, Butler showed a bit of rust in this season’s playoffs. He averaged just 15.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per contest against the Rockets. In Game 5, he had just eight points on 4-for-10 shooting before hitting the bench with knee soreness.

It’s paramount that Minnesota gets Butler healthy this offseason. He’s got the leadership qualities along with the backing of his head coach to do great things for this club. Injuries at this point will only derail any good they’ve achieved.