Despite being a Chicago Blackhawks and Jonathan Toews fan, Jimmy Butler swore he’d never go out on the ice and attempt a shot if given the opportunity. Well, on Thursday night the Bulls guard changed his mind and took part in the ‘Shoot the Puck’ challenge when the Blackhawks hosted the St. Louis Blues.
“Man, I guess that’s what the fans wanted to see,” Butler told Outside Shot after Friday morning’s shootaround at the United Center. “The thing is, the only reason I wanted to do it, I couldn’t go back on my word. Two weeks ago I said that I would do it. Everybody was talking about my knee hurting, but as a man, all you have is your word. So I had to.”
Butler made the last of his first three attempts in the first round of the challenge and missed all three of his tries in round two. But for those concerned about him going out on the ice because of his knee bruise, he insists he went out there safely.
“The ice girls walked me out, so I was fine. And I just got on the ice and did my thing. I was just thinking be like Toews and you'll be alright.”
If you saw the video, you’ll notice that all but one of the shots that Jimmy Butler took careened to the left. He tried to make the necessary adjustments, but considering he’s not a professional hockey player, he did pretty well.
He was more upset that they paired him with a kid by the name of Ben who clearly had been on the ice before and was much more like Jonathan Toews than he was.
“Ben was real,” Butler said. “I hate when they do that. They put somebody out there that can actually play hockey. If you put somebody that’s never shot a basketball before at the free throw line to go up against me, somebody that plays basketball, of course I’m going to look better than them. But Ben was in the back practicing slap shots from 60 feet away and I’m thinking, ‘This is incredible. I’m about to get embarrassed.”
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And what did Derrick Rose think of Jimmy's attempt at hockey?
"It's my first time hearing about it, but Jimmy's a wild guy ... He's a weird dude," Rose said.
When asked if he would ever considering doing the Shoot the Puck challenge, D. Rose said absolutely not.
"Oh no, I would never do it," he said. "I wouldn't embarrass myself like that. I can't even bowl. They told me to stay away from the bowling lanes because they thought I'd slip. So definitely no ice."
