The Chicago Bulls suffered a disappointing and deflating loss on Wednesday, falling to the now 29-43 New York Knicks. This Chicago team absolutely lives and dies by their best player, Jimmy Butler. Without Butler this season, they’ve gone 5-10. With him playing, they’re 31-24. Butler generally has a hugely positive impact on his team. However, since returning from his injury, Butler has struggled to perform up to his standards. In his 6 games since returning, he’s averaging 13.8 points, 6.3 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game while shooting a horrendous 36.4% from the field. He also hasn’t sunk a single 3-pointer over that span, going 0-7.
Butler is understandably unhappy with his play as of late. He spoke about his recent performance:
Butler on his struggles: "You see the way I've been playing lately. It's saddening. It's piss-poor. It's terrible."
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) March 24, 2016
Butler: "My teammates won’t say it. My coaches won’t say it. But if I continue to play like this, I’m hurting this team."
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) March 24, 2016
Butler: "Ain’t nothing wrong with me physically. Right now, it’s mentally. The ball’s not going in. I let that affect me on both ends."
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) March 24, 2016
On the bright side, it’s good to hear that Butler’s problems aren’t physical. Butler is tough, and I have faith that he’ll get over whatever issues he’s having mentally. Physical problems are tougher to deal with.
On the not-so-bright side, Butler doesn’t have the luxury of time to get his head straight. The Bulls need to start winning now. The East is competitive this season, and the Bulls find themselves one game out of the 8 seed with 10 games left to play.
