Chicago Bulls: How High Does The Ceiling Go For Jimmy Butler?
Chicago Bulls swingman Jimmy Butler has already reached stardom, but how much further can he take his game?
There is no question about it: Jimmy Butler is a star.
The league knows it. The Chicago Bulls organization knows it. The fans know it. His teammates know it.
The 27-year-old, drafted in 2011 by Chicago, may have been off to a slow start when he first arrived, limited first by garbage minutes and later by feuds with guys like Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah. But now, in his fifth year, he has officially made it.
The thing on everyone’s mind now though is, how high is Butler’s ceiling?
It is a funny thing, being one of the top players on an otherwise mediocre team. On the one hand, your on-court presence stands out on a consistent basis, alongside things like your off-court leadership qualities.
It easy to be the leading scorer night after night, and showcase your ability to motivate the rest of your squad as well. However, what can also end up happening is such players get overlooked, merely because the unit as a whole is nothing to write home about.
After all, a loss is a loss, even if individual stat lines are impressive.
So what about Butler?
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Well, things are especially tricky there. Because while the swingman is indisputably the team’s star, he often shares that spotlight with both Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade. Then of course there are guys like Taj Gibson and Robin Lopez, who are hardly forgotten heroes, despite perhaps not being referred to as the cream of the crop.
But beyond that, beyond the Bulls’ starting five … unfortunately, there really is not much to say.
Chicago has no depth, their is bench seriously lacking. This leads to familiar inconsistency and ultimately the possibly of failure.
Currently 13-10, the Bulls are somewhere between fans being proud of what their revamped team has accomplished, and scratching their heads over how they still seem to be falling back into old bad habits.
For example, after losing three in a row, including an ugly loss to the Dallas Mavericks, Chicago went on to hand the San Antonio Spurs their first road loss of the season.
Butler, however, has been performing at a high-level across the board all year.
Averaging a whopping 25.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 36.4 minutes per game, he has finished with 30 points or more on six occasions so far this year, including a 31-point performance against the Miami Heat on Saturday night.
He is also happy to pick up any slack.
“I have to keep up this pace. That’s what my team needs me to do. I have to continue to produce and probably play a little bit better. That’s the way my mindset is. Get in the gym, make some shots and watch some film. Do a little bit more to put us in position to win.”
But how much more can Butler really give?
Probably a lot. At this point, it is hard to imagine his development slowing down any time soon. Especially when he needs to carry the bulk of the team’s weight on his shoulders. And is around a mentor as notable as Wade.
In fact, fans should expect not only Butler’s offense to get stronger with time, but to become more well-rounded of a player period.
However, there is a fine line between letting Butler explode under any circumstance, and cautiously letting him continue to grow. Because unfortunately, injuries are real. And a team should not be comfortable getting by with just their star doing all of the work.
As much fun as it would be to never hit that ceiling.
Chicago should certainly be proud of having an athlete like Butler around, and keep expecting even greater things out of him moving forward. But both he and the organization need to have his best interest in mind, and work on finding more co-stars to cast alongside their superstar.