Jimmy Butler: "I want the assignment of guarding Curry tonight"

[Hey Yo]

SAN FRANCISCO -- Jimmy Butler welcomes the challenge of defending the hottest player in the NBA, Stephen Curry, on Friday night in Oakland.

As a matter of fact, Butler plans to ask Chicago Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg for the assignment.

"I look forward to guarding everybody in this league, especially a prime-time scorer like him," Butler said after Wednesday's win over the Phoenix Suns. "So I'll ask Coach for that matchup. No disrespect to him, but I like that."

With Derrick Rose out with a sprained left ankle and Aaron Brooks out with a left hamstring injury, the Bulls might not have much choice other than to put Butler on Curry for much of the game. Kirk Hinrich, who scored a season-high 14 points against the Suns on Wednesday, is expected to get the start at the point for Rose but is still on a minutes limit of around 20 as he recovers from a toe injury. E'Twaun Moore will be backing him up.

Hoiberg said he isn't sure exactly how much Butler will be matched up on Curry. The bigger question for Hoiberg is, after Butler scored 32 points in 43 minutes on Wednesday night, is it fair to ask him to try to score 30 points while getting at least a few defensive rotations on Curry?

"[Butler's] going to spend some time on him, there's no doubt about that," Hoiberg said. "But other guys are going to have to step up to that challenge as well. Jimmy played almost 43 minutes [Wednesday] night. At the end of the game I tried to run a play for him [and] he said, 'I can't,' and that was with about two minutes left. I think that's when Hinrich hit the big shot. So yeah, he's going to have obviously a big stretch on Steph, but so are some other guys as well."

Still, Hoiberg is going to have to lean on Butler to do even more without Rose on the floor. It's a challenge Hoiberg believes Butler is ready for.

"I think the biggest thing is he wants [the challenge]," Hoiberg said after Friday's shootaround. "He wants that pressure on him. He wants to guard the other team's best player, and he wants to be the guy making plays at the end of the game. So I think that's a big thing, he wants that responsibility."

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/14179693/jimmy-butler-chicago-bulls-says-wants-guard-stephen-curry-golden-state-warriors

[kennethgriffin]

this is what kobe had to deal with night in and night out for a decade


dudes start circling you on the calendar... makes what you accomplished that much more impressive



kobe stoppers lol

[Solefade]

i honestly think bulls will beat the warriors tonight, they're catching them on a b2b, bulls are rested and have been playing good ball on both ends, jimmy butler's been ballin

[Cocaine80s]

this is what kobe had to deal with night in and night out for a decade


dudes start circling you on the calendar... makes what you accomplished that much more impressive



kobe stoppers lol
They mustve done a great job considering his career fg%

[inclinerator]

They mustve done a great job considering his career fg%
:oldlol:

[kennethgriffin]

They mustve done a great job considering his career fg%


dat points per shot doe


1.30 career

same as michael jordan



kobes game wasnt efficient drives every time. and points in the paint like lebron.. kobe shot allot of threes and got to the line to make up for his shot selection

which is why he was successful with it




learn the game of basketball and you will be more appreciative of kobe

[Gus Hemmingway]

They mustve done a great job considering his career fg%
:lol :lol :lol :lol :lol

[Smoke117]

They mustve done a great job considering his career fg%

http://gifrific.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/kevin-garnett-reaction.gif

[Hey Yo]

They mustve done a great job considering his career fg%
http://ct.fra.bz/ol/fz/sw/i37/2/8/6/frabz-DAAAAAAMN-9fbc07.jpg

[kennethgriffin]

45% fgs and 33% threes, 85% ft's is actually a great percentage for the types of shots kobe took




imagine jordan pulling up over 2 guys from 35 feet without a dribble


just sayin.. look at it with context... kobe was great at what he did. which is why he got away with playstation moves while jordan and lebron had to play on a leash

[3ball]

SAN FRANCISCO -- Jimmy Butler welcomes the challenge of defending the hottest player in the NBA, Stephen Curry, on Friday night in Oakland.


Of course!!

I bet Butler shuts down Curry tonight... Mark my words - that's the kind of attitude you need -

THIS GUY IS JUST A 3-POINT SHOOTER - THAT'S IT - GET A FU CKING HAND UP - AGAINST A SHOOTER, ALL IT TAKES IS A DEFENDER EXPENDING THAT EXTRA ENERGY TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE POISED AND READY TO REACT AT ALL TIMES - THIS TYPE ENERGY ISN'T NORMALLY EXPENDED IN RS.

