Chicago Bulls Rumors: Rift Between D. Rose And Jimmy Butler?
The last time we saw the Chicago Bulls was Game 6 of their of their second-round playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. With their season on the line, we expected to see this team play with a sense of urgency being that it was an elimination game.
But the end result was far from that. They started off the game reasonably well, scoring 31 points in the first quarter on 13-for-23 shooting. But from that point on, the game was rather one-sided, as the Cavaliers went on to win 94-73.
So what contributed to such a meek performance in Chicago’s biggest game of the season? Well, according CBS Chicago’s Dan Bernstein, one notable factor is an alleged rift between the backcourt tandem of Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler. Here is what Mr. Bernstein had to say:
"It looked strange when wing Jimmy Butler kept flashing to Rose’s side of the floor, calling for the ball, as the Bulls’ offense was drying up. Rose was all too happy to oblige instead of waving Butler off and taking charge, either resetting the called play or taking his man – often the undrafted Matthew Dellavedova – hard to the rim for at least a likely foul."
Bernstein goes on to say that sources cite the primary reason for Rose’s lack of aggression after the first quarter was a culmination of frustration that has supposedly been building between the two stars over the past few weeks due to Butler’s emergence as the team’s leading scorer. On the surface, the story doesn’t seem to have a lot of merit simply because these guys have supported one another…at least publicly anyways.
However, there are a couple of interesting stats from that contest that are worth mentioning. For example, Rose scored 10 points in the first quarter, connecting on five of his nine attempts from the field to go along with three assists. But much like the team as a whole, Rose simply disappeared the rest of the way, scoring just four points while shooting 2-for-7 from the field.
Meanwhile, Butler seemed to have the green light from a shot selection standpoint, as he took 10 shots in the first half, with six of those attempts coming in the second quarter–a period in which the Bulls scored just 13 points. Butler went on to shoot 4-for-12 in the second half, finishing 8-for-22 for the game, while Rose was pretty much a non factor.
On other side of the coin, this story could be more hype than actual truth. After all, it would not make much sense for Rose to have an issue with Butler because he now has a teammate in the backcourt who can take some of the scoring load off his shoulders. That is something that could not be said a few years ago when Chicago’s success heavily depended upon Rose.
Secondly, Butler has never wanted to take part of any discussion that centered around him being a superstar. In fact, Butler offered this assessment after he scored 32 points against the Denver Nuggets on Nov. 25, per ESPN Chicago’s Nick Friedell:
"I’m not a star. I’m a good role player on a really, really good team. A really, really deep team. I like role players. ‘Star’ has never been next to Jimmy Butler’s name, it never will be. I’ll always be just an under-the-radar dog."
Based on those comments, it is unlikely that Butler would want to be the alpha dog so to speak being that he has never viewed himself in that light. Whether or not this report is accurate or not remains to be seen. But if there is a rift growing between the two guards, it needs to be resolved sooner rather than later because the chances of the team being successful decreases if the star players are not able complement each other on the court.
Next: Tom Thibodeau: 5 Reasons Why He Should Not Return To Bulls Next Season
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