The Chicago Bulls are sitting in the No. 8 spot of the playoff standing. At this point, every game for the remainder of the season must be treated like a postseason matchup. The Bulls cannot afford to slip up as the Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards sit just a game behind them. Getting Jimmy Butler back from injury will help, but only if he and Derrick Rose can co-exist on offense.
The Bulls are getting back to full strength, or as close as they can be with Joakim Noah out for the year. Butler returned over the weekend while Nikola Mirotic saw his first bit of action since before the All-Star break. The return of Butler sparked a big win against the Houston Rockets as he will be the X-factor for the remainder of the year. Head coach Fred Hoiberg told the media he was happy with how Butler and Rose worked together on offense.
"They were good," Hoiberg said. "Derrick threw ahead a couple times to Jimmy where he attacked at the rim. And Jimmy got into the middle, drew help and kicked it out to Derrick, who hit a couple shots. So I thought Jimmy and Derrick were good together."
The chemistry of Rose and Butler has been questioned in the past. If the Bulls are going to make noise in the playoffs, the chemistry of the team's two biggest stars will be critical. Pau Gasol and Taj Gibson will be needed, but the Bulls' fate rests on the play of Butler and Rose. They matched up well against the Rockets, as Butler put up 24 points and 11 rebounds after a month of not playing. Rose credited him for being the spark needed to win.
"It's huge," Rose said. "Whenever he's got the ball, you got to stick both of us. It's hard to pay attention to both of us when we're on the court. And we get to catch the ball with a live dribble so that helps the team out a lot."
Butler's return was big, but so was the presence of Mirotic, who was able to play 16 minutes against the Rockets. Mirotic has been working to get back on the court since undergoing two surgeries for an appendectomy. The forward lost about 18 pounds from the surgery and has only regained about 10. The Bulls are hoping that once he fully recovers he can return to the court full-time.
He will be on a (minutes) limit," Hoiberg said. "But he made it through a full contact practice and the medical staff is comfortable with him being in uniform. We'll keep a close eye on him based on his conditioning. But as far as how his stomach is feeling and the incision where he had that second surgery, he feels good."
