Butler Tonight

[AFBlue]

Looked like Jackie was aggressive once he got the ball in the post and he showed some nice touch. One thing I am really impressed with is his free throw shooting/form....looks like they'll drop in every time. I hope this kid gets more burn too....will Big Shot sit out until the playoffs?

[picnroll]

He's definitely re-worked his body and moves a little better.

[ducks]

butler will be here next year

[ShoogarBear]

That jump hook looked nice. Man it seems like ages since the Spurs had two players who could score in the blocks.

[The Truth #6]

I like seeing Bonner, Butler, and White all on the floor at the same time at the end. It seemed like what we just might see a little bit of next year, hopefully. It would suck for them not to improve and stick around because they've already wasted one mandatory year learning the intricate system.

[fonzy16]

go jackie!

[Bruno]

Do you know why Butler was active and not Ely ?
Ely twisted his ankle a week ago but he wasn't listed as injured by Ludden in Portland's game preview.
Is Ely still injured or is now Butler ahead of him in the rotation?

[AFBlue]

Do you know why Butler was active and not Ely ?
Ely twisted his ankle a week ago but he wasn't listed as injured by Ludden in Portland's game preview.
Is Ely still injured or is now Butler ahead of him in the rotation?

I've got no inside info, but my guess would be that Ely initially took his spot in the rotation to see if he could give the Spurs something for the playoff run. Now that question has been answered (no), and Jackie has played better in his limited minutes, why waste garbage time on a guy that probably won't be in SA next year versus a guy that's under contract to be here....that'd be my logic, but again it's just a guess.

[Bruno]

^ It makes some sense.

Two months ago, Butler was deep in the doghouse : Spurs wanted to trade him and Ludden said that Spurs weren't happy about his work ethic. Buttler's future as a Spurs was non existent.
If they have given him Ely PT, maybe it's means that they aren't as low on him than before and they will give him a chance this summer instead of trying to trade him for garbage.

[Supergirl]

Actually, I would guess that Ely for the same reason as Horry - he's been injured recently, and they would rather have them healthy come playoff time. Butler and White are long term projects, and we should see more of them next year, but I doubt they'll make the playoff roster this year unless someone goes down for the playoffs. But in an easy win like this one, it makes sense to rest players who are already beat up and let your long term projects get some playing time.

[AFBlue]

Actually, I would guess that Ely for the same reason as Horry - he's been injured recently, and they would rather have them healthy come playoff time. Butler and White are long term projects, and we should see more of them next year, but I doubt they'll make the playoff roster this year unless someone goes down for the playoffs. But in an easy win like this one, it makes sense to rest players who are already beat up and let your long term projects get some playing time.\

FYI, the playoff roster system is no longer "12 active + 1 reserve"....you're allowed to carry the full 15 and change from game to game. I'll see if I can find the link....

[T Park]

Spurs wanted to trade him and Ludden said that Spurs weren't happy about his work ethic.

Ludden has something against Butler so Bruno I would tread lightly on using luden as a source for Butler stuff.

[timvp]

Butler looked pretty good offensively. He looks to be in pretty good shape and his touch around the basket is still alive and well. The Spurs would be smart to still include him in their long range plans. Outside of Duncan, he's the Spurs best big in terms of natural scoring ability.

It'd be a mistake to give up on him.

[Darkwaters]

Butler looked pretty good offensively. He looks to be in pretty good shape and his touch around the basket is still alive and well. The Spurs would be smart to still include him in their long range plans. Outside of Duncan, he's the Spurs best big in terms of natural scoring ability.

It'd be a mistake to give up on him.

I didn't see the game. Butler only recorded about 3 minutes of PT last night though. Was he really performing well or was it just the Blazers playing sloppy at the conclusion of a blowout loss?

I'm very intrigued by Butler and hope he stays in the Spurs' plans. But honestly, I haven't had much opportunity to watch him.

[mardigan]

Im glad to hear what Im hearing. You guys say he played well, that is great. I couldnt watch the game last night (again), and Im glad that Jackie played well. I also saw in the box score that WHite played 20 or so minutes, how did he look?

[AFBlue]

The first of Jackie's two field goals came on a baseline jump hook that had nice arc and swished through.

Then he bodied up LaFrentz in the post, got him in deep and tossed a baby hook over the top of him.

He also drew a foul while backing down LaFrentz and tried to bank in a turnaround jumper...but it didn't go. What did go, and quite nicely might I add, were his two free throws.

That's my recollection of his buckets, but it might be a bit hazy...it was after my bedtime :lol

[AFBlue]

Im glad to hear what Im hearing. You guys say he played well, that is great. I couldnt watch the game last night (again), and Im glad that Jackie played well. I also saw in the box score that WHite played 20 or so minutes, how did he look?

Apparently he went 2/4 from the field and made a 3pt shot...but I don't remember seeing it. I did see him miss a corner 3 and then hit a 3 from the opposite corner that was called off because of a foul (to vaughn). Did anyone see the shots he made?

[FuzzyLumpkins]

I could give a shit about his offensive game. From what I ve seen so far hes not good at getting position for rebounds and hes slow on rotations.

We need boards more than anything else from him.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Anyone giving up on Butler at this stage is a fool.

He is taking the typical, "year to learn the system, then contribute" route that just about every young player for Pop goes through (particularly bigs). A notable exception is Beno, who was great in his rookie year and has deteriorated ever since! :lol :oops

[naico]

Any pics of Butler from that game? Just to see what he looks like now, hearing he's in much better shape