Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder visit Jimmy Butler and the Chicago Bulls on Monday night.
After coming from 19 points down the beat the Toronto Raptors on Saturday night, the Bulls square off against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday. Chicago, and Jimmy Butler in particular, have started off the new calendar year as well as they could have hoped, winning three in a row coming into tonight’s game.
Through their wins over the Charlotte Hornets, a Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving-less Cavaliers and Raptors in the last week, Butler is averaging 38 points, 40 percent from three, 15.3 free throw attempts, 9.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game, according to Basketball Reference. And he does that all while defending the opposing team’s best perimeter player. Jimmy not only forced DeMar DeRozan into many, many tough shots, but also hounded Kyle Lowry late in regulation and overtime. He’s one of the more complete players in the league, and while the Bulls can be a pain to watch at times, Butler is certainly a sight to behold.
According to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, Jimmy is a game time decision.
Butler is ill, not at shootaround. Gametime decision.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) January 9, 2017
A game against the Thunder without Jimmy would be a test for the Bulls. Here are a few things to look out for.