Jimmy Butler Pre/Post All-Star Break: A Tale Of Two Halves

Jimmy Butler’s performance on the court following the All-Star break has steadily declined. As a result, the Chicago Bulls have been struggling, but the organization should have seen Butler’s drop in performance coming a mile away.

This is nothing new for the Chicago Bulls. As a team, they continue to struggle, while even worse…teasing fans game-after-game. Collect an impressive home-victory over the Golden State Warriors just a week ago. Follow that up by losing three straight. Why have the Bulls seen a major drop in performance as of late? Look no further than the play of their star-leader: Jimmy Butler.

Jimmy Butler is the Bulls’ franchise player. Whether the organization decides to keep him after this season, however, remains to be seen.

It’s been a tale of two halves for Butler this season. The first half saw Butler carry the Bulls on his back, game-after-game. While that didn’t always translate into wins, at least the team knew what they were getting from Butler on a nightly basis. The same can’t be said throughout the second half.

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In 51 games played prior to the All-Star break, Butler averaged 24.5 points-per-game. He shot .452 percent from the field. Those numbers earned him a starting nod in the 2017 All-Star Game.

Unfortunately, the second half of Butler’s season has been a completely different story with the Bulls. In seven post-All-Star games played, he’s averaging just 19.1 points-per-game. Even more alarming, Butler’s field-goal percentage is .378 since the break. His free-throw attempts are also down from 9.6 to 6.3 per-game.

Why is Butler all of a sudden struggling for a Bulls’ team that needs him now more than ever? Because history says so. Take a look at Butler’s first half/second half comparisons over the past three seasons, courtesy of espn.com.

The past three seasons show us that Jimmy Butler is clearly not the same player from one half to-the-next. Yes, he has battled through second-half injuries in prior seasons, causing him to miss significant time. Still, while on the court, Butler’s habitual second-half drop-off in performance should be concerning for the Bulls. Especially now, since they’re no lock to make the playoffs.

Butler’s second-half woes over recent seasons stem mainly from his decline in free-throw attempts per-game. It’s noteworthy, that an aggressive player, who’s bread-and-butter is getting to the foul-line, isn’t getting there nearly as frequently, come second-half play.

What’s also alarming though is Butler’s second-half field-goal percentage thus far in 2017. (.378 FG%), while taking about the same amount of shots per game from one half to the next (16.5-15.9 FGA).