Wizards two-way guard Jared Butler is stepping up in recent games and he’s impressed each time he’s gotten a chance at extended minutes this season, The Washington Post’s Varun Shankar observes. Over the past three games, Butler is averaging 19.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists while finishing with a positive plus/minus in three Washington losses. He scored season highs of 26 points and seven assists on Wednesday against Philadelphia.
The Wizards were without Jordan Poole for all three of Butler’s recent big games and Malcolm Brogdon for two of those outings. Butler has 11 games this season where he’s received 10 or more minutes, averaging 11.4 points and 4.1 assists on .477/.406/.714 splits.
“Just settles us down, gets us organized, has the ability to get in the paint, create for himself, create for others,” head coach Brian Keefe said. “His defense is really good, too — pressuring the ball, picking up full court. He’s doing the stuff that we want him to.”
Butler originally signed with the Wizards on a two-way deal in the summer of 2023 before having that deal converted late last season. Facing a roster crunch last October, the Wizards waived him but were able to re-acquire him on a two-way contract after no team put in a claim for the former Baylor guard. If Washington clears a standard roster spot this season, Butler is a candidate to have his two-way deal converted.
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- After an ankle sprain sidelined him for five games last month, Corey Kispert has found his confidence again, Shankar writes in another post. Since Dec. 19, Kispert is shooting 43.1% from beyond the arc on 5.9 attempts while averaging 13.5 points. In his last two games, Kispert had a season high of 23 points in each outing while making a combined nine threes.
- Magic star forward Paolo Banchero will make his return to game action on Friday against the Bucks after missing over two months with an oblique injury, NBA insider Chris B. Haynes reports (Twitter link). Banchero warmed up on Thursday after being ruled questionable, but was ultimately deemed out until tomorrow. While the re-introduction of Banchero into the lineup is obviously a boon for Orlando, but it will likely take an adjustment period before the team is firing on all cylinders again after they went 19-14 without him, Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel writes. “Finding that flow again is going to take some time and we all understand that,” coach Jamahl Mosley said. “It’s going to be us being able to watch the film, get on the court together and that’s going to take some time.”
- The Hornets snapped a 10-game losing streak against the Suns on Tuesday, with the quartet of LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges and Mark Williams playing together for just the eighth time, Shane Connuck of The Charlotte Observer writes. “We have enough in that locker room when it comes to talent. We have enough in that locker room when it comes to competitiveness. We just have to sustain it for four quarters,” head coach Charles Lee said. “We did that tonight, and we need to continue to just stack good days over good days, and we’ll come out on the other side of all of it.“