Jimmy Butler Sets Tone Early, Dwyane Wade Closes It Late In Bulls Win
By Cody Westerlund--
CHICAGO (CBS) -- By his own admission, the last four or five days for Bulls wing Jimmy Butler were "hell" as he was primarily confined to his home while dealing with a nasty illness. It was something along those lines as well for his team, which entering Saturday had lost three in a row, the last two without Butler and the first with him being only a shell of himself.
And so it was that everyone was all smiles after Chicago's 107-99 win against visiting New Orleans on Saturday at the United Center, Butler because he was hooping again instead of being bed-ridden with an upset stomach and the Bulls because they had their star back. Full of energy from the start, Butler scored 28 points on 9-of-16 shooting and added eight rebounds, six assists and four steals to lead the Bulls, who were reminded of just how much he meant, if they'd in some way ever forgotten.
"That's a huge sign on the importance of a player obviously to a team is what mean and how much you miss them when they're not in the lineup," coach Fred Hoiberg said. "Jimmy, for us, we're so much better with him on the floor."
Butler came down sick Monday, when he was ineffective in a loss to the Thunder and sent home early. The Bulls left him in Chicago as they lost a pair of games on the East Coast, the first two games of the season he'd missed.
Chicago's offense was solid for much of a loss Tuesday at Washington before stagnating Thursday at New York. With Rajon Rondo relegated to the bench and then second unit in this new year, Butler had often been the de facto point guard for the Bulls of late. While he wasn't in as many pick-and-roll actions Saturday, he once again was the fulcrum and anchor of an offense that had 22 assists to just 10 turnovers.
For this season, the Bulls have a +3.0 net rating (plus/minus per 100 possessions) with Butler on the floor and a -10.9 net rating with him off of it.
"Jimmy, he does everything," Hoiberg said. "The thing that's most overlooked with Jimmy, I think we've talked about this a lot, a lot of those guys that are putting up these types of numbers are not guarding the other team's best player. Jimmy goes out every night and takes pride in that role. That's what makes him one of the top players in this league."
Added Butler: "I felt good. I had a lot of energy. I guess that's what rest will do for you. I'm just happy to be somewhat healthy. I feel incredible right now."
While it was Butler who set the tone early, it was guard Dwyane Wade who took over late. After shooting 2-of-13 through the first three quarters, Wade went off late, scoring 17 of his 22 points in the final frame on 7-of-11 shooting. He had his mid-range game going and also got to the bucket on several occasions.
"He wasn't making shots early, but he kept with it, and that's what we need," Butler said. "Those shots that he takes, they're going to go in, as they did (late). We feed the monster on this roster.
"My man was doing his thing, and he was vintage D-Wade."
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for CBSChicago.com and covers the Bulls. He's also the co-host of the @LockedOnBulls podcast, which you can subscribe to on iTunes and Stitcher. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.