Chicago Bulls vs. Philadelphia 76ers: 3 Takeaways

Jimmy Butler: #2 in the East?

It was yet another impressive game for Jimmy Butler.

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With 26 points on 10-for-15 shooting, Butler is making these extraordinary performances seem matter-of-fact. This is the 10th game in a row that Jimmy has scored at least 20 points; a career best streak for him, and the league has taken notice of Butler’s greatness. Butler was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week last Tuesday.

The question has been floating around the NBA ether for a couple weeks now, starting as just speculation but leading to a fairly solid consensus: is Jimmy Butler the second best player in the East?

No one is unseating LeBron James obviously, but Butler has played clearly above the level of Paul George or John Wall. An argument could be made for DeMar DeRozan, but Jimmy has matched DeRozan’s play offensively and no one would argue that DeRozan’s can match Butler on the defensive end.

Butler has improved despite remarks that he’s reached his ceiling every year. Who knows what we’ll see next season.