Nov 1, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) celebrates with forward Joakim Noah (13) during the fourth quarter at Target Center. The Bulls defeated the Timberwolves 106-105. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
During the 2013-2014 season, Joakim Noah essentially held the Bulls together through a number of grave challenges. When Derrick Rose went down with another major knee injury and Luol Deng was traded to Cleveland for virtually nothing, people around the league speculated that the Bulls may shift to tank mode. However Joakim Noah was having none of that nonsense and established the precedent for the team moving forward with the following statement.
"“There’s no tanking, and that’s it.”"
After initiating this manifesto, Noah proceeded to rally his teammates around a “us against the world” mentality. The team that lost their two leading scorers in heartbreaking fashion, managed an impressive 48-34 record after being below the .500 mark for much of the season. The Bulls accomplished all of this while laboring helplessly on offense, finishing the season with the worst mark in the NBA in terms of points per game (93.7). Although their season came to an unceremonious end in the first round of the playoffs, this doesn’t take away from how hard they worked together to stay relevant.
Noah was the glue that held the team together that entire season. He established the mentality of giving ones all every night in the locker room and it manifested itself on the court every game. If you take Joakim Noah out of the equation, the Bulls are on their way to a potential lottery pick in the ensuing NBA draft. The fact that the Bulls couldn’t have accomplished what they did last season without the leadership of their emotional big man made him a legitimate MVP candidate.
The same principles that warranted Noah’s MVP consideration last season can be applied to explain why Butler is currently fielding an argument for the award this year. The Chicago Bulls would not be 25-10 without Jimmy Butler on the roster.
Butler continues to get the job done on both ends of the floor. Against the Rockets, he held James Harden (who leads the entire NBA in points per game average and total points accumulated at this point in the season), to 20 points on 7-22 from the field. Both of these figures are well off his season averages. Butler is one of the only players in the entire NBA that has been able to figure out the Rockets all-star guard recently.
During the month of December, Harden averaged 30.6 points per game and was awarded the Western Conference Player of the Month designation for his performance. The key for Butler limiting Harden Monday night was playing fundamental defense and not sending the bearded guard to the free throw stripe. Harden only shot three free throws which is significantly lower than his season average of 9.1 which ranks second in the entire NBA behind Russell Westbrook of Oklahoma City.