Post by Aubrey Graham on May 31, 2013 3:56:30 GMT
Current Rating: 69
Suggested Rating: 75
Excellent defender with length needed to shut down both wing positions. Already an efficient scorer, his shooting numbers point to even more improvement from 3.
On offense, the side of the ball on which Butler needs the most work, he’s already developed into an efficient scorer. Butler’s True Shooting percentage for the season was 57.4, well above the league average. That’s bolstered by a solid 38 percent showing from 3 and an 80.3 free throw percentage. How Butler gets to that 38 percent is a little different than most. Butler shot a stellar 43.6 percent on 3s above the break while shooting just 36.5 percent from the corners. His 105 attempts from 3 are more than he took in his entire college career and first season combined, so while he’ll need to show this year is for real, signs point to Butler being a very nice scorer down the line.
Defensively, the numbers back up most of what’s obvious on the screen. The Bulls’ points allowed per 100 possessions is almost identical with Butler on and off the court, but as part of the Bulls’ second unit, Butler usually gets his minutes alongside the porous defense of Nate Robinson.
Of every Bulls 3-man lineup to play at least 50 minutes this season, Butler is part of six of the top 10 in points allowed per 100 possessions (four involved both Butler and the notably excellent Taj Gibson; their two-man unit figure [98.7] doesn’t speak to how good the two are together, mostly because almost 70 percent of those minutes also came with Robinson on the floor). In the 384 minutes when Butler, Taj Gibson, and Joakim Noah were on the floor together, the Bulls gave up just 90.4 points per 100 possessions. Butler’s also an excellent offensive rebounder for a wing player, a trait he shares with many of his fellow Bulls.
Defensively, the numbers back up most of what’s obvious on the screen. The Bulls’ points allowed per 100 possessions is almost identical with Butler on and off the court, but as part of the Bulls’ second unit, Butler usually gets his minutes alongside the porous defense of Nate Robinson.
Of every Bulls 3-man lineup to play at least 50 minutes this season, Butler is part of six of the top 10 in points allowed per 100 possessions (four involved both Butler and the notably excellent Taj Gibson; their two-man unit figure [98.7] doesn’t speak to how good the two are together, mostly because almost 70 percent of those minutes also came with Robinson on the floor). In the 384 minutes when Butler, Taj Gibson, and Joakim Noah were on the floor together, the Bulls gave up just 90.4 points per 100 possessions. Butler’s also an excellent offensive rebounder for a wing player, a trait he shares with many of his fellow Bulls.
www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/61003/whos-that-guy-jimmy-butler
Another good read on Butler
www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/49857/in-praise-of-jimmy-butler-the-bulls-surprising-swiss-army-knife