Chicago Bulls news: Jimmy Butler puts team on his shoulder to make playoff push
With the injury to Dwyane Wade, the Chicago Bulls have leaned on Jimmy Butler to lead them in this playoff push. So far, he’s done everything possible to get them over the hump.
This is definitely one crazy season for the Chicago Bulls. After saying they wanted to go young and athletic, John Paxson and Gar Forman went out and signed Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo. Hopes for a good season were low at the start of the season, but the Bulls came out to a strong start.
Then, just when fans started to believe things were good, the team struggled. Just when they sucked us in, they were who we thought they were. In the middle of the struggles, bickering among the players occurred. Also, some players felt the coaching staff spied for GarPax.
At the trade deadline, the Bulls dealt Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott. Then, Dwyane Wade went down for the season with an elbow injury. Many felt that was the final nail in the Bulls’ coffin. Surely they won’t make the playoffs now, right?
Wrong.
The Bulls won four games in a row, and five out of six, and a bucket away from winning six straight. They now own the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference. They are only a game away from the Atlanta Hawks for the sixth seed, and two games behind the Milwaukee Bucks. Once we thought they couldn’t make the playoffs now they are probably in.
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Through it all, Jimmy Butler is there, leading the charge. He took the team on his shoulders and on the brink of the playoffs. He logged in a lot of minutes, averaging 39 minutes per game in the last six. In that period, he averages 28.2 points per game, 5.8 rebounds, and an amazing 9.2 assists. In addition, he’s shooting 55.7 percent from the field, 77.8 percent from three, and 78.6 percent from the free throw line.
You wanted to see Butler lead the team? Well, he’s certainly doing that. No tanking for this team. Some may think that’s a bad idea, but Butler knows how to play only one way — all out, all the time.
Is Butler concerned about fatigue? He doesn’t seem so.
"I just look back to the summer — I’m tired every day during the summer, but we still get up, we still work hard, we still do what we’re supposed to do. But on top of everything else, I just want to win. I think my will to do that is going to overcome all the fatigue. It’s just part of being a basketball player. This time of year everybody is tired, everybody is nicked up, but when you have mental toughness, you overcome all that."
Butler and Wade were the ones who blasted their young teammates for not playing hard enough. Whatever troubles the youngsters had with Butler earlier in the season, they are behind him now.
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Butler put his money where his mouth is. He is showing his teammates what he meant when he talked about professionalism and playing hard all the time. Hopefully, he gets a chance to show more of that in a Chicago Bulls uniform for years to come.