At This Point Jimmy Butler Is A Bonafide MVP Candidate
I keep expecting Jimmy Butler to fall back down to earth and it just hasn’t happened. It’s incredible. Last night was just another example of Jimmy being the best player on the court in the 4th quarter. A court full of All-Stars past and present (D-Rose, Pau, Joakim, Dwight Howard, James Harden, Josh Smith just kidding) and there was Jimmy, standing out head and shoulders above. Shutting down James Harden on 3 trips in a row, hitting a clutch shot to tie the game at 100 and a three to take the lead at 105-103. He is the guy now. He is the one you want taking the shot, which is incredible considering the fact that this team was so offensively inept last year with Jimmy Butler healthy and playing.
And I have to admit, I always liked Jimmy Butler but I NEVER saw this type of year coming. He’s a bonafide MVP candidate. He won’t win it because he doesn’t score in the high 20’s and guys like Steph Curry and Anthony Davis are still admittedly better, but everything else is there. Lockdown defender, shooter, passer, all of it. And I know the big talk now is that the Bulls have to re-sign him but I honestly am not even worried. There were no hard feelings in their negotiations this summer. Jimmy gambled on himself and won. The Bulls can afford him, they reset their luxury tax with the Deng trade so they don’t have to pay the repeater tax, they will sign Jimmy Butler, it will cost them more than they expected but that’s a good thing because he has been that incredible thus far. They’re the best team in the league, yes the league, and Jimmy Butler is the best player on that team. If you aren’t watching the Bulls get it together, so much fun night in and night out.
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PS
You know what’s crazy? To look back on the 2011 Draft. Gar/Pax have gotten heat for not getting the big free agent but they need endless praise for some of their draft picks. If they did a re-draft tomorrow the Bulls would have 2 top 5 picks (only guys ahead would be Kyrie, Kawhi, and Klay Thompson). They got Niko Mirotic at 23 (he’s been everything we wanted and more) and Jimmy Butler at 30. They had the best record in basketball that season and got 2 cornerstones in the draft. That’s incredible.
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