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NBA Power Rankings: All 30 Starting Shooting Guards

By Shane Young

January 17, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Miami Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade (3) guards Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant (24) in the second half of the game at the Staples Center. Heat won 99-90. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
January 17, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Miami Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade (3) guards Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant (24) in the second half of the game at the Staples Center. Heat won 99-90. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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NBA Power Rankings
Mar 19, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler (21) is defended by Philadelphia 76ers guard Tony Wroten (8) during the first quarter at the Wells Fargo Center. The Bulls defeated the Sixers 102-94. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

14.  Jimmy Butler — Chicago Bulls

The Iron Man Award should always be given to this over-worked guard, since Butler led all shooting guards in minutes per game (38.7) last season.  Thibodeau once played Butler 60 minutes in a triple overtime war with Orlando, which ended up being a franchise record in player minutes.

Why is he worth that much to a team to put his exhaustion to the test?  His defensive tank is never out of fuel.  Even when the light blinks to warn him to hit the gas station, he still has 100 miles left in him.  Outside of Tony Allen, I’m yet to see a two-guard care so deeply about locking him his opponent night in and night out the way Butler does.

He holds himself responsible for stopping even the league’s strongest talents.  Stripping bigger guards and small forwards (LeBron) at the rim isn’t an easy job, but Butler has such a likable resume when it comes to that — just after three seasons out of Marquette.  Defensive Real Plus-Minus kept Butler 6th out of the 85 eligible shooting guards, and that would’ve been insurmountably higher had the Bulls figured out how to score without hitting so many droughts.

You can’t always get what you want, can you?

Everyone wants a guard with Butler’s defensive enthusiasm, but also a guy that can shoot over 45 percent from the field and force teams to throw double teams his way.

Not going to happen in Butler’s case, as the higher volume in shooting caused his percentages to take massive dips.  He saw a 7 percent decrease in field goal percentage from 2012-13, and a scary 9.8 percent drop in his outside shooting.

It’s just an illustration of how much more playing time and energy utilization can affect one’s shooting, since he had to work extra hard to get good looks without a focal point guard.  With Rose back on hand, the culpability drops a bit for Butler.  The expectations remain the same, however, since there’s still a ton of Eastern Conference teams that upgraded their offensive firepower.

It will be no time to lay back on defending the perimeter.  Noah, Gasol, and Gibson will control the rest.  Or, did I forget Gasol is aging and doesn’t frighten anyone on defense anymore?