Jimmy Butler Showing Why He Is Major Part Of Bulls Future

In an 85-82 overtime loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, Jimmy Butler barely left the floor.

Coach Tom Thibodeau gave Butler the start after he played well down the stretch the night before in a 100-99 overtime win against the Celtics the night before.

Highlights from Butler's great game on the 18th vs. Boston. Notice how well he played in the overtime period.

With Luol Deng out because of a hamstring injury, Butler was able to pile up a total of 48 minutes in the loss to the Grizzlies. His final stat line for the night? 48 minutes, 18 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 5-13 FG, 8-8 FT, and plenty of hustle plays that kept the Bulls in the game. He shattered his previous career-high in minutes, which was 31 against the Knicks on December 21st. 

Throughout the game, the 23 year-old product out of Marquette showed why he deserves legitimate minutes, even Luol Deng is back. Even though he started a bit slow offensively, he picked it up as the game went on. And as always, he never slowed down on defense. 

Changes are bound to come this offseason. Marco Belinelli, Nate Robinson, Nazr Mohammad, and Vladimir Radmanovic are all likely to not be back next season, with their contracts expiring. Rip Hamilton has a $5 million dollar team option, which I don't expect the Bulls to pick up. That leaves the Bulls with mostly their core. Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng, Taj Gibson, veteren point guard Kirk Hinrich, rookie point guard Marquis Teague and Butler. 

With teams like Miami and OKC at the top of the NBA, Chicago isn't likely to win a championship within the next few years. But with such a young core with Rose, Teague, Deng, Noah, Gibson, and Butler, the Bulls have maybe the brightest future of any team in the league. 

As Butler develops his shot, he will become more and more dangerous. His confidence is building already with the increase of his minutes. He picks his time to shoot very well and scores only when he has to. 

It'll be interesting to see how consistent Butler's minutes are as Deng works his way back into the lineup and eventually when Derrick Rose comes back from his ACL injury.

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