Chicago Bulls All-Star shooting guard Jimmy Butler has been a huge part of the success for the Bulls this season, leading the team to a 46-31 record thus far and a playoff birth. The Bulls have former MVP Derrick Rose returning from knee surgery, a lethal frontcourt with Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, and Nikola Mirotic, and have veteran leadership with Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Kirk Hinrich; but Jimmy Butler could be the biggest factor in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Butler leads the NBA in minutes played per game, 38.8, and is the leading scorer for the Bulls with 20.1 points per game. Although Butler has been productive, he has had his issues, mainly inconsistent shooting and an elbow injury that shelved him for three weeks in March. Jimmy Butler’s performance for the remainder of the season and playoffs is a key plotline in the Eastern Conference.
Butler was injured on March 1st and had scored 14 points or less in three of four games before the injury. In fact, speaking to the volatility of Jimmy Butler, there were two games where Butler had five points and two games that Butler missed between January 25th and February 12th. Butler missed 11 games with his elbow injury, during which the Bulls went 5-6 and lost their games by an average of 11.7 points. Butler returned from the injury against the Charlotte Hornets on March 23rd and shot 30% from the field, although he scored 19 points in his return. Butler has shot 46% from the field this season, but has shot 40% or worse from the field in six of his past 20 games played.
Jimmy Butler has scored 30 or more points seven times this season and averages 1.7 steals per game, showing that he can change the game on both offense and defense. Butler was best between November 24th, 2014 and December 29th, 2014; he averaged 23.3 points per game, 6.3 rebounds per game, and shot 48.2% from the field. Since returning from injury on March 23rd, Butler has averaged 19.8 points, five rebounds, and two steals per game as the Bulls have gone 4-2. Butler has three or more steals in three of his past four games.
If Butler can perform at a high standard with Derrick Rose returning as a backcourt mate, the Bulls can be a very dangerous team in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Hawks, Raptors, and Wizards are not as experienced in the playoffs as the Bulls are, and at full strength, the Cavaliers do not have as good of a roster as the Bulls. The Bulls need Butler to shoulder the load and lead the team against Eastern Conference stars like Kyrie Irving, John Wall, Jeff Teague, and DeMar DeRozan.