Four days after he called guarding LeBron James "fun," Jimmy Butler campaigned to match up against Russell Westbrook.

"He's a hell of a player and going to be a force for somebody in this locker room," Butler said late Saturday after his latest star turn, leading the Bulls to an overtime victory against the Raptors. "I don't know if it's going to be me; hopefully so. I want to battle him like I battle against everyone else."

Westbrook plays point guard. Butler plays small forward.

"He's just pretty much straight-up our point guard for a lot of our games now," coach Fred Hoiberg said of Butler.

Oh. So there's that.

Great players find a way to thrust themselves into the middle of everything, and there's no denying the force of nature Westbrook is and the run Butler is on.

As buzz around Butler's most valuable player credentials intensifies, Westbrook comes to town packing averages of 31.4 points, 10.6 rebounds and 10.3 assists that don't easily fit into an overhead compartment. They rank first, 11th and second, respectively.

Westbrook posted his 17th triple-double in the Thunder's victory over the Nuggets on Saturday. And Butler wants that defensive challenge.

"You look at the two-way players in this league and you can put Jimmy up with any of them," coach Fred Hoiberg said. "A lot of guys are putting up huge numbers. They do it on one end and someone else guards the other team's best player. Jimmy is doing both for us. To expend that amount of energy on the defensive end and continue to do what he does on offense says a lot about him."

Butler should run away with Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors after averaging 38 points, 9.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.3 steals in victories against the Hornets, Cavaliers and Raptors — three of the East's top four teams at the time of the matchups.

The only thing that could slow Westbrook's roll to another such honor in the Western Conference is the fact the Thunder went 1-3 as the dynamo averaged 36 points, 11.8 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 2.5 steals.

Even Dwyane Wade, who will be charged with checking Victor Oladipo, sounded like a fan of Westbrook's.

"We know Russ isn't getting into fatigue," Wade said. "That guy has an unbelievable motor. (Butler) isn't giving in either. That's going to be a great game, great atmosphere. Russell is a show everyone is coming to see. And Jimmy is turning into that."

Photos of former Bulls guard/forward Jimmy Butler.

Indeed, the run Butler is on is special, one of those transcendent stretches that defines leadership, pushing teammates to follow his lead. It's the stuff of greatness that fellow greats recognize and can truly appreciate.

"So many guys have talent," Wade said. "But there are things that separate guys, the mentality that it takes, even if you're having a bad game — like in Cleveland he wasn't shooting well — and still do that in the clutch. That's big time. That's special, players like that.

"He's the cornerstone of this franchise. He's the reason I'm here, the reason we're winning games."

Butler, who shook off his poor shooting night through three quarters to score 14 of his 20 in the fourth to down the Cavaliers, is doing it in all ways. He's guarding. He's scoring. He's playmaking. He's chasing down loose balls.

Perhaps nowhere is this maniacal activity more evident than in Butler's free throws. With a staggering 95 over his last seven games, Butler has moved into third in the NBA at 9.8 attempts per game. That trails James Harden's 10.3 and — you guessed it — Westbrook's league-leading 10.6 per game.

"I pride myself on how hard I work and how hard I play," Butler said. "I don't think you can outwork me. And I don't want you to play harder than I do."

That sounds like something Westbrook could've said. Let the high-motor matchup begin.

kcjohnson@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @kcjhoop