Jimmy Butler Making A Case For More Point Guard Minutes
With the Chicago Bulls on the brink of missing the playoffs, there will be changes going into next season. Should moving Jimmy Butler over to the point guard position be one of them?
Following a solid 2014-15 campaign that saw him win the Most Improved Player award, Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler felt that he could add another dimension to his game.
"“First off, I think I am a point guard,” Butler said, via NBA.com. “So I’ve done a heck of a lot of ball screen work, ball handling, getting into the paint and still handling, floaters, all that stuff point guards do. If I get a chance, high pick and roll more. I want some triple doubles. I’ve got to get my handle right so I can pass and get it to guys where they can make shots. I told Fred. You ask what position I play, I say point guard.”"
Although Butler was coming off a season in which he averaged more than 20 points per contest, his 3.3 assists per game didn’t necessarily scream point guard in the making. Over the past week, however, Butler’s ball-handling ability has been on full display.
In Chicago’s 102-100 road win over the Houston Rockets on March 31, Derrick Rose sat out the second half due to an elbow injury. With the team’s leading facilitator on the bench, Butler filled in nicely with 21 points to go along with six assists, four of which came in the second half.
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Against the Detroit Pistons, a few nights later, Butler recorded his first career triple-double, with a stat line of 28 points, 17 rebounds and a career-high 12 assists. The last time Rose recorded that many assists in a game was in March of 2012.
Additionally, Butler’s 17 boards were the most by a Bulls guard since — you guessed it — a fellow by the name of Michael Jordan accomplished the feat against the Orlando Magic in November 1997. Unfortunately, his effort was not enough to prevent the Bulls from losing 94-90 and falling two games out of the eighth spot in the conference playoff race.
Butler would follow up that effort with another all-around game against the Milwaukee Bucks on April 3. In that contest, he scored 25 points on a ridiculous 10-for-11 from the field, grabbed five boards and handed out eight assists.
"“We all remember what he said coming into the season, that he’s a point guard,” Hoiberg told the Chicago Tribune. “He has done a good job. Whether he brings the ball down or we get him on a zipper cut to the top of the key or run a hand-off to get the ball in his hands, he can make plays. He’s so versatile.”"
With Rose and E’Twaun Moore battling injuries, Butler showing the ability to play well in an unfamiliar role could not have come at a better time for a Bulls squad that has been decimated by injuries at just about every position.
What makes this scenario even more interesting is the fact that the Bulls had planned to address the backup point guard position in last year’s draft. But that went by the wayside when Bobby Portis was still on the board, and they opted to add more depth to their frontcourt instead.
In other words, the Bulls are still in need of a backup point guard heading into this year’s draft. And with Rose’s pending free agency at the end of next season, the Bulls should consider increasing Butler’s role at the point guard spot, while their future draft pick learns about the nuisances of the role from the bench.
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While that thought sounds like blasphemy on the surface, it is important to remember that Butler is averaging a career-best 4.6 assists per contest, which is not a big drop-off from Rose’s 4.8. Furthermore, in the event that Rose and the Bulls are not able to reach an agreement on an extension, there will at least be two potential options to fill the void.