Pacers Pregame: Rasual Butler joins rotation
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Assistant Editor
INDIANAPOLIS – With reserve shooting guard Orlando Johnson shooting 25 percent over his previous 10 games, Indiana coach Frank Vogel is pulling him out of the rotation in favor of veteran swingman Rasual Butler. Butler made the team in a mild upset after fitting in during training camp in Danny Granger’s absence. Butler has played just 15 minutes in seven regular-season games.
“We’re going to give Rasual the backup wing minutes,” Vogel said. “If there’s any foul trouble, he (Johnson) is going to be available.”
Inserting Butler likely means Solomon Hill and Chris Copeland will continue to sit. While Johnson is solely a shooting guard, and Hill and Copeland only play the 3, Butler plays both positions. Butler was out of the league last season. In 2010-11 and 2011-12, Butler posted player efficiency ratings of 6.2 and 4.8, respectively. His true shooting percentages were a lowly 44.6 and 39.8.
A couple other notes from the pregame:
* While Indiana has become known for dominant third quarters, Vogel said he doesn’t put any extra emphasis on winning the period.
“For whatever reason, it’s kind of been this team’s time to pick it up another notch,” Vogel said. “It’s not by design. Most of it is adjusting to what’s happening in the first half. My halftime talks are just making sure we’re making sure we’re scoring the ball effectively.”
* Did the Pacers enjoy their two-day break following an emotional, draining victory over Miami?
“To get that one behind you, these last couple days have been a chance to catch our breath and get back to business,” Vogel said.
