Are Jimmy Butler’s Minutes Sustainable?

Dec 27, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Aaron Brooks (0) tdives into the New Orleans Pelicans bench for a loose ball during the second half at United Center. The Chicago Bulls defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 107-100. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

The same principle that would work with Rose could also be applied to Aaron Brooks. He is a natural shooting guard in a point guard’s body. His ability to break down a defenses and his natural tendency to look for his own shot first is more characteristic of a shooting guard than a point guard.

Like Rose, I envision Brooks at the two guard position coupled with Hinrich, Moore or Rose at the point and Dunleavy in the three spot. This is a trickier thing to make happen, however, because, depending on the match-up, Brook’s sub-par defensive ability make it unrealistic for him to play the shooting guard position.

When it comes to guarding bigger, faster two guards who can score prolifically, the 6 ft Brooks, who possesses only average defensive skills, simply can’t make this happen.

Ultimately, executing my proposed plan of a two point guard line-up coupled with Dunleavy at the three comes down to match-ups. Thibodeau has to do his research before the games and look for openings when the match-up may present an opportunity to go with a two point guard set. Not every shooting guard in the NBA is a prolific scorer; many of these players would be handled just fine by Brooks and Rose given their size and defensive abilities.