“The Benching of Rajon Rondo” is a very real tale of woe, Bulls fans. Fred Hoiberg made it perfectly clear where Chicago’s $14 million point guard stands in the current rotation on Monday night. The answer? At the very back of it. The Bulls’ backcourt was shorthanded against the Charlotte Hornets as Dwyane Wade sat out with a swollen knee. Still, Hoiberg left Rondo on the bench. Jerian Grant served as Michael Carter-Williams’ primary backup, and seldom-used rookie Denzel Valentine got into the action while Rondo sat watching.
One Man Show
Without Wade, Jimmy Butler unsurprisingly carried the load for the Bulls. The overworked star tallied 52 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists. It was enough, as Chicago beat the Hornets 118-111. The 52 points were a season high for Butler, who now has 3 40-point games this season. He just missed his career high of 53, which he set against Philadelphia last season. He also set a season high with 22 free throw attempts, converting all but one of them. How’s this for a stat, thanks to the one and only Christopher Kamka:
Jimmy Butler: first time anyone has had 45+ Pts, 10+ Reb & 5+ Assists in a game in United Center history (opened late 1994)#Bulls
— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) January 3, 2017
You know what that means. Not even Michael Jordan or Scottie Pippen accomplished such a feat in their 3+ seasons at the United Center.
This was the latest installment of Butler’s ascension to the elite company of NBA superstars this season. Unfortunately, he gave another such performance out of necessity and without much help from his teammates. Nikola Mirotic was the next highest scorer, adding 12 off the bench. It becomes disturbingly clear when Wade takes the occasional night off: this team is a Butler injury away from being a basement dweller in the Eastern Conference. Still, the Madhouse hadn’t gotten into a frenzy like that in quite a while. Butler is the show to see, ladies and gentleman. No question there.
Quick Hits
Denzel Valentine made the most of his extended minutes, scoring a career-high 9 points. He brought energy and passion to a lethargic group, and his three point shooting (3-5) was a welcome sight. He also did this to his ankle:
Denzel Valentine did this to his ankle. pic.twitter.com/dgwiwPE23Y
— Chuck Garfien (@ChuckGarfien) January 3, 2017
It’s the same left ankle that Valentine sprained earlier in the season. He did not return to the game. Cross your fingers that it doesn’t put him on the shelf after one of the better games in his rookie campaign.
In his fifth career start and first start this season, Doug McDermott had a slow start but came on strong in the 4th quarter. The Creighton kid had some great post up scores, which is rare for him in his Bulls tenure. He finished with 11 points on 5-12 shooting in 30 minutes.
2015 first round draft pick Bobby Portis continues to be an unused ghost in Hoiberg’s rotation. He saw another DNP-CD tonight and has played just 4 minutes in the Bulls’ last 8 games.
Kemba Walker, who’s looking like a first-time All Star candidate this season, led the Hornets with 34 points. Nicolas Batum chipped in with 19.
Next Up: The Bulls head to Cleveland to take on LeBron James and the defending champion Cavaliers on Wednesday. In one of their few great wins this season, Chicago toppled the Cavs 111-105 on December 2nd behind strong performances from all three “alphas.” That seems like a lifetime ago now. Tipoff on Wednesday is at 7:00 PM CST.
