Weekly Heist: The Butler Is Doing It

For as much publicity as Gilbert Arenas has gotten this year, and rightfully so, it is Butler who has been the most consistent player for the Wizards this year.

Butler's play was finally recognized this week as he was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week. Butler averaged 23 points, 7.5 rebounds and 6 assists in a week that saw the Wizards go 4-0.

Butler is the only Wizard to score 10 or more points in every game this season and has a career high with 16 double-doubles. He is also the only player in the Eastern Conference averaging at least 20 points, eight rebounds and four assist per game, all career highs.

Yet, Butler is nowhere to be found in the top ten of the Eastern Conference All Star voting. He feels like he belongs in the All Star game, but he has tried to keep it in perspective.

"Yea, I do," he said. "From an individual standpoint, the way I have been playing, I would say so, but I know it's not going to happen unless we continue to win, so that's my main focus is winning games."

Butler may just have his chance if the Wizards have the best record in the Eastern Conference after February 4th. If that happens, Wizards coach Eddie Jordan would coach the Eastern Conference All-Stars and it would be a foregone conclusion Jordan would take Butler as a reserve.

His teammates feel he is well on his way to doing just that.

"He's definitely playing at an All -Star caliber," said Antawn Jamison. "The one thing about him is you know what you are getting - consistency throughout the year. He's been there for us, and who knows where we would be otherwise."

"One of the reasons that I've been able to do what I do is that Caron is playing so well," said Gilbert Arenas. "Caron is playing All-Star basketball right now. You can't say there are 3-4 forwards playing better than him."

That was never more evident than last week in the final minutes of a game with the New York Knicks. The Wizards were down by one in the closing seconds when Arenas was doubled teamed and passed the ball to Jamison who then dished it out to DeShawn Stevenson. Stevenson drove to the basket, and when they collapsed on him, he found a wide open Butler underneath for an uncontested dunk for the game winner.

Butler had said a day earlier if he won a game, he wanted to take his jersey off like Arenas and throw it into the crowd, but then didn't do it.

"I thought about it," he said. "I did the next best thing. I stood up on the scoreboard and addressed the crowd and pumped my fist. It was a good emotional moment."

Butler was taken by the Miami Heat with the 10th overall pick in the in the 2002 NBA draft. He raised some eyebrows that day by saying he was going to make the nine other teams pay for passing him over.

In his first season in the league, Butler averaged 15 points and 5 rebounds. In his second year, he fought through an injury-plagued season but still managed 9 points and 4 rebounds a game. He was then traded along with Lamar Odom and Brian Grant to the Lakers for Shaquille O'Neal.

The next season, he was then traded to the Wizards along with Chucky Atkins for the troubled Kwame Brown and former Maryland star Laron Profit. Talk about a steal. It was quite possibly the best trade in the history of the franchise.

Right before the 2005-06 season, Butler signed a 5-year, $46-million dollar deal with the team, and he has never looked back.

He averaged 17.6 points and just over 6 rebounds a game in his first year with the Wizards. His defensive play earned him the nickname, "Tough Juice" by Eddie Jordan. For the coach, there is a big difference between Butler's play from last year to this year.

"It has everything to do with comfort level," said Jordan. "He understands what we are doing on the floor. He knows how to play with Gil and Antawn, and he knows now what to expect from me. Maybe the most important thing was he really worked on his game. He has a competitive nature. He wants to be good and be one of the best forwards in the conference."

"He's got this funky mid-range game that not a whole lot of people have in this league. He can jab at you and make that logo jump shot. The guy is either driving on you or backing you down or he is making 3's."

"He can run the floor on the break, he finishes and can draw and kick and he gets offensive rebounds. There is kind of a sneaky athleticism there that people don't seem to think he has."

Butler knows it's his work ethic that has gotten him to this point in his career.

"All the hard work is paying off," he said. "Being in the gym a lot of hours at night, staying in the gym all of those hours are really starting to pay off."

The fifth year player out of the University of Connecticut says the comfort level didn't come easy, but once he started to learn the Wizards system, the coaching staff displayed more and more confidence in him.

"Just being out there more," he said. "You know, playing more with the team, seeing the coaching staff, and them believing in me was big. Leaving me out there for so long, so obviously I was doing something right, and that's where the confidence comes."

"It took until almost the playoffs last year until I was really comfortable. You know at first I didn't know if I was going to be part of something special, and it wasn't until the Cleveland playoff series that I knew I had a chance to be a part of something really special." Wizards radio broadcaster Dave Johnson has seen Butler's lunch pail type of approach night in and night out.

"He is not hesitating," said Johnson. "He is just going out and he feels free. He knows, and you are talking about a guy that was with a couple of teams, he feels settled. I think it's a comfort level with him that he doesn't have to worry about things. He just goes out and plays the way he knows how to play."

The way Butler is playing has helped the Wizards come close to having the best record in the East. Since November 28, the Wizards are 20-7.

They have won four straight and have won 10 straight at the Verizon Center where they have an overall record of 17-3. They head into this week's action at 24-16 with a game-and-a-half lead over the Orlando Magic in the Southeast Division.

With eight of their next 12 games at Verizon Center, Butler knows how important this stretch is for the Wizards.

"We just have to keep this momentum going in our favor," said Butler. "It's good that we are home where we play our best basketball."

It is well worth the trip down the Parkway to see this Wizards team in action. What else is there to do? Watch the Colts in the Super Bowl?

Craig Heist is the midday sports anchor for WTOP Radio. His column appears weekly at www.pressboxonline.com.