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Matchup of the Night – J.J. Redick vs Jimmy Butler

By Sam Frishman

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Editor’s Note: Welcome to  our brand new series Matchup of the Night! In this series, we’ll be examining the best matchup throughout Clippers matchups.

Matchup: Jimmy Butler vs. J.J. Redick

Two years ago, I fell in love with Jimmy Butler. At the time, he was a bench-dweller just out of Marquette and he hadn’t made much of a stamp on the court. I predicted his rise and attained my subsequent (basketball-related, I promise) love for him primarily for one reason: his defense. His matchup Saturday, J.J Redick, is loved by many for the exact opposite reason; offense. Redick isn’t the fastest, strongest, or the smartest, but I’ll be damned if he doesn’t get you quality minutes and quality defense with the average physical tools he’s given.

Out of college, it was clear J.J. was a pure shooter andon the flip side, it was clear Jimmy was a defense ball-hawk out of college. Now, Butler has indeed emerged as a top shooting guards in the NBA today and one of the top defenders guarding the likes of Lebron James. He cleary is able to get to some of the best offensive minds the game has to offer.

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    • I for one am excited to watch Butler’s career play out if he’s already doing things like that. Rightfully so, after this season he’ll be looking for big money. The Bulls would be remiss not to offer him a caviar-laced pen for the signing of his ridiculous contract.

    J.J. has substantially grown since his time in college and with the Magic, and while not necessarily deserving of a $20+ million contract, his role and talent has  expanded and he’s turned into an extremely viable starter for the Clippers.

    But here’s the the thing about JJ: He’s an absolute wild card every time he’s on the floor. Despite not being better than Jimmy, he has the distinct ability to absolutely go off during any given game and have a huge night where he seems like a robot making shot after shot. It only takes one night for the win, and it only takes one night to get the better of the matchup.

    Looking at this season, Butler and Redick have both appeared to be two relatively steady cogs in their respective teams’ storms of injuries and inconsistency:

    [table id=28 /]

    The stats are fairly close. Butler is winning in the points column — though he’s playing ten minutes more than Redick per game. What’s not excusable, however, is 3PT%. Both are fantastic averages but Butler is the clear winner there; Reddick is 11-39 while Butler is 8-21. The volume difference is there but so is the efficiency difference, and for that reason Butler comes out in the green here.

    Stats aside, this is most definitely one of the most interesting matchups for Saturday’s NBA slate.

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