Jan. 06--The Bulls improved to 25-10 with their 114-105 home victory Monday over the Rockets. Here are three observations.
Jimmy Butler is headed for some postseason hardware.
Most Improved Player? Has to be a lock. All-Defensive team? Check. Most Valuable Player? Let's slow down, but the conversation has started. And it's coming from players, with Rockets center Dwight Howard advancing that theory Monday. And that was before Butler outscored James Harden and helped lock down the NBA's leading scorer with a stifling defensive performance in the second half.
"He's an incredible defender," Pau Gasol said of Butler after he helped hold Harden to three second-half points on 0-for-9 shooting. "For me, he's probably the best perimeter defender in the league right now."
Nikola Mirotic can play small forward.
It will be intriguing to see what happens when Mike Dunleavy returns from his jammed right ankle. Dunleavy almost certainly will -- and should -- remain the starter. But given that Dunleavy rarely closed games before, will coach Tom Thibodeau continue doing so with Mirotic at small forward? The rookie isn't perfect at the position, but he has shown the ability to compete defensively. And beyond his shooting ability, he adds length to a front line that already features Gasol and Joakim Noah.
"He's a very unselfish player who plays the right way," said Noah, who has been talking up Mirotic since training camp.
Thibodeau likes using length and the Bulls have a lot of it.
The Bulls can close with Gasol and Noah. Dunleavy is long for his position. So is Mirotic, whether he plays power or small forward. The Bulls haven't featured this much defensive length since the 2010-11 team that advanced to the conference finals. Thibodeau cited length as a big reason why the Bulls were able to limit Harden to three free throws, six below his average.
