WADE’S A WINNER IN BULLS DEBUT
Butler scores 24, Wade adds 22 vs. Celtics at UC
Jimmy Butler wasn’t looking to take a shot at the Bulls’ makeup last season. He just couldn’t help himself. But as broken and dysfunctional as the Bulls were by the end of the season, Butler was just being honest.
“I just think it’s people’s will to win,’’ Butler said after the Bulls’ 105- 99 victory Thursday over the Celtics in their regular- season opener. “I’m not saying a bad thing about anybody from last year. I just think, to tell you the truth, I study the game a lot, and I put in a lot of work, but [ Rajon] Rondo studies the game a lot. Every time I’m in the gym, he’s in the gym, working on his game.
“That lets me know that this [ expletive] is coming to war with you every day.’’
That was evident just before halftime after Jae Crowder lowered a shoulder into Butler off the dribble. They fell to the court, and bodies got tangled. There was some shoving, and a ball was thrust in the chest. It was Marquetteon- Marquette crime; Butler and Crowder were teammates and friends in college. Then Rondo stepped in. When Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas joined the fray, Rondo wasn’t going to have any of that, and they exchanged shoves and pleasantries.
Once calmer heads prevailed, Crowder, Butler, Rondo and Thomas picked up technicals.
It was a scene that would’ve seemed out of place last season.
“When I hit that deck, Rondo was right there,’’ Butler said. “I want to play with guys that are going to play hard, that are going to fight. Dwyane Wade, Rondo, everyone around this locker room wants to win. It’s real.’’
Taj Gibson doesn’t think this new attitude will be fleeting, either.
“We’re hungry right now,’’ Gibson said. “We have a lot of guys that have tasted success, and we have a lot of young guys that want to taste that success, point- blank, period. We’re playing with a lot of guys that are unselfish, and everybody is doing what they’ve got to do.’’
Gibson scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Butler and Rondo did their parts, too.
Butler led the Bulls with 24 points, and Rondo handed out nine assists, and then there was Wade. At 34, he finally was making his highly anticipated regular- season debut in Chicago, his hometown.
Wade, who had 22 points, made a clutch three- pointer as he continues to reinvent himself, shooting 4- for- 6 from three- point range.
That three- point shot is something he has been working on almost every day with coach Fred Hoiberg at the end of practice, showing that he’s still willing to be coached after all these years.
“You never want to feel like you have all the answers,’’ Wade said. “You might as well go sit down somewhere if you feel like that. You always want to get out there and get work in. If I was a guy who came in and had a T- shirt, always talking about my accomplishments, guys would get tired of that. No one cares about that.
“I’m in the present, and it’s about doing as much as I can now.’’