The Butler did it. And boy did it hurt.

The Golden State Warriors came into Wednesday night’s Game 2 with the Houston Rockets armed with a confidence that it could bring a two-game lead back to the Chase Center for Saturday’s third game.

And then, in what was more a series of muggings than a basketball game, Jimmy Butler got undercut on a rebound attempt and fell from the sky smashing his pelvis on an unforgiving basketball court.

If you’re curious as to how this feels, go ahead and jump out your bedroom window onto the back deck. I’ll wait.

The Warriors lost the game by 15 points. I’m not going to flat out say they would have won had Butler not collided with an immovable object, but I can assure you it would have been a more competitive game.And, while Butler was nursing his back, Brian Podziemski was nursing his front. Seems he suffered food poisoning after Sunday’s game and spent most of his down time in Houston wrapped around the bathroom porcelain. That left coach Steve Kerr no choice but to nicely ask Jonathan Kuminga if he’d care to participate in a basketball game instead of practicing his knitting on the bench. He did contribute eleven points — and didn’t drop a stitch.

Now it’s back to studying film for Kerr and his staff, the most important one being the MRI on Butler’s aching back.

Real draft starts Friday

And then there’s the NFL Draft.

For me, the very best thing about the draft is that by Saturday night it will be over.

I’d like to talk to you about the 49ers number one selection Thursday night, but the truth is this weekly yarn will have been written, filed, spindled and mutilated by the time Commissioner Roger Goodell tells the assembled millions, “With the eleventh pick in the 2025 NFL Draft the San Francisco 49ers select Isaac Shmaltzgepopp, a long snapper from Shippensburg State.”

OK, I’m just kidding. I’m pretty sure Isaac will go undrafted, but I’m confident the Niners have found an able body with their first pick.

The real draft starts on Friday.

The general NFL philosophy is that virtually every team has somewhat the same 32 players on their “Can’t miss first rounder” list. The real process begins when you start comparing the tackle from North Dakota State with the cornerback from Alabama in rounds two through seven.

These days everybody has access to the same measurables because of the NFL Combine. “He runs a 4.3 40. I love his 3-cone drill and he bench presses Brazil.

That standing broad jump would have won a gold medal in the 1912 Olympics.” All of which means, if there were an NFL decathlon, everybody could be Bruce Jenner. And we all remember her don’t we?

What it doesn’t mean is, can he play football? And that’s where draft success after day one is made or broken.

And frankly, that’s where the 49ers have shined. OK, I’ll give you Reuben Foster as a bad example, but this team has unearthed a ton of players who possess mental acuity and high character, and that in great part accounts for success.

That’s where this year’s 11 player draft class needs to stand out for the 49ers to be involved somewhere in the playoff mix.

The Niners have invited 30 players to their Santa Clara facility for extensive interviews. And I think these days there may be as many decisions made from what they hear as there are from what they see.

One GM was talking this week about how the NIL — which I despise — was helpful in judging a prospect. Does he want to be a great player or just rich? If he attended three different schools in search of the biggest pay day, does he have a loyalty to a team? Did he show up to the interview driving a customized gold Lamborghini? Is he hungry even though he’s comfortable?

What completes the draft process and what separates the wheat from the chaff is simply identifying a player who doesn’t meet the numbers criteria but can just plain play football.

Having been around this sport for an eon or two I can tell you that sometimes you just see a kid who can just flat play.

Despite the naysayers. And it’s those few that mark the difference between the playoffs and “Wait ’til next year.”

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Brock Purdy.

Times have changed since Al Davis made “Just win baby” into a mantra for success. Character was not amongst the most important traits for Mr. Davis. The only measure that he cared about was speed. If you were big, and could run, Al Davis wanted you.

I always harken back to Charles Philyaw, a guy from Texas Southern who Al Davis selected in the 2nd round of the NFL draft in 1976. He was a 6’9” 280-pound defensive end who could run like a deer. He couldn’t play football very well, but he could run like a deer. Al Davis loved him and felt he could make him into a player.

The problem was, the interview process didn’t exist for Al Davis.

It did, however, exist for we media louts.

I asked Philyaw one day what he took in college.

He suddenly got very defensive. “Nuthin’ man,” he said, “just a couple of jersey’s and a pair of shoes.”

Charles Philyaw would have killed it at the combine. Big, fast, and quick.

But oh those darn interviews.

There won’t be any Charles Philyaws showing up amongst the 49er draftees this year, but there could be some Fred Warners — and that is what would make the difference.

Barry Tompkins is a 40-year network television sportscaster and a San Francisco native. Email him at barrytompkins1@gmail.com.