Butler will expend the necessary "playoff" energy, and Curry will have normal numbers tonight.. My post showing MJ's superior stats from January 1988 will look like old news.

[CurryOverLebron]

this is what kobe had to deal with night in and night out for a decade


dudes start circling you on the calendar... makes what you accomplished that much more impressive



kobe stoppers lol

LeBron didn't have to deal with this because everyone his size lacks foot speed.

[kennethgriffin]

LeBron didn't have to deal with this because everyone his size lacks foot speed to guard him.



http://www.istorya.net/forums/attachments/basketball-81/10890d1403072177-kawhi-leonard-finals-mvp-you-thoughts-leonard1_zpsdacf3609.jpg



http://static.wixstatic.com/media/1132d6_894c4c53392e494a9da8e4469d14c7a9.png

[3ball]

45% fgs and 33% threes, 85% ft's is actually a great percentage for the types of shots kobe took


this is true... Curry would shoot far worse taking the same shots

Also, Iggy is 6'6" and 207.... he held Lebron to 33% in Finals

[pauk]

http://www.istorya.net/forums/attachments/basketball-81/10890d1403072177-kawhi-leonard-finals-mvp-you-thoughts-leonard1_zpsdacf3609.jpg



http://static.wixstatic.com/media/1132d6_894c4c53392e494a9da8e4469d14c7a9.png

Neither at his size and neither did a good job on him, infact he had his career best Finals production against both despite it being more like 5 vs 1.

[3ball]

http://www.istorya.net/forums/attachments/basketball-81/10890d1403072177-kawhi-leonard-finals-mvp-you-thoughts-leonard1_zpsdacf3609.jpg



Greg Popovich:

[B][INDENT]"[I]He has the ability to do what a Michael Jordan did at both ends, and I don

[stalkerforlife]

Convenient considering Curry is playing a b2b where he had to expend energy to erase a 23 point lead.

Get a grip.

[oarabbus]

Of course!!

I bet Butler shuts down Curry tonight... Mark my words - that's the kind of attitude you need -

THIS GUY IS JUST A 3-POINT SHOOTER - THAT'S IT - GET A FU CKING HAND UP - AGAINST A SHOOTER, ALL IT TAKES IS A DEFENDER EXPENDING THAT EXTRA ENERGY TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE POISED AND READY TO REACT AT ALL TIMES - THIS TYPE ENERGY ISN'T NORMALLY EXPENDED IN RS.

Butler will expend the necessary "playoff" energy, and Curry will have normal numbers tonight.. My post showing MJ's superior stats from January 1988 will look like old news.

:roll: he's so mad

[Hey Yo]

this is true... Curry would shoot far worse taking the same shots

Also, Iggy is 6'6" and 207.... he held Lebron to 33% in Finals
Pretty good for the fresh legged Iggy who made 2014 NBA All-Defensive First Team.

[Hopper15]

i honestly think bulls will beat the warriors tonight, they're catching them on a b2b, bulls are rested and have been playing good ball on both ends, jimmy butler's been ballin

Warriors are gong to curb stomp the Bulls tonight.

[kennethgriffin]

Neither at his size and neither did a good job on him, infact he had his career best Finals production against both despite it being more like 5 vs 1.



lol when kawhi defended lebron he couldnt even do anything. he protected his fg% .. allot of the times they could even get lebron the ball

when iggy defended him he shot 27%

:roll:


didnt do a good job eh? thats why theyre holding those fmvp trophies i guess

[Naero]

Neither at his size and neither did a good job on him, infact he had his career best Finals production against both despite it being more like 5 vs 1.

The productions he had certainly were not a product of eithers' defensive assigneeships on him, as he mostly only capitalized through the seams

[nathanjizzle]

:facepalm butler cant guard curry.

[RedBlackAttack]

:facepalm butler cant guard curry.
Actually, I think he matches up pretty well. We'll find out soon enough. You aren't going to stop great scorers. You just try to contain them.

Butler is a very good defender. A lot of it may depend on how the officials decide to call the game. If they allow a lot of contact, Butler could have some success in slowing him down.

