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Chicago Bulls Preview: Jimmy Butler provides working model for Oladipo

By Brett David Roberts

Jan 15, 2014; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic shooting guard Victor Oladipo (5) passes the ball around Chicago Bulls shooting guard Jimmy Butler (21) during the second quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 15, 2014; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic shooting guard Victor Oladipo (5) passes the ball around Chicago Bulls shooting guard Jimmy Butler (21) during the second quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jimmy Butler has emerged as a major scorer in addition to having claim as a major defensive playmaker, and the result has been that the former Marquette Golden Eagle has lent a lot of stability to a Bulls team still hoping to contend.

Jimmy Butler made the leap from defensive standout to a bona fide All Star in one offseason, and the hope that Victor Oladipo makes a similar leap is there. Butler diversified his game, started making plays and mostly just took his intensity to the offensive end of the court, to become the Chicago Bulls leading scorer at 20.1 points per game.

The 6-foot-7 swingman is also rebounding extremely well, grabbing 5.8 rebounds per game from the backcourt. He makes far more plays than his 3.2 assists per game indicate, as well, with his penetration opening up the court for Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah to reap the benefits of the actual assists.

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    • And his defense remained steadfast and pestering. Butler averages 2.26 blocks/steals per game for a tough Chicago Bulls ‘D,’ which has perennially ranked atop the NBA.

    Oladipo is doing similar things, and is a similar player, so can he not make the same leap and become a 20-plus point per game scorer, a first team All-NBA type of talent?

    Butler was garnering that kind of respect early in the season, and though he has missed time, he has started in 61 appearances this season and is playing 38.8 minutes per night.

    The “workhorse” label has to apply, and that’s something Oladipo can (and already does) embody, as well.

    It is not to say this is a quantum leap for Victor to become the type of talent Butler already is, but at this point few would be delusional enough to proclaim the Magic’s 2-guard is on the same level as Butler. Like Butler, Oladipo is also seeing big minutes (35.3 per game), and he’s started in 66 games and appeared in 67 this year.

    Can he get to where Butler already is? Absolutely.

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    • Tonight should be a great chance to get a look at how Oladipo does when he is confronted by another great two-way player. Both will challenge each other first and foremost at the defensive end, but Butler is a good shooter and is hitting 35.7 percent of his triples at three attempts per game.

    Oladipo clocks in at 33.5 percent from distance, though Butler shoots 2.3 percentage points higher from the field overall, while also shouldering a larger offensive load.

    Neither are lights-out shooters, but both sport jumpers that must be increasingly respected. The Magic may not be any better than a 30-win team if it started Butler instead of Oladipo, but it stands to reason that Victor has every opportunity to grow into the type of scorer Butler is.

    Is that lead player on a contending team? Yes. Butler is that.

    The argument that Oladipo is “just” a No. 2 option could end with his play continually exceeding guys like Butler who have already staked claim as an NBA All-Star.

    Next: Five things the Magic can accomplish the rest of this season