Warriors guard Steph Curry is off to one of the best starts in NBA history, but Jimmy Butler isn’t backing down.
The Bulls’ star said he’ll ask coach Fred Hoiberg to assign him to Curry when Chicago takes on Golden State Friday night in Oakland.
“I look forward to guarding everybody in this league, especially a prime-time scorer like him,” Butler said, via ESPN. ”So I’ll ask Coach for that matchup. No disrespect to him, but I like that.”
Lately, regardless of who’s been guarding him, Curry has been unstoppable.
He poured in another 40 points last night in a win over the Clippers and leads the NBA with more than 34 points per game. James Harden, the next leading scorer, averages 28.8.
To put that in perspective, Michael Jordan averaged more than 34 points per game just twice during his NBA career. He averaged a career-high 37 in 1986-87.
Butler was frequently praised by former coach Tom Thibodeau as one of the best defenders in the league, but his new coach wouldn’t commit to putting Butler on Curry for the entire game.
“(Butler’s) going to spend some time on him, there’s no doubt about that,” Hoiberg said, via ESPN. “But other guys are going to have to step up to that challenge as well. Jimmy played almost 43 minutes (Wednesday) night.”
Tipoff is at 9:30 p.m.
