How Do Chicago Bulls Cover for Jimmy Butler's Absence?

Watching the Chicago Bulls just wouldn't be the same if they were fully healthy.

Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, Taj Gibson and Kirk Hinrich have all become synonymous with the injury bug, a cruel-hearted creature that ripped through Chicago's roster last season. Now it's back, this time claiming the well-being of guard Jimmy Butler. 

According to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, Butler will miss two to three weeks with turf toe, a funny-sounding condition that rarely incites laughter:

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Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler is expected to miss two to three weeks with turf toe, a league source told Yahoo Sports.

The Bulls issued a statement calling Butler's status "week to week" on Wednesday.

Butler, 24, wanted to join the Bulls on an upcoming six-game road trip, but will stay back to get treatment on the injury to his big right toe.

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Injuries being the mainstay they are in Chicago, this is nothing new. The Bulls traversed all of last season without their fearless leader Rose, and Noah is always one slight breeze away from losing a limb.

Butler's loss, then, is something the Bulls will not and cannot harp on. They have to move forward. Push through.

Powering on without their best wing defender—sorry, Luol—is hardly ideal. But it is doable.

Assuming Butler remains out the full three weeks, that puts his return right about Dec. 11 against the Knicks or Dec. 13 against the Milwaukee Bucks. So he'll be sidelined roughly 11 or 12 games. 

Provided the Bulls play it smart and that injury bug doesn't get any ideas, they'll be fine. This isn't the end of the world.

Instead, it could be the early stages of a blessing in disguise.

Whom Are the Bulls Trying to Replace?

A tenacious defender. Three-point marksman. Occasional wearer of offensive T-shirts.

In laymen's terms, what Butler brings, from his defense to his versatile wardrobe, is irreplaceable—now more than ever.

The Bulls have succeeded in establishing themselves as a defensive juggernaut and punisher of offenses again, and Butler is a huge part of the reason why. His defensive rating currently stands at 94 and is second on the team among everyone who has logged at least 200 minutes this season.

Putting things in perspective is fun, so let's summon our best Nike-slogan impersonation and just do it.

Butler is presently one of only five NBA players averaging at least 29 minutes who are posting a defensive rating of 94 or lower. The other four are Noah, Roy Hibbert, David West and Paul George.

Sensing a pattern here? Because you should be. If your spidey senses aren't tingling, get them checked out. Mine are off the wall, much like your five-year old cousin on a sugar high.

First of all, the Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls are really, really, ridiculously good looking at defense. Second, three of the other four are power forwards or centers, which says a lot about Butler's commitment. Third, the 24-year-old wing is in great company. And fourth...first of all.

Ranking among the top defenders in the NBA would be enough for most players, especially those who play for a Bulls team often unable to buy, steal or barter for a basket. But not Butler. 

Only six Bulls have attempted three-pointers this season, because: the Bulls. Mike Dunleavy (54.5 percent) is the lone player on Chicago who is hitting a higher percentage of his treys than JB (38.5 percent). So not only is he the team's fourth-leading scorer, he's one of the Bulls' best—really, one of their only competent three-point shooters.

His I-can-do-everything-better-than-Luol-Deng impact is readily apparent, if not obnoxiously obvious. Chicago's offensive rating improves by 8.4 points per 100 possessions when he's on the floor, according to NBA.com (subscription required). Defensively, the Bulls are also allowing fewer points when he's in the game, meaning he takes a staunch defense and makes it even better.

The numbers are in. The verdict is in. The results of my foolproof, is-Jimmy-Butler-good-real-good-or-super-good test are in: Butler is super-duper good.

Replacing Jimmy Butler

The Bulls cannot replace Butler. We've established that much already. They can, however, hope to make his absence as painless as possible.

Woj mentions that Hinrich will likely start in Butler's stead, but the Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson names Dunleavy as another possibility:

Bring on Dunleavy and his sweet three-point shooting. 

In theory, it shouldn't matter whom coach Tom Thibodeau starts, only whom he plays the most. Known for running his starters ragged and depriving them of luxuries such as water, ice packs and Furbies, I don't trust him to start Hinrich while playing Dunleavy more.

Whatever the case, Dunleavy needs more minutes pronto. Whether they come as a starter or off the pine is irrelevant. So long as he gets his minutes, Thibs can do his thing.

My reasoning is simple: Dunleavy leads the team in three-point shooting while remaining serviceable on the defensive end.

This season alone, Dunleavy is scoring 118 points per 100 possessions on offense while allowing just 100 on the defensive end. I'll take that over Hinrich's 101 and 98, respectively.

Keep in mind that Hinrich isn't the ideal wing defender either. He can lock down point guards and give shooting guards a run for their money, but he cannot do the latter for extended periods of time. Opposing 2s are recording a PER of 26 against him this season, per 82games.com. Small forwards and shooting guards, meanwhile, are hitting a combined average of 4.2 against Dunleavy.

But yeah, mostly the shooting thing. Chicago's second-best shooter is unable to go, so the team's most deadly marksman should be the one to supplant him.

Finding Derrick Rose

Time to take the training wheels off Rose.

Subtly, the Bulls have remained cautious with the point guard. He's averaging a career-low in minutes (31.4) and his usage rate (29.3) is the lowest it's been since 2009-10. 

The results have been predictably underwhelming. Rose is averaging 15 points and 4.5 assists on 34.4 percent shooting, all of which are career lows. He's jacking up threes at an unprecedented rate and his drives to the basket aren't as fecund, or even convincing, as they should be.

Injuries be damned, Butler is gone and the Bulls' anemic offense needs air—life that only Rose himself can inject. Running him into the ground wouldn't be smart, but asking him to do more and then putting him in a position to do more makes too much sense.

Let's just call Rose's performance thus far what is: disappointing. His return was hyped up. Clouds parted. Birds sang. Woo Girls wooed. And Thibs put even more grease in his hair for the occasion.

Rose the MVP has yet to make a cameo, though. Dating back to the 2011-12 regular season, he's gone 10 straight games without topping 20 points, the longest such streak of his career.

There have been some promising moments, some big shots and some flickers of hope. But they've been fleeting and tarnished by neck injuries (damn that injury bug).

Let this be Rose's wakeup call. Let it force him to be better. For a half-decade, we've watched him carry the Bulls. Answer the calls only superstars receive.

Butler's absence can be that call again.

Down one of their top scorers and defenders, the entire team will need to step up. Rose must step up. Rose will step up.

And if Butler's stay on the sidelines can compel Rose to dig even deeper, to fight even harder and be even better, then it would indeed be a blessing, disguised as adversity.

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*All stats used in this article are from Basketball-Reference unless otherwise attributed and are accurate as of Nov. 21, 2013.