Butler taking charge of Timberwolves
Twice on Wednesday night when Jimmy Butler went to the foul line in overtime against the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves fans at the Target Center chanted "MVP."
The odds aren't great that he'll take home the Maurice Podoloff Trophy, but through 35 games, there's no doubt he's Minnesota's most valuable player.
Butler finished Wednesday's 128-125 overtime win over Denver with 39 points and five assists on 50 percent shooting. He scored 12 of the Wolves' 14 points in OT, and, after a clutch jumper in the extra frame, Jimmy G. Buckets had a coarse lesson for Nuggets guard Jamal Murray:
Warning: Video contains coarse language
Jimmy Butler hits huge clutch shot in OT, yells “HE CANT F**K WIT ME” at Nuggets 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/e0Voxo4Pup
— Luka Wobčic (@World_Wide_Wob) December 28, 2017
In his last eight games, he's averaged 28.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 4.8 assists on 50 percent shooting from the floor and 95 percent at the free-throw line.
This is, to some degree, by design. Butler was brought to Minnesota by Tom Thibodeau to provide leadership and a sort of on-court echo of the coach's intensity. And as the Wolves' young guns - namely, Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins - continue to struggle with inconsistency, Butler's become the rock after a slow start.
On Wednesday, Towns fouled out in the fourth quarter, while Wiggins hit a season-high five treys after going 4-of-18 from beyond the arc in his last five games. To make matters worse, point guard Jeff Teague left the game with a knee injury. Yet Butler remains the Wolves' equalizer, and it goes beyond scoring. On Wednesday, he grabbed a key rebound in overtime, and he continues to lead the team in steals.
Minnesota holds the NBA's longest postseason drought. With Butler, it's now nine games over .500 for the first time since 2003-04 - the last time the team made the playoffs.