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NBA: Top 5 Backcourts So Far in 2014

By Daniel Tran

November 1, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) high-fives guard Klay Thompson (11) during the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Lakers 127-104. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
November 1, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) high-fives guard Klay Thompson (11) during the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Lakers 127-104. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 14, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (right) talks with Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (left) during the second half against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Chicago Bulls – Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler

Raise your hand if you thought that Jimmy Butler would be the better half of this duo at the beginning of the season. There should be as many hands up as the amount of good Joel Schumacher Batman movies: zero. However, with his emergence as a premier two-way player and Rose’s return to semi-normalcy, this backcourt gets the job done both offensively and defensively.

Rose had reasonable question marks this year about his fragility due to the multiple season ending injuries he had endured. After playing in the FIBA World Cup, he silenced some of the critics, but there was still concern as to if he would be back to his MVP form.

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    • Though Rose has been in and out of the lineup due to injuries, his production has been solid to this point. He is averaging 16.8 points and a team-leading 5.1 assists per game. He has most of his explosiveness back, knifing through the defense and converting 60 percent of his shots from three feet, which is comparable to his 61.1 percent conversation rate from the same distance in his MVP year.

    With Rose unable to consistently contribute those numbers, the Bulls had to look elsewhere for production from the perimeter. Jimmy Butler answered the call.

    Butler has been steadily improving since he entered the league in 2011 and he is primed to star for Chicago in 2014. So far this year, Butler is averaging 20.9 points while converting 48.4 percent of his shots from the field. Though he using an estimated 4.9 percent more of Chicago’s possessions than the previous year, he still turns the ball over only 1.6 times per game.

    Though he has made offensive gains, Butler still brings his trademark defensive intensity when he is on the court. He leads the Bulls in steals at 1.5 strips per game and is second on the team in terms of defensive win-shares with 1.0 win contributed through defense.

    When Rose and Butler are both on court, they are an absolute nightmare to deal with on defense. In five different lineups with Rose and Butler on the floor, the Bulls gave up an average of 0.99 points per possession.  According to a trusty Google search, the average NBA team uses 95.6 possessions per game and scores 103.4 per 100 possessions. With Rose and Butler both on the court, the Bulls only give up 99.0 points per 100 possessions.

    Behind the defensive tenacity and offensive rhythm of their backcourt, Chicago is everyone’s favorite team to contend with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Eastern Conference crown at the end of the year.

    Next: The Twosome North of Tucson

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