By Dustin Hockensmith
Fantasy Sports 101 Basketball

March 14, 2008 - Injured Washington Wizards star Caron Butler returned to action after a 16-game layoff on Thursday night and promptly helped the Wizards beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 101-99. Butler's return was a breath of fresh air to the Wizards, who lost their first seven games without him, but more so to fantasy owners, who were missing one of the most balanced, efficient players in fantasy basketball.

Butler started and scored 19 points for Washington, while making six of his first eight field goal attempts, according the Associated Press. He added six rebounds, but was out of character with four turnovers and 3-of-5 made free throws.

There were few better players in fantasy before the nagging hip injury, which was originally diagnosed as a strained hip flexor then later reported as a labral tear. In standard ESPN leagues, he still ranks as the No. 11 small forward and No. 45 player overall - ahead of Brandon Roy, Richard Jefferson and Corey Maggette, to name a few - despite missing a total of 20 games.

The strength in his game stemmed from his ability to contribute across the board, most notably in field goal and free throw percentage, points and steals. This season - his sixth in the league - he has established new career-highs in field goal percentage (.475), free throw percentage (.906), 3-pointers made (46 total, already a career-best), assists (4.4 apg), steals (2.3) and scoring (21.4).

Strengths have only gotten stronger throughout his career, as his scoring averages and shooting percentage have both improved every season since 2003-04. What had made Butler moderately valuable in previous years has upgraded him to elite status in 2007-08.