This team was considerably better with Butler.

[LonghornDub]

There was a lot of concern around here early in the year about Butler shooting poorly and turning the ball over. Rightly so. Then, those things improved, and everything was gravy.

I think this team needs him. I don't know if it's "the-whole-is-greater-than-its-parts" phenomenon, or what, but this team was sick good the first couple months of the season with Butler. Since then, they've only been good. Not anything to cry about, to be sure, but not the dominating force we saw early. Remember that amazing win in OKC when Dirk went down? That was with Butler. Have the Mavs done anything so downright impressive since then? I don't think so. Not even that win over LA at home to end the losing streak, if you ask me. Nor the win at Boston (although that was certainly fantastic).

The biggest dip, obviously, has been in team defense. I don't think anybody ever regarded Butler as some lock-down defender, but I'm becoming more and more convinced he was a key cog to the way the team defense operated, for whatever reason. It has been somewhere from mediocre to downright bad pretty much ever since he went out.

I don't know if he'll be ready. Probably not. But we need him. I really believe that.

Get well soon, CB4.