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Butler, still just 23 in his third NBA season on his third team (after stops in Utah and Oklahoma City and their G League counterparts), has seen an uptick in his role in Washington. He played just 12 total minutes in Washington's first 15 games of the regular season. More recently, that number has ballooned to double-digit minutes in each of the Wizards' last four tilts.

Though his scoring numbers don't necessarily pop out – 4.1 points per game off 8.6 minutes on average across the season – he's done well with the time he's been given. He put up 12 points off 71% shooting with four assists vs. Philadelphia on Monday, then followed it up with an eight-point outing with four assists vs. New Orleans on Wednesday.

“He's done a much better job, and just seeing him progress from September when he first came in until where he is now, with us and/or with the Go-Go is just being more of a point guard,” Unseld Jr. said of Butler on Thursday. “Trying to follow that mold that Tyus [Jones] has been a great example for him.”

Tyus Jones' mentorship hasn't gone unnoticed by the team, nor is it the veteran's first time taking a younger teammate under his wing. He did it with Ja Morant in Memphis, helping him blossom into an All-NBA player and All-Star.

His support of Butler has helped the Baylor alum grow his own game and, almost more importantly, limit mistakes. Unseld notes that Butler's most noticeable improvement has been his progression into a quarterback of the offense, “defending at a high level,” and making the right choices with the ball. Offensively, shades of Jones' game are visible in his protege.

payitforward wrote:Me too!

In his last 4 games, Butler has played a total of 40 minutes. He's produced 30 points on 16 shots & 6 FTAs for a TS% of... .80.5% !!!

He's had 9 assists, committed 3 fouls, & had 3 steals plus the same number of turnovers.

That's uh... pretty good! In fact, it's fantastic.

nate33 wrote:I didn't watch the game, but these highlights are really impressive. Most of those assists weren't just simple kick-out passes. They were high degree of difficulty passes made to a roll man or the weakside corner.

DCZards wrote:

nate33 wrote:I didn't watch the game, but these highlights are really impressive. Most of those assists weren't just simple kick-out passes. They were high degree of difficulty passes made to a roll man or the weakside corner.

I particularly liked the last assist to Champagnie for the open 3. It was the kind of wide open shot that the Zards weren’t getting on the previous possessions where Poole was the lead ball handler.

Nothing like having a TRUE point guard running the offense. I like Poole’s recent play but he’s a SG with limited court vision.