vnmslsrbms (65 posts)  1/26/2013 11:35 AM

He's playing very solid ball with Deng injured.  Assuming Deng's hamstring isn't worse than they are letting on, he should return shortly.  What are the chances or minutes projections for Butler at SG?  Bellinelli isn't very good, and Hamilton is probably only good for a bench scorer/spark role.  Think he can start getting 25 mpg?

mbuser (4341 posts)  1/26/2013 3:04 PM

Yes, as a matter of fact of I do. I don't see how/would Thibodeau would turn away from him now. Moved around CHI minutes to reflect the likely new rotation moving forward.

odin426 (393 posts)  1/29/2013 1:20 AM

Think his projection is a bit low on the points and boards part if hes going to be a bigger part of the rotation moving forward? Or would he need 30+ minutes to be a useful fantasy asset?

vnmslsrbms (65 posts)  1/29/2013 3:57 AM

It's low indeed, but probably safer to wait till the rotations settle down now that Deng is back.  Meanwhile you can do your custom projections to your heart's content (after all what you put out is only visible to you and not all the users, so you don't have to answer to some over-optimistic views).  Even for my own custom projection though, I still have it low so I don't get too excited about my team.  Usually waiver wire guys are only good for a couple of weeks (there are exceptions such as Sanders), unless they are good players that were drafted and some other owner dumped.  

Saikyo (15 posts)  1/29/2013 4:09 AM

This guy is getting massive playing time due to his defense, and his offensive %s are fantastic to say the least. He definitely screams big 2nd half to me.

odin426 (393 posts)  1/29/2013 5:40 AM

Just curious, what do you have him doing in your custom projection?

mbuser (4341 posts)  1/29/2013 12:59 PM

Considering he's the hot topic at the moment, I'm going to start with the play of Butler. Not only was his career-high 19 points scored in a variety of ways impressive, but perhaps even more noteworthy was the fact that he played 31 minutes despite Luol Deng returning from injury. We all wondered what type of role Butler would see with Deng back in the lineup, and while Lu being smartly limited to 31 minutes himself contributed to Jimmy's increased time, we also saw plenty of the second-year man at the 2. I believe it was about 14-15 minutes in all, and he was pretty effective in that role, especially in the fourth quarter.

What was really interesting was that Butler was the first guard off the bench in the second half, checking in for a woefully ineffective Richard Hamilton with 5:35 left in the third quarter and playing nearly the rest of the game. Usually Marco Belinelli is the guy to come off the bench to replace Hamilton, and while that happened in the first half, it was Butler in the second.

The question now of course is whether this change in the rotation is permanent or at least happens on a consistent basis. Tom Thibodeau was quick to say in his postgame presser that Butler was the better option because of the Bobcats' bevy of quick guards. While that's true, it certainly seems natural to make this a more common occurrence.

http://www.blogabull.com/2013/1/29/3927440/bulls-vs-bobcats-jimmy-butler-defense-carlos-boozer

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His projection is completely tied to minutes. He's not a per-minute juggernaut for fantasy, although he is improving, so the playing time will really be the kicker here. He's a lot like Avery Bradley in that respect.

vnmslsrbms (65 posts)  1/29/2013 10:10 PM

I wrote this long post then realized that with latest BBM numbers, the main difference is just minutes.  I have him at 34 which is higher than I expect, but it's just to up his scoring I expect to be at conservatively 11ppg (just can't see him averaging 8ppg).  Steals do end up a little high when I do that though.  I'm not sure what he really provides other than some low end points and solid rebounding for a guard.  3's and steals are below par.  FG% seems to be quite solid, as well as his FT% and low TOs.

odin426 (393 posts)  1/30/2013 9:17 PM

Looking quite solid last 2 games

mbuser (4341 posts)  1/31/2013 11:15 AM

Bumped him to 27 mpg (-2 mpg for Rip Hamilton).

dsdza (13 posts)  2/9/2013 1:59 PM

Interesting.  Jimmy Butler played a little over 13 minutes last night, missed one shot, and failed to add any fantasy value whatsoever. Expectations going forward?

mbuser (4341 posts)  2/9/2013 2:54 PM

Mixed? Uncertain? Ask 100 people how many minutes they thought Butler would play prior to the game and 100 would have guessed more than 13. Don't want to overreact to one game, but knocked him down -2 mpg based on yesterday.

tonika_zr (993 posts)  2/9/2013 3:06 PM

For me he is theirs starting SF of the future but right now and also when Kirk & Rose come back in a few days dont see more than 15,20 min per game from him. Same thing with Tay and starting PF spot when Boozer is gone (next season or whenever).

mbuser (4341 posts)  2/9/2013 3:34 PM

The talk really was that he was their SG of the present, given the level of competition (Rip and Belinelli). Maybe it was a bit premature.

Good read on Butler here: http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/49857/in-praise-of-jimmy-butler-the-bulls-surprising-swiss-army-knife