Chicago Bulls vs Cleveland Cavaliers: Position-By-Position Preview For The Rest of the Series

Small Forward: Jimmy Butler vs LeBron James

May 4, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts beside Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21), forward Pau Gasol (16) and center Joakim Noah (13) in the third quarter in game one of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

After the Rose vs, Irving match-up, this one is going to be the most crucial for the Chicago Bulls. LeBron James is at his deadliest when he’s making his team better and opening things up for them. Jimmy Butler is one of a very few perimeter players who can actually come close to not allowing James to produce for his teammates.

Jimmy did a phenomenal job in Game 1, holding LeBron to 9-22 shooting and specifically 7-18 shooting and forcing five turnovers when he (Butler) was the primary defender on James.

Butler’s main objective is to make everything harder for LeBron and make him have to score rather than make plays for others. If anyone can do it, Jimmy can, and Jimmy has done it, not only in past seasons but in that Game 1 also. The difference this time around is that Butler will also need to provide on the offensive end too.

He’s been incredible this season, to say the least, and even better in the playoffs so far. Here are both Butler and James’ stats from the first round:

• Jimmy Butler: 24.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.5 steals, 0.8 blocks, 2.3 turnovers, 47.6% FG%, 40.5% 3FG%, and 79.1% FT%
• LeBron James: 27.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 2.3 steals, 1.5 blocks, 4.8 turnovers, 46.7% FG%, 20% 3FG%, and 74.1% FT%

And their stats in Game 1:

• Jimmy Butler: 20 points, five rebounds, six assists, three steals, 7-16 from the field, 4-6 free throws, 2-6 three pointers, and 1 turnover
• LeBron James: 19 points, 15 rebounds, nine assists, three steals, one block, 9-22 from the field, 1-2 free throws, and six turnovers

The Cavs decided to have James guard anyone but Butler, seemingly to keep him from getting tired. He was on Joakim Noah at some points, Dunleavy after his big first quarter (only had one shot attempt after that), or Kirk Hinrich at times.

If Jimmy is able to force LeBron to bring his points up, box him out on rebounds, limit his passes to open shooters, and he himself produce a fraction of what he has offensively, the Bulls will be in good shape. But no matter how you put it, this is LeBron James and he is still a once in a generation type of player. Butler will definitely have his hands full even more now in Games 2, 3, 4 and however long it lasts.

Advantage: LeBron James