Chicago Bulls star Jimmy Butler continues to rack up huge minutes

How can Chicago Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg get away with playing Jimmy Butler 37.8 minutes per game without angering the Chicago Bulls front office?

Chicago Bulls star wing player Jimmy Butler endures huge minute workloads on a nightly basis under new head coach Fred Hoiberg.

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According to ESPN.com, the Marquette University graduate is tied for first in the NBA (with Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden) with 37.8 minutes per game. Butler also leads the NBA with 2.74 miles traveled per game via NBA.com player tracking statistics.

Butler has led or tied the NBA in minutes per game for the last three seasons. Under former head coach Tom Thibodeau, Butler played 38.7 minutes per game for both the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 seasons. In the playoffs the last two seasons, he averaged 43.6 minutes per game in 2013-2014 and 42.2 minutes per game in 2014-2015.

On top of this, Butler guards the opponent’s best wing player on a nightly basis which further increases his likelihood for fatigue and/or overuse injuries.

Butler, who puts himself through a rigorous offseason workout regimen each summer, said that the workload doesn’t bother him as long as he can help his team win.

"Whatever it takes. I just want to win. I want to help us in any way, shape or form. If that’s 48 straight minutes, if that’s 60 minutes, I’m willing to do it.—Quote obtained by Chicago Tribune reporter K.C. Johnson"

Despite Butler’s prideful comments, advanced statistics suggest that this large workload has hurt his performance.

"Butler’s career splits indicate regressions later in the season, too: He has shot a lower true shooting percentage and free throw percentage, grabbed fewer rebounds, dished out fewer assists and accounted for fewer points after the all-star break. Those regressions extended into the postseason last year; in Chicago’s playoff run, Butler saw a dip in true shooting percentage (56.2 compared with 58.3), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.81 compared with 2.28) and rebound percentage (7.5 compared with 8.2).—-Information courtesy of Washington Post writer Josh Planos"

Also, a series of injuries has put Butler’s minutes under scrutiny.

On Feb. 5, Butler sustained a left knee strain and missed 11 games. Hoiberg’s inability to manage Butler’s minutes may have set him up for injury.

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In his return, Butler played almost 34 minutes against the Houston Rockets. Since then, he missed the last three games with back soreness and swelling in his left knee. On Thursday, Dr. James Andrews examined his knee and cleared Butler to take part in practice. The Bulls hope he will be ready to play on Monday against the Toronto Raptors.

According to Hoiberg as quoted by Chicago Tribune reporter K.C. Johnson, “whether Butler returns this time on a minutes restriction will be determined after the Bulls see how he responds to workouts.”

Although Butler’s game has hurt the Bulls in some respects, the team needs him playing unselfishly at a high level to make a run in the playoffs. Once Butler returns to action, the Bulls need to put him on a minutes restriction so he can get rest and stay healthy for the playoffs. Although the postseason isn’t a forgone conclusion for the Bulls like in past seasons, the team can’t afford to waste its superstar players in the regular season and have nothing left once the playoffs begin.

Butler’s large workload further exposes a double-standard within the Chicago Bulls organization. Fred Hoiberg has run his players into the ground, and the Bulls front office has done nothing to stop it.

After the Chicago Bulls fired former head coach Tom Thibodeau largely because of the heavy workload he imposed on his players, new head coach Fred Hoiberg promised he wouldn’t repeat the mistake of his predecessor. Hoiberg expressed particular concern with how he would manage the minutes of Jimmy Butler.

"We’ll see how that plays out [Butler’s minutes for the upcoming season]. I would like to have him play a little less than that (usual), so at the end of the season he’s fresh. You want all your guys, fresh, not only mentally but physically and hopefully we’ll accomplish that. —-Quote obtained by CSN-Chicago reporter Vincent Goodwill"

This promise hasn’t materialized. Butler has shouldered a heavy workload and continues to experience re-occurring issues with his left knee as a result. The Bulls front office fired Thibodeau partly for this very reason, yet sit back and act like everything is good when Hoiberg does the same thing. Despite the disastrous results this season, Forman recently said that Fred Hoiberg has done well in his rookie season as a head coach in the NBA.

"Under the circumstances, Fred has done well. [He has] an extremely bright future here. —-Quote obtained by ESPN writer Nick Friedell"

Next: Bulls receive good news on Jimmy Butler's knee

The situation speaks to the lack of accountability that plagues this Chicago Bulls franchise. The double-standard in coaching expectations is one of the reasons that the front office tandem of Gar Forman and John Paxson are so ineffective.