Dunleavy on Al Thornton

After a rough start to this season that's featured a poor shooting percentage, Al Thornton has been taken out of the starting lineup by Mike Dunleavy. Rasual Butler got the start at small forward last evening in a win over the Timberwolves.

"You also have to take into consideration the personnel he's playing against," Dunleavy told the L.A. Times. "He's had four pretty rough customers: Ron Artest in the first game, Grant Hill in the second game, Andrei Kirilenko the third game, and then Shawn Marion in the fourth game.

"All those guys, other than maybe Grant Hill, are bigger and stronger than he is. I think it's too early to jump the gun on it."

Dunleavy appears to be indicating here that it's early, and Thornton's struggles may be indicative off the level of talent he's played against. If he takes the demotion as a challenge to improve his game, don't be surprised if the 25-year-old is inserted back into the starting rotation at some point this season.