Jimmy Butler is still searching for his role in the Philadelphia 76ers’ offense.
The Philadelphia 76ers now boast one of the most talented starting fives in the NBA. Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons are All-Stars. Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris narrowly missed the cut. With that talent, comes a natural adjustment period.
After joining the team in November, much has been said about Butler’s role in the offense. The conversation got even more complicated after the Harris trade, which added yet another volume scorer to the core group.
Butler is averaging 18.8 points in 36 games with the Sixers, 2.5 points per game lower than his early-season average in Minnesota. He’s also taking 1.6 fewer three-point attempts per game, showing an uncharacteristic hesitance from deep.
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His willingness to focus on passing over shot-making has been even more apparent since Harris’ arrival. He’s averaging 4.0 assists in those four games, on par with his Philadelphia average. That number doesn’t do justice to his recent pass-happiness, though.
We’ve seen Butler spending more time as the primary and secondary initiator, running pick-and-rolls and making the extra pass with regularity. Even open shots aren’t automatic for Butler — he’s prone to passing up clean looks in favor of ball movement.
His approach fluctuates depending on the lineup and situation, but it’s clear his usage and shot selection have changed. It’s not inherently good or bad, but it’s clear Butler and the Sixers are still adjusting to one another. That’s normal for teams with a star-heavy rotation.
Ideally, Butler will up his three-point rate in the coming months. His ability to space the floor and hit open shots is integral to the Sixers’ offense, especially next to Embiid and Simmons. He should be attempting 4+ per game given his efficiency in 2018-19.
Butler’s usage has taken a slight dip since the Harris trade. That can be partially attributed to Brett Brown attempting to integrate Harris quickly, but finding the right shot distribution between five offensive weapons can be difficult.
Thread: Teams likely used the All-Star break to get their players on the same page, especially if they were active at the trade deadline. For the Sixers, one area to monitor is how Jimmy Butler is deployed on offense. As we can see here, his usage has declined of late. pic.twitter.com/KrUHY9G6T4
— Positive Residual (@presidual) February 21, 2019
Most nights, Embiid and Butler should lead the team in shots, with Harris and Simmons battling for the third spot. Embiid is the go-to option when on the floor, while Butler deserves those honors when Embiid sits. He’s also getting more minutes at point guard when Simmons rests.
The upward spike on the graph above correlates to the Sixers’ emphasis on getting Butler more isolation touches in lieu of his infamous film session. One can expect it to shoot back upward soon, once Harris’ presence stabilizes in the rotation.
Butler has the shooting chops to score with a higher volume, most notably from three-point range. If he can convert some mid-range attempts into threes, it might boost the Sixers’ offense even further. Regardless, his shot-creation (along with Tobias) is a dynamic the Sixers desperately lacked before the season.
There’s no reason for panic. The Sixers have 24 more games before the postseason, which should be enough time to work out any overarching problems. At some point, talent alone puts them in the championship conversation. Matching up better with Boston remains arguably the biggest hurdle.