Trey Burke’s 30 points lead the way for the Jazz on the road in Orlando.
If you’re wondering how I got through one of the uglier NBA games of the season, its because I’ve watched a lot of bad basketball over the years. You would think booze, but that would’ve put me to sleep. No, the way to make it through an 86-82 game is a late night cup of coffee and listening to Miles Davis. I’m sure there’s a joke involving Miles and a Jazz pun out there, but I’m not going to look for it.
But seriously, it wasn’t all that bad. Both teams competed, and I came in intrigued by a handful of players on both sides, and most of them didn’t disappoint. Leading the way was Jazz rookie Trey Burke, who finished with a career high 30 points (on 12-20 from the field), 8 assists, 7 rebounds, and only 2 turnovers, playing 40 minutes. A great stat line, and overall the best night of his career, but there are areas of Burke’s game worth addressing…and I’ll get to those in a moment.
Neither team shot the ball particularly well, and Orlando’s 32 percent from the field doomed them. Without Aarron Afflalo, who missed the game due to illness, the Magic struggled to find consistent scoring. Orlando’s top three scorers, Jameer Nelson, Nikola Vucevic, and Tobias Harris, were a combined 15-44 from the field, and rookie Victor Oladipo finished with 3 points on 1-12 shooting. What’s odd is that Orlando got themselves open shots fairly easily, particularly when the offense ran through high ball screens or high post feeds from Vucevic, who would look to score or find a teammate depending on how the defense played. Vucevic would find players open more often than not, but the shots simply wouldn’t fall.
Starting in place for Afflalo was Harris, who while shooting a low percentage finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Harris has quietly become a productive player for Orlando, and its easy to like his size, strength, and ability to post up in the short corner. 5-14 shooting wasn’t ideal but he took high-percentage shots, they just didn’t fall.
The Jazz have a nice starting unit, but not much else beyond it. Their second unit, consisting of Alec Burks, Enes Kanter, Diante Garrett, Brandon Rush, and Jeremy Evans were ineffective and dreadful to watch. While I like Burks and Kanter, they are better off playing with the 1st unit where they become the 3rd/4th scoring options rather than the 1st/2nd. The rest of the second unit didn’t bring much. Evans was often out of position on both ends of the floor, Garrett was practically invisible (he finished with one rebound in eight minutes, not even a shot attempt), and Rush looked out of shape coming off his ACL injury. Burks was the only player to score in double figures off the bench, but the majority of that came when playing with the first unit.
Favors finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds, but shot 5-16. Not the best night from him, but four offensive rebounds and five blocks made up for the poor shooting. Gordon Hayward on the other hand was poor. The stats (15 points on 6-15, 8 assists, 7 rebounds) suggest only a poor shooting night, but his shot selection was poor, taking too many contested shots, and often settling for long twos. He had a tendency to make one-armed, running bounce passes that resulted in either bad post feeds for Favors or a kicked ball violation. He is a well rounded player, but nothing he did tonight suggested he is worth the $10 million per year contract that others have suggested he could sign this offseason. Too often he didn’t space the floor well or get shot ready. Utah wants him to be their primary wing scorer, but he’s not helping himself or his teammates when he’s waiting for a pass standing on the three point line. Its one game, and he’s had better nights this season, but there’s a difference between having an off shooting night and showing poor offensive tendencies.
Now on to Burke. Scoring 30 points shouldn’t be overlooked, but his decision making needs improvement. Early he settled for off-balanced midrange shots, and as the game progressed his reads off of ball screens weren’t always the best option. Poor spacing by his teammates didn’t help; on one possession Burke would’ve had a clearer lane to the basket had Evans not camped right on the block he was driving towards, which forced Burke to make an errant pass to Favors. Other instances found Burke settling for the roll man when a skip pass to the wing would’ve been the better option. Look, Burke has played in only 15 games this year so at this point his decision making isn’t a major issue. He’s a rookie point guard who missed a lot of preseason and the start of the year, its going to take him time to adjust. A lack of experience by both his teammates and Burke has a lot to do with these decisions, but its worth pointing out because for Burke to take the necessary steps in his development he’ll need to focus on improving this part of his game. This should improve as the season goes on, as should the team’s spacing once the rest of team adjusts to Burke’s playing style.
Overall Burke had a great night. He was best when he got himself open on set shots, and he attacked the rim with confidence. What I liked most was how he controlled the game at times, which says a lot about a rookie point guard being asked to lead to an inexperienced team. This marked the fourth game this season he has scored at least twenty points, and tonight’s game should give him more to build off.
Both teams will finish near the bottom of the league this year, but with “young cores” (for lack of a better term), there’s a lot to like about their futures. Burke will be put into the rookie of the year conversation if this sort of play continues, and while Oladipo had a horrible shooting night he maintained solid defensive play all game. Expect both teams to end up with top five draft picks this offseason, which could really change their fortunes depending on who they end up selecting. Dream picks for both would be Marcus Smart to Orlando and Jabari Parker to Utah, and its likely both picks could swing in their favor next June.
And now for my screen caps of the night:
The Magic may be last in the division, but thumbs up for #CrownRoyalMagicSeats.
This reaction from Ty Corbin came after a Marvin Williams turnover, and about sums up everyone’s reaction to Marvin Williams’ NBA career.
Finally, another reason why you should never become a crack addict.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
