Chicago Bulls vs. San Antonio Spurs: Takeaways from Christmas Day Loss
1. Kawhi Leonard outplays Jimmy Butler once more
There’s no denying how good of a player Jimmy Butler has become since the Bulls drafted him over five years ago.
But, there were many reasons why he was taken 30th overall in the 2011 draft and Kawhi Leonard was taken just outside of the lottery.
Simply put, Kawhi Leonard is a better player than Jimmy Butler.
Leonard proved that to be true once again on Sunday night, scoring 25 points on 50 percent shooting (7/14), grabbing 10 rebounds, dishing out four assists and racking up three steals in the win.
But, it was his defense once again on Butler that made a huge difference for the Spurs against the Bulls.
Wow. According 2 @ESPNStatsInfo, J. Butler is 1-9 vs Kawhi Leonard; 7-10 vs all others. As team, Bulls 2-13 w/Leonard as primary defender.
— Michael C. Wright (@mikecwright) December 26, 2016
That pretty much sums up why Leonard has won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award in the last two seasons. He’s the best perimeter defender in the game today and he makes it virtually impossible to score on him.
It took 19 shots for Butler to score 19 points in 36 minutes against Leonard and the Spurs. That’s not going to get the job done, being that the Bulls basically need Butler at his best night in and night out.