Jimmy Butler Splits a Double and Drops a Dime

Jimmy Butler’s evolution from 30th overall draft pick to superstar player has been well documented. Butler entered the league unheralded and as a pure energy and defense type player who evolved into a 3-and-D wing and then again evolved into a star by continuously adding something to his game. The newest addition came last season when Derrick Rose went down and Butler was asked to carry a much bigger offensive load to compensate. On Thursday night he reminded everyone just how good he has become at that with a fancy feed to Nikola Mirotic.

(vine by Rick O’Donnell)

The pass is pretty enough as Butler drops it right into Mirotic’s hands where he can just explode up for a layup but the start of the play may be even more impressive. Butler splits the pick-and-roll without losing any speed which allows him the space to drop that pass to Mirotic. If Butler had to slow down at all in splitting the double, he would have risked a trialing defender cutting off his drop off pass, but instead he times it so Denver has no way to stop him

It is a scary thought that plays like this are something that Butler just proved capable of doing as he makes it look so smooth. With Rose expected to return around the start of the season, the Bulls could have an incredible offense thanks to the steps Butler has taken. Just imagine him using this vision and passing ability after a ball reversal created by a Rose drive. It should be a beautiful thing to watch all season long.