Despite the teacher obviously becoming the student on Sunday, as the Chicago Bulls beat the Miami Heat 93-75, Jimmy Butler looked to Luol Deng as a mentor during their time together in Chicago.
Deng, having played for the Bulls for 10 years from 2004-2014, took Butler under his wing when the rookie arrived in 2011.
"“He taught me a lot of the stuff I’m doing now. He always had confidence in me. I miss that guy,” I miss that guy Butler told the Chicago Tribune. “I teach that to Tony (Snell) and to Doug (McDermott) now. Obviously, I take up a lot of minutes at the wing position. But I always tell them to be ready. Things happen. You have to be ready to step in and make plays. So always, always work on your game.”"
Previous to yesterday’s game, Deng and Butler had only faced one another once since Deng left Chicago. On January 22, 2014 the Bulls played against the Cleveland Cavaliers, coming up 98-87. Both players logged more than 40 minutes that night.
Butler is having a breakout season, averaging 21 points and 5.7 rebounds a game. Deng, although on a team that is still struggling to gel together, is putting up 14 points and 4.7 rebounds. It seems pretty clear that the advice Deng presented Jimmy with, was well-received.
"“It’s crazy how everything works,” said Butler. “Lu is the main one who always told me to be ready and keep working on my game and be confident. He told me I belonged here. Stuff like that goes a long way and that’s stuff that everybody doesn’t see and hear. Lu is a key part to me keeping my head into the game.”"
Having his head in the game was certainly not a problem for Butler on Sunday, as he ended the afternoon with 17 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists; he also had 2 steals and 1 block. Truthfully, for a large part of the matchup, he seemed to be keeping the whole team afloat.
On the other hand, Miami just could not find their rhythm and by the third quarter, all that was left to do was play catchup. Between Chris Bosh sitting out with a strained calf, Mike Dunleavy running on overdrive and the Heat only shooting a season-low 35 percent, Miami suffered another double-digit loss.
However, Deng had a similar game to Butler, scoring 17 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.
"“He was a hell of a player when he was here,” Butler explained. “Still is. It’s going to be fun to go up against him, especially because I know what type of guy he is. He didn’t have to do what he did for me. But he wants everyone on the team to feel accepted and successful. I was a part of the team then and am now. I’m just playing a different role.”"
According to Butler, Deng would text him every night during his first year with the Bulls, asking him to meet up at the Berto Center for more practice. And although apparently Deng did not answer his messages prior to yesterday’s game, it is clear that Butler will forever consider them close friends.