Jimmy Butler is going to keep hearing comparisons to Michael Jordan if the wingman continues playing like this.
Chicago Bulls‘ Jimmy Butler just had perhaps his finest game ever, and it was understandable that reporters asked him about the inevitable Michael Jordan comparisons after JB’s 40-point second half against the Toronto Raptors. The Bulls needed every single point Butler could give them too, because they barely eked out the 115-113 victory.
The reason MJ was going to be brought up after the game was because Jimmy topped Michael’s former franchise record for points scored (39) in a half. Jordan initially set that record against the Milwaukee Bucks on Feb. 16, 1989.
The truly remarkable thing about this is that Jimmy barely played in the first half after getting elbowed in the face by DeMarre Carroll and needing a stitch to close a cut that was initially bleeding all over the floor. The cut is pictured in the headline photo by the way. Butler, who is signed onto the Jordan brand, doesn’t want the MJ comparisons though.
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“Don’t compare me to him,” Butler said to ESPN. “That’s exactly what I said . I don’t want to be compared to him because then people are going to think I got to do what he did. I’m trying. But we’re nowhere near the same player. I’m just happy we won, to tell you the truth. I don’t want to be compared to because you see what he’s done for this game. I’m just happy we got the win. Points or no points, we’re leaving here with the W.”
If you missed Jimmy’s buckets, then do yourself a favor and check them out below. He was working every part of his game from the midrange to the three-point shot.
Head coach Fred Hoiberg was definitely pleased with his wingman’s efforts, and you can almost hear him gushing in the quote below.
“It was an unbelievable performance by Jimmy,” Hoiberg said. “The way they were pressuring us in the first half, we couldn’t get the ball reversed or swung, so we just put the ball in Jimmy’s hands. Either ran isolation plays or had Pau Gasol or Niko Mirotic set a ball screen for him, and he just made play after play. He was unbelievable with the ball in his hands. Hitting fadeaways, hitting shots, that last 3, getting himself to the free throw line. Just a really, really good individual performance.”
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The Bulls were able to fight their way back from down 15 points as a result of Jimmy’s brilliance, and he is really backing up his talk about becoming a better leader. It wasn’t in the playbook when he called out Hoiberg for not coaching them hard enough, but Butler just continues evolving as a team player. My favorite part of the highlights above was when his teammates mugged him after the buzzer finally sounded. This is beginning to look like a team that is putting the pieces together. Now, if only they can start doing this on a consistent basis, then we’ll be talking about a contender.