Tuff Juice's newest flavor: Jalapeño

by Jake Whitacre on Nov 28, 2007 1:41 AM EST

Just in case you haven't noticed, Caron Butler is hot. Like reeeeeeeeeal hot. Hot enough to get NBA Glue's player of the night award, and hot enough to possibly get another All-Star appearance:

Butler is averaging career highs in points (23.3) and field goal percentage (52.8) while helping the Washington Wizards overcome the absence of three-time all-star Gilbert Arenas. Along with Antawn Jamison, who is also putting up all-star numbers (22.6 points and 9.7 rebounds), the Wizards are a solid 7-7 going into Wednesday's game against the San Antonio Spurs.

In the last four games, Butler is averaging 31.8 points, and he's suddenly added a weapon to his game: a three-point shot. After making 18 long-range shots all of last season, Butler is already 14 of 30 from three-point land this season.

Want some more stats? Here's a few:

Butler has a true shooting percentage of 61.4, better than Kevin Garnett, Carlos Boozer, and Amare Stoudamire.
The only forward with a better free throw percentage is Joe Smith, and that's with 54 less attempts.
Caron has the highest points per game average in the league of anyone not in the top 25 of usage rate. Scarier yet, he's not even in the top 50, sitting pretty at #52.
If graphics are more your thing, check out his hot zone chart:

While I'm not ready to say that Butler is the best player on the team, I think it's clear that he's one of the top forwards in the NBA. I don't know if his play will be enough to get him into the All-Star game, but let's hope it is so he can get there and posterize someone bad enough to evoke a reaction like this...or at least get more features written about him.

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Caron

If dude doesn't make it in to the All-Star Game, but Rashard does, it'll be a complete injustice. And this is coming from a guy who writes about the Magic.

Third Quarter Collapse: An SB Nation Blog for Orlando Magic Fans

by Evan Dunlap on Nov 28, 2007 11:22 AM EST reply actions

caron is a beast

as much as i really don't want to say anything remotely bad about caron or the way he's been playing, because i think he's awesome and he should get consideration as the wizards best player, you have to wonder if he can shoot the ball at those percentages over an entire season, or throughout a month's worth of playoff games. if he can, then he should get consideration as the best shooter in the league (which when i saw him single handedly carry uconn against maryland in the ncaas, i thought he might become exactly that), but will he get respect as one of the best all-around players? was reggie miller truly respected in that way? i'd like to see caron be feared as an all-around player, not just a shooter or a guy who nails 20 footers. (then again, a reggie miller like career is nothing to scoff at. can you say hall of famer?)

if his shooting does taper off, it'll be hard to pronounce him as a true first rank all-star until he shows everyone that he can be a dominant contributor even when his shot isn't going at this current clip. then again. maybe his shot won't taper off like hollinger predicts. i hope he keeps drilling it all year. and i hope he boards and plays d and gets assists and scores in the lane...

as a side note, jake the snake's graphics are great. the bermuda triangle graphic was my favorite. i was truly amazed by that one. how does one find a bermuda triangle graphic with the same aspect ratio as an nba shot chart?

by DarrellWalkerFan on Nov 28, 2007 3:42 PM EST reply actions

I also fear a drop-off

But regardless I think he's diversified his game enough that he can still find ways to be effective even if he's cold (as long as he doesn't turn the ball over).

As far as the Bermuda triangle thing, that was just knowing how to tinker with scaling and rotating the map until I got it right and the hot zone chart I just stole off NBA.com's hotzones. If you asked me to photoshop Andray Blatche's head on a Napoleon Dynamite's body I could do it but it would look real ugly and unprofessional.

Bullets Forever: Your place for the very latest in Wizards news and PhD-level analysis.

by Jake Whitacre on Nov 28, 2007 5:41 PM EST up reply actions

where to get usage rate stats?

Jake,

I caught the late train with regard to advanced stats, and I'm still slowly delving into that area of analysis of the game. Where would you recommend going for usage rate statistics, TS percentages and the like?

Thanks.

Enjoyed the piece on Butler as well. I knew he was playing well, but the numbers and rankings really add an exclamation point to it for me, although certainly I can see the dropoff fear echoed in the comments section here already.

-sw

by Steve Weinman on Nov 28, 2007 7:04 PM EST reply actions

Knickerblogger

Follow the link in all the game threads. If you click on the team pages, you'll see a ton of nifty numbers, including usage rate.

Basically, it's the coolest site in the world (except NBA Source, of course...)

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Nov 28, 2007 7:06 PM EST up reply actions

Thanks, Mike

Yeah, I used their advanced stats page -- the one that has the pace and efficiency rankings next to the standings -- but didn't realize there was more there beyond that. Definitely something I'll be taking a look at in the days to come.

Much thanks for dropping the knowledge...and, of course, the love for the NBA Source/TittR.

-sw

by Steve Weinman on Nov 28, 2007 7:13 PM EST reply actions