It' been really nice to see him healthy and getting time on the court (in this case the injuries have been a blessing to a certain extent) and having fun out there. I missed him. Still has that swagger too.
He has improved his defense a ton, his shot selection and decision making is much better (good coaching by the jazz staff). You can tell his knowledge of the offense and defense is much better.
He was getting way too much hate imo but I understood where it came from. The injuries and major slumps will do that to fans and I get it. I won't name names but a few awful takes to point out is that burks was a ball hog (I did the research a while back and he was never near the top of the team in shot attempts.... even if you look at shots per minute played. Even when considering the fact that for many years his job was to be the scorer off the bench. Never in his career has he been a ball hog) and that he should only shoot threes and can't make layups. Some people wanted him to be kyle korver. He got the nickname he has for a reason. People forgot.
Legit criticisms of him in his career would be poor shot selection, wild play, poor defense, and poor outside shooting. (Early in his career)
Love that he has improved on all of his weaknesses and recently showed that his old strengths (attacking the rim and finishing in traffic in houdini fashion, and playing with high energy and hitting set spot up threes, Cleaning glass like a boss) are still there too.
On a team full of likeable players, he is one of the most likeable guys imo. Never complains, never gets into it with teammates or coaches or even opponents. I cant remember ever in his entire career bitching at the refs about a call or missed call for a prolonged period. Tons of smiles, and loves the game.
I hated to see all the fans that wanted to simply dump him somewhere and even wanted to include other assets just to get someone to take him off our hands. Dont get me wrong, I understood why fans felt that way but as a Burks fan who still believed in him it sucked to see all the hate.
This win streak has been really fun all around and is just all the better knowing that a few redemption projects (favors and burks) were a big big part of it.
