Wizards' Caron Butler settles into new offense under Coach Flip Saunders

MILWAUKEE -- Caron Butler made a long jumper late in the Washington Wizards' 109-97 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday, and he immediately skipped down the court and fired his right hand into the air. Butler said he was gesturing that he was back, to the nearly 900 people from his home town of Racine who came to watch him play at Bradley Center.

He meant that he was back in his native Wisconsin, but for anyone who was watched him progress in the past week, it may have also signaled his return from the doldrums.

In his past four games, Butler is averaging 19.3 points, with 6.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists, and shooting 51.7 percent. It is close to his production for the Wizards the past three seasons, when he averaged 20.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.3 assists and shot 46.1 percent while making two all-star appearances.

Butler finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds against the Bucks, his second 20-point, 10-rebound performance in the past four games. He had just two in his first 25 games, when his offensive woes coincided with the struggles of his team.

"I've finally gotten a rhythm in this offense," said Butler. "Things are starting to turn a corner. Hopefully, it continues to do that because we're right there. It's more confidence, comfort level. It takes time."

Butler hasn't just put up big numbers; he has also produced when his team needed him most. He scored 10 fourth-quarter points, including a baseline jumper that gave the Wizards the lead to stay in a 105-98 win against the Philadelphia 76ers. Then, when Gilbert Arenas suffered a left thigh bruise against Milwaukee, Butler sparked a decisive 25-8 run when he caught a pass from Randy Foye and buried a 20-footer to tie the game.

It probably isn't a coincidence that the Wizards (10-17) have gone 3-1 since Coach Flip Saunders reminded Butler last week in San Francisco of his success in a catch-and-shoot drill in which players take 40 mid-range jumpers. The coaching staff charts each player and Saunders said Butler averages 36 makes each time, or 90 percent.

"I said that's why I get on him. When he has those open 17-footers, shoot them," Saunders said.

Those words gave Butler all the confidence he needed. That night against the Golden State, Butler had his season high with 28 points and added 10 rebounds and 5 steals as the Wizards pulled out a 118-109 victory. Since then, Butler has tried to maintain that aggression, which has been lacking for much of the season.

Butler is the member of the Wizards' trio of former all-stars who has had the most difficult adjustment to Saunders's flex offense, with nearly everyone around him wondering what was wrong.

"You get a lot of texts and phone calls. Everybody always says, 'What's going on? You good?' " said Butler, who is still putting up his worst numbers since joining the Wizards, averaging just 17 points and shooting 43.1 percent this season. "It's not going to happen overnight. You can't put somebody in the triangle offense or any offense and expect them just to -- bam! -- work immediately. It's a process."

Saunders seemed befuddled with Butler's struggles because he said small forwards have typically had success in his system, dating from his time in the Continental Basketball Association. Richard Hamilton, who spent three seasons with Saunders in Detroit, said two months ago that Butler had the skill set to really thrive in the system.

"If he studies it, he can be great at it because he can take easier shots," Hamilton said.

Early on, Butler deferred to Arenas, almost to a fault, and he lacked confidence upon receiving the ball. Butler would catch a pass, hesitate, take a few jab steps or dribble several times before shooting. His indecisiveness sometimes broke up the flow on offense and led Arenas to look elsewhere for assist opportunities.

When Butler decided to attack, he often was overly aggressive, which resulted in some questionable shots or offensive fouls. Then, Antawn Jamison returned from his right shoulder injury and Butler took another step back while Arenas and Jamison got their two-man game working again.

"The first thing you're going to do when the season starts is get Gilbert accustomed and acclimated to the flow of things. He's the franchise guy, so everything has to revolve around him and he got going," Butler said. "Antawn came in, he was hitting 30 a night, got a nice rhythm. Now, I'm starting to get a rhythm and I think it's going to just trickle down to everybody starting to assert themselves and knowing their roles. I think it's really starting to turn the corner for us."

With the Wizards just one game out of the eighth spot -- and two games out of the sixth spot -- in the Eastern Conference, Butler said he believes his team can be special.

"It ain't over. A lot of people count you out. That's the story of my life," he said. "Obviously our intention was to get off to a better start to the season, but we didn't and now we've got to deal with the hand that was dealt. Slowly but surely, we'll be in the middle of that pack in the playoff picture. We've all got the same agenda and that's winning games, being successful and we want to make the playoffs and make a lot of noise in the playoffs and compete and win a title. So that's the goal."