The story for the 2014-15 Chicago Bulls was already written before the NBA got kicked into gear. Derrick Rose was finally healthy and ready to get back to leading this team. They’d added big-time pieces like Pau Gasol and a couple of valuable rookies. It seemed like it was their year to do something special and have a world of success.

The problem with writing a narrative before it happens, though, is that things almost never play out in a storybook fashion. The start to this season for the Bulls is no exception to that.

Chicago sits at a solid 11-6 to start the 2014-15 season, but they haven’t gotten there in the way they’ve expected. Minor ailments have kept Rose out of action for much of the first month of the season and injuries have affected other guys like Gasol throughout the roster as well. A big reason that they’ve been able to stay successful with things going awry to start the year is the emergence of Jimmy Butler.

Butler really started to rise to prominence at the end of the 2012-13 season when his defensive prowess and ability to provide Chicago with offense on the wing proved to be wildly beneficial for the Bulls. However, things didn’t go as smoothly last season after that rise to prominence as Butler struggled mightily for the gritty Bulls. The defensive performance was still there, but his offensive game seemed to be a flash in the pan as he shot only 28.3 percent from three after shooting 38.1 percent in the previous year.

The 25-year-old wing has turned things around in a big way offensively, though. He’s not back to hitting just under 40 percent of his threes, but he’s showing much more discretion in his shot selection, attacking more often and getting to the foul line at a rate that far exceeds anything he’s ever shown before. The result is that he’s averaging 21.6 points per game on 49.2 percent shooting from the field to go along with 5.9 rebounds, three assists and 1.6 steals per game as well.

While you have to wonder if the young and still relatively unproven Butler can maintain this level of play without other weapons like Rose to consistently help him, but there’s no denying how huge he’s been for them this season. As he’s about to come up for a new deal after the season as he and Chicago couldn’t reach an agreement on an extension, he’s making a case for a big payday in his immediate future.

Cody Williams is a Senior Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20, add him on Google and like his Facebook page.