The Sixers may look to put the ball in Jimmy Butler‘s hands more often after his recent return from injury, Brian Seltzer of the team’s official site writes. Previously, head coach Brett Brown had used the All-Star swingman off the ball.
“I liked what I saw,” said Brown following the Sixers’ Tuesday night victory, a game in which Butler had a plus-26 rating. “We didn’t really run complicated offense. It was quite simple and spaced, and I thought he did a really good job with that.”
The Sixers, of course, have done just fine with Butler in his traditional swingman role – they’re 33-18 after all – but with the playoffs approaching and this roster intent on making a deep run, Brown believes that exploring additional offensive options will serve them well.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division tonight:
- Through the first 51 games of the 2018/19 season, the Raptors have used 14 different starting lineups, Michael Grange of Sportsnet writes. After all that tinkering, head coach Nick Nurse is eager to carve out a rotation that he can stick with. “It would be really nice to figure out exactly who is going to be in there. How we’re going to do it. Who is going to play where, minutes, all that kind of stuff,” Nurse said.
- The Celtics, whom Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald believes have the best to offer in an Anthony Davis trade, should come out ahead regardless of what happens in New Orleans this week. He argues that Boston will either be first in line to trade for him in the summer or be able to watch another team decimate its core to acquire him ahead of the trade deadline. The C’s, it’s worth noting, are unable to deal for Davis this season as the CBA’s Rose Rule forbids it.
- A groin strain will sideline Frank Ntilikina at a time when the Knicks could have finally gotten a chance to take a good, long look at him, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Incumbent starter Emmanuel Mudiay also happens to be out two to three weeks with his own injury.
Nurse has done a terrific job moving players in and out of the lineup with several injuries and Kawhi’s rest days. Yes, the Raptors have a lot of talent. Yes, they are deep. But the job Nurse has done to manage this team appears to get overlooked.
The Raptors haven’t had a consistent lineup all season and have still managed a 37-15 record. Valanciunas is about come to back and they will finally be fully healthy. Look out.
Right on, and that’s even with the immense pressure Nurse had on him before he even coached a single game.
Nurse has done an excellent job getting all his players to buy in, and especially with the job he’s done revitalizing Serge Ibaka’s career. Another great job he’s done, that’s gone unnoticed is keeping that locker room together, and immediately earning his players trust and respect. With the loss of their captain and a team favorite in Derozan, it would have been easy for a lesser coach to lose that locker room or to never have gotten them to truly buy in as a collective unit…
Nurse still doesn’t get the recognition he deserves for the excellent work he’s done this season, and the sad part is he likely won’t unless the Raptors at least make the Finals..
Sounds like coach Brown got onboard with Butler’s preferences. Butler may wind up shifting to point work for the playoffs.
Surprising (assuming 14 is a lot of starting lineups) because the Raps actually have a pretty fixed front 5: Lowry, Green, Leonard, Siakam and Ibaka. These 5 see above average minutes, and made well above average starts for a starting 5. Maybe they spread the spot starts around to more guys. They do have a deep bench of guys that can play multiple spots.
Wow, a Boston reporter believes the Celtics have the best offer for Davis. Color me shocked.
Nurse might as well not be there, he seems to make virtually no difference, with the exception of leaving the wrong players in too long.
I assume they threw their hat into the ring for AD.
Something like Valaciunas, Siakam, Wright, Anunoby, + picks.
i like it, clears out a bunch of dead weight
2 days old story but Jimmy Butlers handle is trash.