The Scottie Pippen Region
With the opening matchup, (1) Jimmy Butler takes on (4) Andres Nocioni. While it’s obvious that Jimmy Butler will win this matchup, I wanted to take some time to appreciate what Nocioni did on his time with the Bulls. He played 5 seasons in Chicago and he averaged a career high 19.2 points per game in 2007-08. He was ahead of his time and would make an excellent stretch-four in today’s NBA. But Jimmy Butler is a self-made, two-way superstar, so he moves on with ease.
Next, (2) Ben Gordon takes on (3) Kyle Korver. The battle of the sharp-shooters. Both had the ability to get hot in a hurry and light it up from downtown. Korver was a key part of the Bulls team that made it to the conference finals in 2011. His ability to spread the floor was crucial to open up the lane for Derrick Rose.
On the other hand, Gordon was the #3 overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft and was seen as a potential franchise player for the Bulls. While he never quite reached the heights that Bulls fans had hoped, he was still an amazing player in Chicago and is the first (and only) rookie to win the 6th Man of the Year award. And he edges out Korver because he did this:
In the regional final, we have (1) Jimmy Butler vs (2) Ben Gordon. Ben Gordon was fun to watch while on the Bulls, there’s no doubt about it, but just like Nocioni, he’s no match for Jimmy G. Buckets. Butler cruises through this region and heads to the final four.