Philadelphia 76ers guard Jimmy Butler left Monday night’s game against the Detroit Pistons with a groin strain and was declared out for the rest of the game.
Butler has averaged 21.4 points a game since coming over to the Sixers in a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves last month.
Philadelphia has gone 9-3 since Butler joined the lineup. But Sixers star Joel Embiid recently expressed concern that his own offensive game had been subpar since Butler arrived.
“I haven’t been myself lately,” Embiid told Philly.com. “I think it’s mainly because of the way I’ve been used, which is I’m being used as a spacer, I guess, a stretch 5, which I’m only shooting [29] percent [from 3-point range].
“But it seems like the past couple games, like with the way I play, our setup, [coach Brett Brown] always has me starting on the perimeter — and it just really frustrates me.”