[Funktion]

No Derrick Rose tonight

[nathanjizzle]

Actually, I think he matches up pretty well. We'll find out soon enough. You aren't going to stop great scorers. You just try to contain them.

Butler is a very good defender. A lot of it may depend on how the officials decide to call the game. If they allow a lot of contact, Butler could have some success in slowing him down.

i disagree, and i dont think we will see it but a hand full of times since it will be obvious that he cant guard him.

[nathanjizzle]

No Derrick Rose tonight

hes a loser, dont ever say his name again.

[WorldWarriors]

hes a loser, dont ever say his name again.
:oldlol:

Wait what happened? I thought that was your boy?

[dabigbaws]

Stephen Curry: "I want the assignment of guarding Doug McDermott tonight"

[WorldWarriors]

Derrick Rose on Steph Curry "If anything he pushes I think not only me, but the whole league to work on their game."

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/14179693/jimmy-butler-chicago-bulls-says-wants-guard-stephen-curry-golden-state-warriors

[stalkerforlife]

Actually, I think he matches up pretty well. We'll find out soon enough. You aren't going to stop great scorers. You just try to contain them.

Butler is a very good defender. A lot of it may depend on how the officials decide to call the game. If they allow a lot of contact, Butler could have some success in slowing him down.

Find out what, exactly? This is a b2b for Curry and he just expended a ton of energy last night.

[Clifton]

It doesn't really matter who guards Curry, does it? Warriors offense is screens and movement. Curry's man is hardly ever on him. Half Curry's points are scored off switches.

Best of luck to the man, but players don't shut down Warriors players... whole teams contain their team. Or they get blown out.

[Naero]

It'll take more than single coverage for anyone to stymie Curry's shooting, so the onus isn't just on Jimmy Butler; it also hinges on cohesive team defense to ensure he doesn't have an eyeshot-clean look at the basket whenever he tries to outmaneuver his opponents off of the Pick & Roll interplay.

Curry has actually struggled against last year's Bulls team, having shot 33.8% field-goal percentage and 21.4% three-point percentage against them, but we all know that he's somehow managed to exponentially improve since; what's less underscored is the fact that the Bulls have regressed a bit on the defensive end. I think that the Bulls will turn it around in time and have the perfect interbalance of offense and defense needed to title-contend; but for now, Fred Hoiberg is a bit too under-acquainted with the NBA to have well-prepared game plans against other teams from the outset.

If Curry still manages to suction in the defense despite Butler's coverage, which is a strategic flaw that some more inexperienced coaches tend to do against great passers, he'll still be a deadly enough contributory through his secondary and tertiary assists to get over the hump against this Bulls team.

[JimmyMcAdocious]

Derrick Rose on Steph Curry "If anything he pushes I think not only me, but the whole league to work on their game."

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/14179693/jimmy-butler-chicago-bulls-says-wants-guard-stephen-curry-golden-state-warriors


1. How do you stop him at the 3-point line?
Derrick Rose: "You can't. You just have to contest, That's the God's honest truth. He's got a God's gift with his touch."

8. Where do you rank him among the top point guards?
Rose: "He's up there. He's got the best record. You've got to put him up there at [No.] 1."

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/12178173/nba-derrick-rose-jrue-holiday-michael-carter-williams-scheme-stephen-curry

[RedBlackAttack]

Find out what, exactly? This is a b2b for Curry and he just expended a ton of energy last night.
Uh, the games still count, whether it is a back-to-back or he has two weeks rest. This is part of playing basketball in the NBA.

[RedBlackAttack]

It'll take more than single coverage for anyone to stymie Curry's shooting, so the onus isn't just on Jimmy Butler; it also hinges on cohesive team defense to ensure he doesn't have an eyeshot-clean look at the basket whenever he tries to outmaneuver his opponents off of the Pick & Roll interplay.

Curry has actually struggled against last year's Bulls team, having shot 33.8% field-goal percentage and 21.4% three-point percentage against them, but we all know that he's somehow managed to exponentially improve since; what's less underscored is the fact that the Bulls have regressed a bit on the defensive end. I think that the Bulls will turn it around in time and have the perfect interbalance of offense and defense needed to title-contend; but for now, Fred Hoiberg is a bit too under-acquainted with the NBA to have well-prepared game plans against other teams from the outset.

