Utah Jazz at Chicago Bulls: Keys to the Game

Key Match-up – Gordon Hayward and Jimmy Butler

With Dwyane Wade now out of the picture for the remainder of the 2016-17 season, Bulls star Jimmy Butler will be forced to shoulder even greater of a load than was already being asked of him. He’s certainly been a force for Chicago so far this season at 23.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists and if the Bulls hope to keep their playoff hopes alive, they’ll desperately need him to continue to come through.

He certainly did everything he could in the team’s first game without Wade as he put up an impressive 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field and 2-of-3 from deep in Friday’s loss to the Wizards. Although the Bulls are struggling significantly and will sure miss having Dwyane on the court, Butler is one of those guys who’s capable of going off for a big night at any moment, so the Jazz will need to be focused and keep him in check.

And though Butler will likely spend more time at the two-spot with Wade sidelined, there’s still no doubting that he and Jazzman Gordon Hayward will end up matched up against one another on several occasions. As the Jazz’s best player, there’s no questioning that Butler will mark the All-Star forward and it’s likely that Hayward will draw that assignment defensively as well.

Hayward struggled mightily the last time he faced off against Chicago as he finished the game with just eight points on 3-of-15 shooting.

He wasn’t much better in Thursday’s loss to the Cavaliers, either, as he went just 4-of-14 from the field in the loss. However, Gordon has done a great job of bouncing back this season after his poor showings, so hopefully he can do that once again tonight to redeem himself both from the prior meeting with Chicago as well as the team’s most recent bout.

Utah will certainly need him to, because especially with Rodney Hood listed as questionable for the game and Derrick Favors listed as out, it will be crucial that guys like Hayward step up to lift the Jazz’s offense over the Bulls. If Hayward can get it going while doing at least an admirable job of slowing Jimmy Butler, then he will put his team in a great spot to win the game.