Butler carries Bulls to win: 'Give me the ball, and get                             the (bleep) out of the way!'

MILWAUKEE — Whether it was to someone in particular, no one in particular or said in pseudo-frustration, Jimmy Butler yelled out his feelings in a building he once called home:

“Give me the ball, and get the (bleep) out of the way!”

Walking off the floor, having created most of the critical scores late in a game that still leaves the Bulls, at best, in critical condition in the Eastern Conference playoff race, Butler’s importance in the Bulls’ 102-98 win over the pesky Milwaukee Bucks cannot be overstated.

On a night where he missed just one shot in a 25-point, eight-assist and five-rebound performance, one can be entitled to a bit of hubris, moments after an emotional win that kept the Bulls two games behind the Indiana Pacers with five games to play.

One of those shots was a mid-range jumper where the Bucks’ defense — like the Pacers’ defense last Tuesday — didn’t switch on the screen-roll with Butler as a ballhandler with 51.9 seconds left, stretching the lead to 97-93.

“Not really, tell you the truth I was looking to pass,” he said. “I was. He showed, they didn’t switch like we thought they would, I rose up and knocked it down.”

It comes with the territory, Butler says, as a player with a max contract on a team that entered the season with aspirations on being more than a fringe playoff team.

“I think I kind of have to do it now,” Butler said. “Everybody looks to me to do so, with the deal I just signed and being one of the better players on this team. Fred (Hoiberg) is putting the ball in my hands as of late, he knows I’ll
make the right decision, whether to shoot or pass the ball.”

My Thoughts

The Chicago Bulls have been struggling all season due to injuries, a new head coach and constant line up changes. during the Bucks game Chicago was down in the 4th and Jimmy Butler took control all through out the 4th too keep the team in the game and reserve a playoff spot for the post season. In order for the Bulls to make it to the post season Butler is gonna have to carry the team throughout the rest of the season and maybe even next season considering the mentality of starting point guard and former  MVP Derrick Rose who is not the same player he was in 2012.If the Bulls cant make it to the post season this year there gonna have to make a lot of adjustments with players, staff and coaching in order to have a better season and make it to the playoffs.