Jimmy Butler and the Bulls' success might be aided by throwing the ol' pigskin around
Jimmy Butler, without question, is the Chicago Bulls’ go-to man.
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There was a lot of lip service addressing as much prior to 2016-17, even with Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo becoming surprising free agent additions to an unsteady Chicago franchise. Wade and Rondo made a point to call the Bulls Butler’s team several times during the offseason and during training camp, but it remained to be seen whether or not Wade (who has thrived in equal parts either going it alone or alongside other stars) and Rondo (solely the latter) would give up on the signs of their lifetimes of leisure and actually let Butler do his thing.
So far, so much Jimmy Butler. And part of the reason why a small piece of camaraderie exists within the 7-4 Bulls has to do with Butler’s insistence on carrying around a football damn near everywhere he goes, and chucking it around Bulls practice a time or 12. As ESPN Chicago’s Nick Friedell discovered on Tuesday.
Wade was sure to notice:
“I’m like, ‘Man, Jimmy carries this football around everywhere,'” Wade said. “But the cool thing was, after one of the practices, we were out there playing catch, etc. I’m in there taking a shower before we go to Harvard and Boston, and I just hear so much commotion on the court. I come out there, coach is playing catch, all these things. It’s cool. Small things build some kind of camaraderie. It builds some kind of something that you need. Because sometimes, especially when you’re losing, a lot of people — you lose that eye contact. You lose that communication and talking. Small things like [throwing a football] help. It helps kind of relax a situation.
“So I didn’t know why he carried that football around like that everywhere he went … but this is cool for this team. It’s a moment that you take just to build something. Anything, when you’ve got a new group together, is something.”
Wade and the Bulls can thank Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown for feeding the machine:
“That’s my brother, man,” Brown said. “I’m honored to know Jimmy. Honored to be his friend. I’m ultimately a fan of him, but as my friend, that’s my brother. I’m a huge fan of the Bulls. I’m a huge fan of his. I watch all of his games. Just bought his jersey. I’m excited for the season he’s going to have. He’s been working at it all offseason. It’s great to know guys like Jimmy.”
“I think everybody loves football.”
[…]
“It brings everybody a little closer together, I guess.”
Chicago loves Jimmy. The swingman, working in his sixth season, is averaging 24.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.3 steals and 1.8 steals per game on the season. He contributed 27 points, 12 rebounds and five assists in Chicago’s comforting 113-88 win over Portland on Tuesday night, providing MVP-level two-way production throughout. As has been his custom, in 2016-17.
Rondo, not co-incidentally, was not a part of Chicago’s most impressive victory of the season, missing the contest due to a sprained left ankle as Jerian Grant’s defense shined in replacement. Wade, still finding his spots in his first season outside of Miami, is at 17.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists in just 29 minutes of action each night. The Bulls rank sixth offensively and ninth defensively as they look forward to a nationally televised showdown with the 7-5 Utah Jazz on Thursday, in the second game of what will be the team’s last Circus Trip.
Football, though? Is that something?
You probably recall this:
Now the Bulls have taken to throwing Butler’s ball around following practice, in an impromptu team-building exercise that coach Fred Hoiberg not only approves of, but takes part in:
Nobody is crediting tossin’ the ball around, Tom House-style, as some motivational or functional tool bent on helping a team full of past and future All-Stars turn the corner. In the wake of the desultory last few years of Chicago Bulls basketball, though, anything helps.
There is still a good chance that things could turn out as aimless as produced in years past, and erratic as expected in the offseason. The team is playing better-than-expected ball from behind the arc (that is to say: Chicago is in the middle of the pack) due mainly to Butler’s white-hot 45 percent stroke from long range on the season, and there is still a chance Wade could mope and play the Miami blues as the season moves along. Rondo, a sieve defensively and 34 percent shooter on the other end, has been an absolute disaster.
For now, though, with a three-game winning streak, things are spiraling in Chicago. In a good, not-at-all-like-Jay-Cutler-or-Bob-Avellini, way.
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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
