WESTWEGO ― In many ways, Rasual Butler’s emergence this season – albeit through three games – is indicative of the birth of a bench for New Orleans.

A year ago, the Hornets’ ultimate downfall was a thin and unsteady bench.

So Butler, like the rest of his colleagues, set out to get better this summer.

Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press

Rasual Butler, right, is a large part of why New Orleans' bench is playing better this year.

And for the seventh-year pro, getting better involved doing things differently.

“I didn’t leave the gym until I made 500 shots every day,” Butler said. “I did a lot of conditioning. I took some boxing classes. Boxing is constant work. The heart rate never stops.

“I took yoga. Pilates. I just did a lot of things I haven’t done in the past to try to get a lot stronger, more flexible. I changed my weight lifting routine. Prayed a lot.”

Thus far, the results for Butler and the rest of the bench have been positive.

A year ago, head coach Byron Scott didn’t have anyone average more than 8.8 points per game off the bench. That’s different this year thanks to super-sub James Posey, who is at 13 points per game right now.

“The bench right now is doing a heck of a job,” Scott said. “Right now, they’re gaining a lot of confidence with starters out.”

Said Butler, “We talked about that in the preseason, that in order for us to get to our goal – which is a championship – we’re going to need everybody on the team to step up and improve just a little bit over the summer. We all took that very seriously.”

Bench regulars Hilton Armstrong and Butler have been forced to start games already this season because of injuries. Armstrong has two starts filling in for Tyson Chandler while Butler started in place of Peja Stojakovic in Saturday night’s 104-92 win over Cleveland.

The experience and confidence they’re gaining now is invaluable, Scott said.

“Right now, the guys carrying the bench are Posey and Sual,” Scott said. “They’ve been fantastic. And Hilton has done a heck of a job. That’s all I’ve been looking for the past couple of years – three or four guys off the bench that can be productive almost every single night and that’s how those guys are playing.”

Armstrong is averaging a career-high 5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game in his third season while Butler is at 9 points per game.

“You want Tyson and Peja to be in the starting lineup as much as possible,” Scott said. “It gives you a better chance to win. But it also gave those guys a chance to grow.”

New Orleans’ bench is producing right now without all of its components. Sean Marks hasn’t played because of a hamstring injury and Julian Wright has logged only four minutes after spraining his ankle severely during the preseason.

“Sean hasn’t even had an opportunity to play, which is unfortunate,” Scott said. “Our bench gets stronger when he’s healthy. Julian still isn’t 100 percent. When he gets out there our bench is stronger.”

For the bench, this is a new season and a time to prove that it’s not the downfall of the team. Last year’s entire bench returns except for Jannero Pargo and Chris Anderson.

New to the bench are Posey, Devin Brown and Marks, each bringing something different to the table.

“He’s (Posey) a great defender,” Butler said. “He’s somebody who has two rings already. He has been there before and knows what it takes to get there and has passed that knowledge along to us.”

Which is different from last year.

“It’s a different mentality,” Butler said.

Bradley Handwerger can be reached at bhandwerger@wwltv.com or 504-529-6439.