Jimmy Butler Building Star Cred and Other Notes from Thursday's Preseason Action
After a preseason debut in which he went just 1-of-7 from the field against the Washington Wizards, you might have reached the preliminary conclusion that Chicago Bulls swingman Jimmy Butler was fighting off some early rust.
Then the preseason kept happening, and the 25-year-old Butler kept getting better—culminating in a buzzer-beating three-pointer that ensured an 85-84 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday night. The three-year veteran made 12-of-16 free-throw attempts en route to a 29-point evening, dropping 20 of those points during a six-minute stretch of the final frame.
Chicago was behind by 21 points with 11 minutes remaining in the game, setting the stage for a furious comeback in which Butler himself was instrumental.
The Marquette product—taken with the 30th overall pick in 2011—has quickly found his stride, averaging 21.5 points over the course of his last four contests. He's made an impressive 68.3 percent of his field-goal attempts during that span.
Coming off an emergent season in which he averaged 13.1 points and 4.9 rebounds in 38.7 minutes per game, there's a real chance Butler takes another step toward stardom this season—even if he doesn't quite see it that way.
Butler told reporters after a 21-point performance against the Denver Nuggets:
"I'm from Tomball, [Texas]. I'm not even supposed to be in the NBA, let alone be a star player. I just want to be wanted. I just want to play hard. I just want to help win. End of story. Star player, role player, bench player, whatever it takes. Just let me win.
"
Amidst an offseason in which Derrick Rose's recovery from three injury-marred seasons emerged as the biggest story in Chicago, Butler is starting to steal headlines—even if they are of the preseason variety at the moment.
More importantly, head coach Tom Thibodeau is taking notice. He told media after the Nuggets game:
"Jimmy's playing really well. He came into camp in great shape. He's practicing extremely well. I'm pleased, very pleased with him offensively. Defensively, he's been good, but we all know he's capable of being great. I'm expecting him to set the tone for us defensively.
"
Skilled as Butler may be, it's that defensive leadership that will endear him most to Thibodeau.
As ESPNChicago.com's Nick Friedell recently put it, "Butler's attitude reflects the exact type of player coach Tom Thibodeau wants on his team—the type of guy who will do whatever it takes each night."
That fight will be there.
The big question is whether an accurate shooting touch will continue to accompany it, especially after a season in which Butler made just 39.7 percent of his field-goal attempts—including 28.3 percent of his attempts from beyond the three-point arc.
"I thought his defense was terrific and he did a lot of things that were good, but I never thought he found a rhythm," Thibodeau told reporters this month about Butler's 2013-14 campaign. "That's why it's so important to practice and play and get yourself ready for the season."
Butler is certainly getting himself ready, even appetizing us with some late-game heroics in the process.
Around the Association
Boston Celtics 111, Philadelphia 76ers 91: Starting point guards Rajon Rondo and Michael Carter-Williams sat this one out, leaving an untested Sixers roster to fend for itself against the slightly more rebuilt Celtics. The front line of Kelly Olynyk, Jared Sullinger and Jeff Green combined for 53 points and made 9-of-18 three-point attempts. Meanwhile, Philly fell to 1-4 during preseason play, likely a sign of things to come during the regular season.
New Orleans Pelicans 120, Oklahoma City Thunder 86: It's the kind of lopsided score you'd probably expect against a team missing Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka and Reggie Jackson. Thunder head coach Scott Brooks opted to test his younger weapons tonight, opening the door for a 28-point performance for Anthony Davis in a game where New Orleans never trailed.
Golden State Warriors 104, Denver Nuggets 101: The Warriors got their fourth-straight preseason win, while the Nuggets dropped their third in a row, but it's probably too soon to make much of trends. It's not too soon to start expecting even bigger things from Golden State backcourt partners Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Despite each playing fewer than 18 minutes on Thursday, Curry scored 13, and Thompson scored 18. They made a combined 6-of-7 three-point attempts.
Phoenix Suns 121, San Antonio Spurs 90: The Suns walked all over a severely undermanned Spurs lineup and showed off head coach Jeff Hornacek's high-octane offense in the process. Seven of Phoenix's players scored in double figures, led by a combined 36 points and 12 assists from the starting backcourt of Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe. It's the kind of ensemble effort we've come to expect from the Suns, a team relying on depth and energy rather than superstars.
Utah Jazz 119, Los Angeles Lakers 86: Kobe Bryant's 27 points weren't enough to save the Lakers from their third-straight preseason loss. Lakers fans—and new head coach Byron Scott—are no doubt hoping this team is still getting some early kinks out, preparing to turn the corner after a 27-win season. For their part, the young Jazz—who won just 25 games last season—are now 3-0 in the preseason.
Lakers Lows
Los Angeles didn't have any trouble scoring points last season, but after scoring just 75 points against the Warriors on Oct. 12, the 86-point performance against Utah isn't very encouraging.
Unfortunately, the Lakers also gave up an average of 117.5 points in those two games—raising fears that defensive problems may linger from a season ago, even against ostensibly containable scoring threats.
"Lakers squandering 10 fourth-quarter points from Kobe Bryant because they can't handle Jack Cooley in the paint
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) October 17, 2014"
It's still early, but the pressure's already on for L.A. And that's not changing anytime soon.
