Top 10 Backcourts In The NBA, 2015-2016: Where Does The Washington Wizards’ Duo Rank?

Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

2) Chicago Bulls, Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler

At first, this seemed too high for me to place this Chicago Bulls’ backcourt, but when I thought about what each one of them brought to the team it was actually an easy choice.

Flashback to the year 2011 and think about what a force of nature Derrick Rose was. Rose used an almost unguardable mix of athleticism, confidence and size on his way to winning the 2011 NBA MVP award.

Rose would go on to lead the Bulls to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2011. He was in the forefront of the new breed of point guards we currently see in the league which includes Russell Westbrook, John Wall, and Damian Lillard just to name a few.

Unfortunately, two serious leg injuries in three seasons have robbed Rose a little of his past explosiveness that used to be his calling card. However, Rose returned to the court last season with positive results.

While he no longer is the highlight reel player relying more on his natural gifts that we are all used to seeing, he has turned into more of a steady presence/floor general for the Bulls. His time off recovering from the injuries also allowed Rose to gain a necessary and dependable jump shot that he previously didn’t have.

Teams have to respect the drive and his jumper which leaves room for big men Pau Gasol and Joakim Noah to operate. With all of that said, perhaps the main reason I placed the duo at the number 2 spot is because of the emergence of shooting guard Jimmy Butler.

Jimmy Buckets has gone from a tweener coming out of Marquette University who was first used more of a defensive guard under former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau to becoming one of the NBA’s best two way guards.

In a strange twist, Rose’s injury has forced Butler to become a better offensive player that the Bulls could depend on for some scoring punch. Butler has also shown everyone that he’s not afraid to mix it up with the big boys.

Going into the 2015 NBA season, Butler was perhaps known mostly for playing an absurd amount of minutes for the Bulls and going….head to head with certified madman Nene during the 2014 playoffs.

While Butler’s previous seasons were good, the 2014-2015 NBA season was Butler’s official coming out party. He was named the NBA’s 2015 Most Improved Player while making his first All-Star game appearance. He also was named to the All-NBA Defensive second team in 2015, which was his second consecutive appearance.

Only one other backcourt in the league can boast about having a former league MVP and an All-Star in the starting lineup.

It should also be noted that there have been some weird rumblings and stories coming out between the two. First, Rose became passive during the playoffs because Butler demanded the ball too much and ended with Butler being interviewed and mentioning that he wants to play point a little next year.

Regardless, with another season working together under their belts, the Bulls are hoping that these two stars can take them on another deep playoff run.

-written by John Cannady

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