Washington Wizards: Rasual Butler A Surprising Spark Off Bench

Through 16 games the Washington Wizards are 11-5, owners of the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.  An unlikely contributor to Washington’s hot start is journeyman small forward Rasual Butler.

After averaging just 2.7 points in 7.6 minutes per game with the Indiana Pacers last season, Butler signed a one-year non-guaranteed contract with the Wizards in September.

At first it was unclear whether or not he would even make the team.  In fact, Butler was a bit of a long shot to last in the NBA the season before.  He was out of the league altogether in 2012-13 and was on a similar single-year non-guaranteed contract with the Pacers in 2013-14.

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Butler appeared in only 50 games for Indiana last year, mostly in garbage-time situations.

Through the early part of this season, the 35-year-old Butler has transformed himself from NBA-outcast into the No. 1 option off the Wizards’ bench.  He’s playing 18.5 minutes per game and averaging 9.7 points, the highest scoring output among all Washington reserves.

However, Butler has been significantly better than that lately.  In the Wizards’ last five contests he’s averaging 13 points in 24 minutes a night.

Butler was the club’s leading scorer in two of Washington’s past three games, putting up a season-high 23 points on each occasion:

The 2009-10 season was also the last time Butler had a scoring average in double figures.

The most impressive part of Butler’s play with the Wizards may be his spectacular shooting percentages to this point.  For his career Butler owns a .402 field goal percentage, with his personal best coming in 2003-04 when he shot .476.  Through 12 games in 2014-15 Butler is shooting a staggering .573, along with a ridiculous .556 (20-for-36) from three-point land.  He’s also made 10 of 11 free throw attempts this year, good for 90.9 percent.

After Butler’s 23-point, three-rebound, three-assist performance in Monday’s 107-86 blowout victory over the Miami Heat, CSN’s J. Michael shared what teammate Marcin Gortat and head coach Randy Wittman had to say about the 11-year veteran:

"‘It’s clear the guy wants to play. He’s fighting to survive in this league,’ center Marcin Gortat said of Butler, who is playing on a one-year non-guaranteed deal at the $1.4 million veteran minimum. ‘It’s not like he’s got a five-year deal and is fully guaranteed right now. He’s a true pro.’ … ‘He was in the lineup. He’s out of the lineup. Back in the rotation, out of the rotation. He just stays ready,’ coach Randy Wittman [said], who was instrumental in getting Butler into training camp to compete with six others for one open roster spot."

Back on opening night the Wizards fell 107-95 in Miami.  During the game the Heat’s James Ennis threw down a highlight reel dunk over Butler.  Before Monday’s rematch Butler joked that he would get his revenge.  As it turned out, he wasn’t kidding:

Washington has until Jan. 10 before Butler’s contract becomes fully guaranteed.  But with the way he’s playing right now, that looks to be a non-issue.

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