clyde21 wrote:...
Jared Butler stuff.
HANDLESOverall, Butler possesses an advanced handle package, as he's able to use a variety of dribble moves to get by his defender; often utilizes L-to-R crossovers and vice-versa to get defenders off-balance and attacks top foot. Showcases ability to also use slight hesitation dribbles and subtle fakes to shake loose but lacks elite burst to take full advantage of this. Has a very strong off-hand as he has shown ability to bring ball up court using off-hand only and also has flashed a nice in-and-out dribble as well. Shows good ability to accelerate/decelerate at right times while maintaining good control of ball when attacking basket but can force the issue at times trying to create something that's not there and plows over defenders at times, resulting in turnovers.
PASSINGButler's passing leaves a lot to be desired, though he has shown flashes of creativity and good, but not great, vision when attacking paint where he sometimes finds the open shooter on the perimeter utilizing baseline or simple drive-and-kicks. Has flashed ability to hit a rolling big w/ pocket passes using left or right hand out of P&R action. But, often times, he attempts high risk passes and also tries to force the ball into tight windows resulting in turnovers. Needs to improve touch and accuracy. Misses a lot of easy basket opportunities due to this (I.E. big has sealed off smaller defender in paint, Butler won't attempt the pass).
SHOOTINGFlashed ability to piece together OTD 3s mainly created off of stepbacks but not proficient enough yet but potential is there; needs to improve footwork (tends to have right foot in front of left foot) and overall form (shoots in front of his face; guide hand in weird place). Can knock down C&S 3s at a high percentage and has even knocked down a few from beyond NBA 3-pt range. Form looks solid when feet is properly set. Really good at shooting C&S 3s out of corner. Too often settles for a contested shot.
Virtually non-existent mid-range game (28/91 or 30.8% on Far 2s vs. top 240). Pull-up form looks wonky here. Does not have the requisite touch for floaters at this time.
Solid finisher at the rim where he shot 60.5% on 86 attempts through 26 games vs. top 240. Not an above the rim guy (0 dunks) but shows good form on layups with right hand and while he has flashed some nice off-hand layups, he could stand to improve this area of his game. Sometimes tries to get a little too fancy by adjusting shot mid-air when he should just go straight up. Struggles with maintaining balance when going around defenders in paint and/or taking contact.
DEFENSEOverall, Butler is a very smart team defender. Shows really good understanding of positioning off-ball and reacts to actions very quickly. Feels like he knows what is happening and where everyone is at all times. Good understanding of rotations and when to help off man and when not to for the most part (prone to cheating off a little too much at times, resulting in good looks for opposition, though doesn't happen very often) as well as when to switch and when not to. Closes out/recovers to shooters with hands up and stays down ~95% of the time. Rarely bites on ball fakes. Rarely is caught ball-watching.
When switched on to bigger guys, does a good job holding his own; can sustain multiple bumps to the chest at times and makes great use of his hands to dislodge ball when able; has really quick hands that bothers opposition and/or produces turnovers. Does struggle when switched on to stocky bigs at times but does a good job fronting and/or keeping man away from basket to survive long enough for help to arrive. Bigger, quicker, more skilled wings can also give him problems on drives as they can just finish over him. Gets stuck on bigs' screens when trying to go over/under sometimes, giving open looks to shooters.
Shows really good situational awareness and instincts for when to get aggressive and when to give room. Shows decent feel for upcoming screens when defending P&R, but still struggles navigating screens at times. This often leads to him just switching on to roller where he does a good job of cutting off passing window.
Solid P-O-A defender. Isn't easily dislodged on drives and doesn't give up a ton of space versus both similar-sized and bigger players. Shows really solid lateral quickness and has quick hips and consistently beats his man to spots and is able to stay in front of man from perimeter all the way to the restricted area where he has shown ability to jump straight up to contest shots (doesn't jump into guys). Great reflexes and very active hands. Is really quick to get a hand up to contest shots. Really makes life difficult for opposing ball-handlers.