Well Done Jimmy!
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/ct-spt-0129-bulls-bobcats-chicago--20130129,0,3364964.story (http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/ct-spt-0129-bulls-bobcats-chicago--20130129,0,3364964.story)
Guy's got an amazing attitude and was prepared to take advantage of his minutes when Deng went down. It will be hard to take him off the floor now that he has proven himself. Couldn't happen to a better guy. Buzz' first recruit too!
Boozer stopped his press conference to say JFB belongs in the Rookie-Sophomore game.
Quote from: Jajuannaman on January 28, 2013, 11:35:38 PM
Guy's got an amazing attitude and was prepared to take advantage of his minutes when Deng went down. It will be hard to take him off the floor now that he has proven himself. Couldn't happen to a better guy. Buzz' first recruit too!
Couldn't agree with you anymore. One of the perks of living in Chicago is being able to watch Jimmy play every night.
Mac and Speigel on 670 the Score have spent the last half hour talking about Jimmy and it doesn't look like they will be letting up anytime soon.
Quote from: TallTitan34 on January 29, 2013, 09:27:05 AM
Mac and Speigel on 670 the Score have spent the last half hour talking about Jimmy and it doesn't look like they will be letting up anytime soon.
Here is a link -- they start on him within the first 5 minutes:
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/?podcast_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.podtrac.com%2Fpts%2Fredirect.mp3%2Fnyc.podcast.play.it%2Fmedia%2Fd0%2Fd0%2Fd1%2Fd2%2Fd2%2FdO%2FdG%2F122OG_4.MP3%3Fauthtok%3D5561996759531105733_ni3oGWn2KKY6KFff3J26lvSrK8&podcast_name=The+McNeil+and+Spiegel+Show+Hour+1+1-29-13&podcast_artist=The+McNeil+and+Spiegel+Show&station_id=391&tag=pages&dcid=CBS.CHI (http://chicago.cbslocal.com/?podcast_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.podtrac.com%2Fpts%2Fredirect.mp3%2Fnyc.podcast.play.it%2Fmedia%2Fd0%2Fd0%2Fd1%2Fd2%2Fd2%2FdO%2FdG%2F122OG_4.MP3%3Fauthtok%3D5561996759531105733_ni3oGWn2KKY6KFff3J26lvSrK8&podcast_name=The+McNeil+and+Spiegel+Show+Hour+1+1-29-13&podcast_artist=The+McNeil+and+Spiegel+Show&station_id=391&tag=pages&dcid=CBS.CHI)
Hope that works--
(http://www.freeimagehosting.net/t/rt8d9.jpg)
Quote from: Jajuannaman on January 28, 2013, 11:35:38 PM
Guy's got an amazing attitude and was prepared to take advantage of his minutes when Deng went down. It will be hard to take him off the floor now that he has proven himself. Couldn't happen to a better guy. Buzz' first recruit too!
Completely agree. He'll play a JWilson role, come off the bench and loosen the load off of Deng, who averages 40 minutes a game. Thibs is a coach that will give the starting job back to the guy when he comes off an injury (D-Rose will be the exception, of course). Once Deng is back and healthy, he'll start over JFB, but his minutes will decrease. I love that. Extremely solid rotation with Jimmy and Deng; might be one of the best in the Association.
From today's Tribune, with an MU mention...
The NBA's announcement of the Rising Stars Challenge rosters comes Wednesday when Jimmy Butler and the Bulls are in Milwaukee. That seems fitting given Butler's ties to that city playing for Marquette.
That the Rising Stars Challenge game is in Houston as part of All-Star weekend speaks to the everything-coming-up-roses nature of the second-year forward's basketball life these days. Butler's well-chronicled story, after all, began in tiny Tomball, Texas, 35 miles outside Houston.
"It'd be big, would mean a lot," Butler said Tuesday of the imminent announcement, which is almost certain to include him. "It would mean I get to see my family again. Who would think a little kid from Tomball would be playing for the Chicago Bulls and in All-Star weekend one day?"
Butler continues to impress with his defensive versatility and mental maturity. Pushed back to the second unit when Luol Deng returned from his hamstring injury Monday, Butler's tenaciousness led to his career-high 19 points and long stretches at shooting guard alongside Deng.
The Bobcats played a perimeter-oriented lineup often featuring three guards. But Butler and Deng pairing defensively at the wings posed some delicious possibilities. Attention, Richard Hamilton and Marco Belinelli: Tom Thibodeau's rotation is suddenly fluid.
"It's the matchups," Thibodeau said. "Some teams play small and quick. Jimmy and Lu can guard (shooting guards, small and power forwards). That gives you flexibility. Depending on what the game needs, we can go to a lot of different things. We can go offense, too. We're pleased with the way the bench is coming along. We have great versatility."
Butler clearly has benefited from a non-lockout summer, involving hands-on training from Thibodeau and his staff, and summer league.
"In some cases, a guy has a hard time starting or coming off the bench," Thibodeau said. "Jimmy does both very effectively. He also has a very quick motor. Oftentimes, he didn't play a lot in the first half and ends up finishing the game.
"Whether you put him in early, late or in the middle, he handles everything well. It doesn't take him long to get going. He gets right in the game and starts moving. His toughness is a big aspect."
Time will tell if that toughness translates to chasing around speedy Monta Ellis on Wednesday. With the roll Butler is on, don't bet against it.
"I feel I can guard a shooting guard," he said. "My offensive skill set has to get much better for me to be a shooting guard."
Deng, who said he had no hamstring issues after playing 31 minutes, offered this on Butler: "Do I think he can play shooting guard? Yes. Is that up to me? No."
Beyond the Rising Stars Challenge, his teammates are pushing him for the Slam Dunk contest as part of All-Star weekend.
"Anyone watching out there at the NBA, if you want to see some great things, put Jimmy in the dunk contest," Deng said.