Jimmy Butler faces heat from Shannon Sharpe over vanishing effort in Steph Curry's absence

On Monday's episode of his podcast "Nightcap", Shannon Sharpe didn't hold back on criticising Jimmy Butler for his underwhelming performance in the Golden State Warriors' Game 4 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Sharpe called out Butler's lack of aggressiveness in the crucial game as the Warriors went down 1-3 in the second-round series in the absence of Steph Curry.

"I don't know what happened with Jimmy Butler tonight," Sharpe said. "He knows nine shot attempts is not nearly enough."

"This is why you make the trade for Steph Curry, Jimmy is supposed to win you one game minus Steph Curry," Sharpe continued. "He wasn't aggressive at all. He was coming to a jump stop, passing out of it. I don't know what's going on healthwise, bodywise, maybe he got an injury that they're not reporting, but this effort tonight is unacceptable."

Watch the segment at 5:25 here:

Butler recorded 14 points, six rebounds, three assists and a block in the Warriors' 117-110 home loss on Monday as they suffered their third straight loss since Curry's Game 1 injury. The star forward attempted just nine shots, making five of them, and had little involvement compared to his usual outings, earning him a game-worst -30 plus/minus.

Steve Kerr shares opinion on Jimmy Butler's Game 4 performance

During the press conference following their Game 4 loss, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr gave his candid take on Jimmy Butler's performance in the crucial matchup. While he noted that Butler was not as aggressive as usual, Kerr also shared that he expects the six-time NBA All-Star to step up in the upcoming must-win game.

"He wasn't as aggressive tonight, but I didn't see a lot of openings either," Kerr said. "Ideally, we could put more shooting around him to open up the floor a little bit, but with Steph out, we are not gonna be able to do as much of that."

"With that said, we'll look at the tape and see where we can find some openings for him, and I know he will be aggressive for Game 5."

Jimmy Butler needs to activate "Playoff Jimmy" mode in the upcoming do-or-die Game 5 in Minnesota on Wednesday as Steph Curry remains unlikely to return. If the Warriors pull off the Game 5 win and keep their season alive, Curry's official return timeline is for Game 6.