Dec. 04--CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- He has drawn All-Star suggestions from coast-to-coast, from Clippers coach Doc Rivers and Celtics coach Brad Stevens. Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle stated a case for him as Most Improved Player.
And now, Jimmy Butler has some actual hardware, earning Eastern Conference player of month honors for November. Butler is the first Bull to be so honored since Derrick Rose in March 2011.
The Bulls went 11-6 before December and Butler averaged 21.9 points on 49.8 percent shooting. He shot double-digit free throws seven times, ranking behind James Harden, Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant with 8.8 attempts per game. And he led the NBA with 39.3 minutes per game.
"You can't say enough about what he's done," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "He and Pau (Gasol) are leading the team. Jimmy has been terrific on both sides of the ball. He's been a great leader. Practices extremely hard, prepares well, studies, doesn't take any plays off. I think he has built those habits through the way he practices. You can see it. He has maximum effort on every play. He has great concentration on every play. And when you do that, you're going to be successful. So it doesn't surprise me."
Golden State's Stephen Curry won the Western Conference award.
