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What if Jimmy Butler Didn’t Get Injured?

By Michael Whitlow

Feb 5, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) is loaded onto a cart after a play in the second quarter against the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 5, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) is loaded onto a cart after a play in the second quarter against the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Chicago Bulls had plenty of things go wrong this season and one large memory of the season was Jimmy Butler‘s knee injury on Feb. 5 against Denver. Would that have changed things if it never happened?

The old expression goes, “if ands and buts were candy and nuts, we’d all have a Merry Christmas.”

The same rings true for the Chicago Bulls this season.

The Bulls went from the toughest challenger to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference to joining the NBA draft lottery in a matter of just one season.

One of the big reasons why the Bulls failed to make the postseason was the health of Jimmy Butler. During his return from a one-game absence because of a knee issue on Feb. 5, Butler aggravated the knee injury he suffered four days prior and would go on to miss a month of the season.

(Butler strangely got up, shot both free throw attempts and then was wheeled away on the cart. The scene was odd and a little scary after seeing Butler’s tumble a few times on replay.)

In Butler’s absence, the Bulls were flat-out bad, going 3-9 in the 12 games Butler missed and went from five games over .500 (27-22) to .500 itself at 30-30.

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It’s rather curious to think about what would have happened had Butler’s knee not occurred. Two of the three wins that the Bulls racked up in Butler’s absence were against non-playoff teams — Washington and Los Angeles (Lakers) — while the other was an unexplained win on the road against the Toronto Raptors.

Prior to the knee injury, Butler’s 11-game stretch was outstanding (and included another selection to the NBA All-Star Game).

In that stretch, Butler averaged 23.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game on 45.5 percent shooting from the field.

Here’s the catch, however: the Bulls went just 4-7 in those games with Butler healthy and on the floor. The Bulls once again faltered from a 22-14 mark to a 26-21 mark on the year, while giving up 100+ points in six of those 11 games.

Of course, the tale ends with Butler outlandishly playing 34 minutes in an eight-point win over Houston in his first game back in over a month, then going 5-7 in the next 12 games — including a horrid back-to-back set with two losses to the woeful New York Knicks.

At the point, the season seemed all but over.

As bad as the Bulls were without (and honestly, with) Jimmy Butler, it still feels like there’s a minuscule “what if” scenario with the Bulls.

Now, this isn’t saying they would beat the likes of Cleveland, Toronto and Miami (because they wouldn’t in a seven-game series), but a fully-healthy Butler certainly intrigues things more. At the time of his injury, Butler was playing some of his best basketball all season.

Who knows what would have happened from there without Butler missing a month?

Next: To no one's surprise, the Bulls behind closed doors were a mess this season

It obviously doesn’t change nagging injuries to Derrick Rose and Pau Gasol, along with the Bulls’ porous performance on the defensive end, but Butler’s fall in Denver certainly felt like the deflating moment of the season for the Bulls when you look back on it.

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