Any weak team can have hope of being rejuvenated after having Butler. It's the law of the league after leaving the Bulls, and everyone is willing to believe that this rough-looking man can bring something different to the team. He made the playoffs with the Timberwolves, competed with 76 people, and reached the Finals with the Heat. With these achievements in front of you, it's hard not to believe that this is a man who can do miracles. And Butler gives people the biggest feeling, in addition to miracle and hope, there is another key word: toughness!
Butler was really hard, hard enough for most people, even his teammates to say so. Zheng Zheng is proud not only because of his fighting spirit on the court, but also Butler's actual performance in every round. Everyone said Butler was worthy of every game he played because he could always give it all. A tough man will not change his fighting spirit because of who his opponent is. Even if everyone thinks they have no hope, Butler will not give up. This is Butler's label!
Of course, as a player who can lead the team to the finals, Butler would certainly not be able to go to where he is today if he only has the characteristic of hardness. Maybe we can break him up and see what magic there is in this man.
First of all, the first point is that Butler is an outside player who mainly holds the ball, so we need to analyze Butler's outside ability to hold the ball. Butler's physical condition is not excellent, otherwise he would not have been selected by the team in such a low pick. His height is only 2 meters 01, and his arm span is only a pitiful 2 meters 02, according to this ratio, it is basically impossible to reproduce the miracles of muscle monsters and talented men. So he needs to go the thick and thin path.
Butler's jump shot is of the upper middle level. Under the premise of ensuring production, his mid-range jump shot shooting rate can reach 44%. Although this data is not as good as those shooters who have a shooting percentage, it is still good for a team boss, a mid-range killer. Kobe Bryant back then, Leonard now, DeRozan, most of them are at this level. Not very good, but in the regular season, in the less important playoffs, this level is enough.
Speaking of which, there may be unfamiliar friends who will feel that Butler's performance in the middle distance will most likely be reproduced outside the three-point line. Because there is no physical advantage, there is certainly no way to do that well on the inside line. And if he doesn't grasp the outside line, his scoring efficiency can't be maintained. If you're thinking about Butler, you're dead wrong. Butler isn't good at three-pointers, and you can understand that he's a replica of DeRozan. The three-point ability is definitely below the league level, which is not to be said. So what does he rely on to maintain his scoring efficiency? By making fouls!
Unlike Harden's trick of starting fouls outside the three-point line in the previous two years, Butler's main foul area is actually the inside. This is one of the reasons why people will tout him as tough. (Isn't that bullshit?) Outside players who have no physical advantage, go to the inside line to fight against big men, and can also cause so many foul penalties, Butler is not hard who is hard? According to the data released by the league, Butler could average 6.3 free throws per game at his peak, and if this data is converted to 36 minutes, his average number of free throws per game will reach a terrifying 7.1. Among the players in the same position, Butler is almost a top three presence. Of course, DeRozan is more important in the average team than Butler, so his use rate and share of the ball are higher than Butler's. By that measure, Butler is even more effective at inflicting fouls than DeRozan. That's almost the first-line level.
Some people may say that to evaluate a player's ability to hold the ball, is it only to look at the number of free throws? Of course not! This also needs to be combined with other metrics, such as the number of pass assists, the ability to control one's own mistakes, and the actual efficiency of individual singles.
Over the past few seasons, Butler's stats have been above the league average. Assists in particular, Butler's percentage of pass assists after tearing up the defense is very high. When given a chance to qualify, Butler had 69.23 percent of his shots going to his teammates on the outside. This means that Butler is actually a team machine, and he can bring deeper help to players through the transmission of the team. If you have the time, you can look at the Playing Style of the Timberwolves, who has been taking advantage of this strategy to keep carrying the Timberwolves. The arrow task that no one had done before, Butler carried it alone, so he had a rare opportunity to enter the playoffs.
Of course, as a qualified number two or three player, Butler also needs to master the ability to pass the ball. This part of the ability will occupy a considerable part of his comprehensive ability score table. So what is Butler's level of no-ball? To be honest, it's really a bit hard to talk about. Whether it's production, the number of shots, the effect of running positions, or the final hit rate, Butler can't meet the requirements. These statistics are even the bottom of the same position, and if combined with Butler's playing time and actual number of touches, he can be said to be the worst one. At first glance, Butler's star composition seems to be a little insufficient. In fact, this is only superficial data. Combined with all the no-ball rounds, Butler's efficiency is 1.1 points, in the second position is the top five (peak season), and can also be ranked in the top ten among all players.
This makes it difficult to understand why the efficiency of the no-ball performance with poor basic data can be so high. There are two magic weapons, one is that Butler's ability to open a position is not bad, as long as the opponent dares to let go, Butler can punish the opponent fiercely. The other is Butler's ability to create fouls, and yes, even without the ball, butler can be converted into fouls at the end of the day. Although his shooting rate can't go up, but such a conversion, he turns the shot of the ball into something he is good at. I have to say that Butler is really playing with his brain.
Owning Butler is equivalent to owning a ticket to the playoffs. As long as the team's base is not too bad and the players are still a little talented, Butler can do miracles. And if the opponent gives him a chance, he can even take the team to the finals again. As a tough guy, Butler's abilities definitely deserve his fame.