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Today we will preview the Los Angeles Clippers starting small forward, Caron Butler. This will be Butler’s second season with the Clippers and 11th season of his NBA career.
Butler started 63 games last year for the Clippers, resulting in 12.0 points, 1.2 assists, and 3.7 rebounds per game, while averaging 29.7 minutes last season. The Clippers signed Butler last off-season to a three-year contract after he missed the majority of the 2010-2011 season with a ruptured patella tendon, playing for the eventual 2010-2011 NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks.
This 32-year-old veteran gives the Clippers many options as a tough 6’7” forward out on the wing. He is a solid perimeter shooter that can get his shot off easily, which leads to many open looks in transition. Last season, most of Butler’s shots came in transition early in the game and got him off to a rapid start. There were more than a few times last season when the Clippers only offense in the first quarter was Butler.
Even though he can shoot the ball well from behind the arc (.35% last season), he tends to pass up most of those opportunities, settling for the 18-foot jumper. He is mediocre off the dribble when trying to attack the basket, but this leads to free-throw opportunities, where he shot 81 % from the line last season. Butler on the defensive end of the floor isn’t as quick as most of the players at his position, however, he can close out on most perimeter shooters, making their shot more difficult.
This season Butler will most likely see a decline in his minutes, with the additions of Lamar Odom and Grant Hill in the off-season. The decline in his minutes won’t be by much and he will still have the same role as last season. Butler is out there to make his open looks and play solid defense like anyone else, but he brings a certain kind of toughness with him that is hard for anyone to match. In the 2011-2012 playoffs Butler fractured his hand in Game one of the first round, against the Memphis Grizzlies. It was just a few days later when he started in Game three, despite the original diagnosis saying he would be sidelined from four to six weeks. It’s that kind of toughness that Butler brings to the Clippers team.
2012-2013 Projection: 12.5 PPG, 1.1 APG, 3.8 RPG.
The numbers for Butler should basically be around the same as last season, especially with the depth on the Clippers bench this season. The Clippers will definitely need Butler to stay healthy if they want to be successful during the 2012-2013 season.
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