If Curry still manages to suction in the defense despite Butler's coverage, which is a strategic flaw that some more inexperienced coaches tend to do against great passers, he'll still be a deadly enough contributory through his secondary and tertiary assists to get over the hump against this Bulls team.
The Bulls were a very good defensive team last year. I saw that first hand with the Cavs-Bulls playoff series. That was about as physical a series as I have seen since the 90s when the Knicks and Pacers were knocking each other around.

Whether this year's Bulls team is on the same level defensively I don't know. I'm sure Thibs had something to do with their level of intensity on that end.

[JohnFreeman]

They mustve done a great job considering his career fg%
Holy. Shit.

[AnaheimLakers24]

Neither at his size and neither did a good job on him, infact he had his career best Finals production against both despite it being more like 5 vs 1.
2/6

Midget virgin

[comerb]

45% fgs and 33% threes, 85% ft's is actually a great percentage for the types of shots kobe took




imagine jordan pulling up over 2 guys from 35 feet without a dribble


just sayin.. look at it with context... kobe was great at what he did. which is why he got away with playstation moves while jordan and lebron had to play on a leash

So you're excuse is that Kobe has a shitty shot selection? Ok.

[warriorfan]

butler can't handle heavy d amc

[Chokefree]

2/6

Midget virgin
:roll: :roll:

[Heavincent]

Neither at his size and neither did a good job on him, infact he had his career best Finals production against both despite it being more like 5 vs 1.

Lebron shot like 35% against Iguodala you moron :oldlol:

[tpols]

Of course!!

I bet Butler shuts down Curry tonight... Mark my words - that's the kind of attitude you need -

THIS GUY IS JUST A 3-POINT SHOOTER - THAT'S IT - GET A FU CKING HAND UP - AGAINST A SHOOTER, ALL IT TAKES IS A DEFENDER EXPENDING THAT EXTRA ENERGY TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE POISED AND READY TO REACT AT ALL TIMES - THIS TYPE ENERGY ISN'T NORMALLY EXPENDED IN RS.

Butler will expend the necessary "playoff" energy, and Curry will have normal numbers tonight.. My post showing MJ's superior stats from January 1988 will look like old news.

3 ball baffled at a dude that can shoot 3s :yaohappy:

[PsychoBe]

3ball do you think butler will eventually equal and/or eclipse mj through shear effort?

[Funktion]

So Klay will have a big night?

[JebronLames]

They mustve done a great job considering his career fg%
OH no.

[JimmyMcAdocious]

Did Butler even guard Curry? Seemed like Hinrich was on him most of the night.

[Naero]

Did Butler even guard Curry? Seemed like Hinrich was on him most of the night.

He didn't seem to be, aside from haphazardly covering him on a few P&R switches.

Thankfully for the Bulls, Curry had an uncharacteristic off-night, as he missed more than a few eyeshot-clean attempts, but I'm not sure what the rational is for eschewing from that assignment. He instead guarded his same position, which doesn't present any offensive juggernaut to contain. :confusedshrug:

[Bankaii]

They mustve done a great job considering his career fg%
Oh my...:(

[Funktion]

http://streamable.com/18po

[Springsteen]

Well, he got what he asked for.

[WorldWarriors]

Kirk was on Steph and Butler was on Green and sometimes Klay. He switched on him a couple of times but he wasn't the primary defender.

[bdreason]

Jimmy Butler is so good. Maybe the best two-way perimeter player in the league.

[WorldWarriors]

Jimmy Butler is so good. Maybe the best two-way perimeter player in the league.
I agree.

[WhiteKyrie]

imagine jordan pulling up over 2 guys from 35 feet without a dribble

First of all, how do you pull up without a dribble? Second of all, that sounds like a terrible shot. Third of all, that wasn’t the entire catalog of Kobe’s shots in a game. Hyperbole much? 45% isn’t bad, so I do agree with that.

[light]

this is what kobe had to deal with night in and night out for a decade

dudes start circling you on the calendar... makes what you accomplished that much more impressive

kobe stoppers lol

Well to be fair Kobe would shoot 40% regardless of who defends him.

Kobe was actually kind of good at stopping himself. My honest opinion is that if he was better at his job (making baskets in an efficient manner) he would be closer to MJ/LeBron level.