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The Season of AB

LogGrad98 said:
This.

However I remain cautiously optimistic. If he can find a groove, play solid D, and hit the 3 with regularity, as well as add his normal spark, he could be special. He is one of those aggravating guys that has all the tools, and the attitude, but just can't seem to put it together for anything but short bursts, or a game here or there. I know injuries have played a part with AB, but I also think he is one of the lower BBall IQ guys on the team, and it shows in that he tends to make bad decisions. If he can settle that down, play within the offense, and go off-book when it makes sense, he could be 6th man material. Would love to see that.
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I just don't see him playing solid D every minute of every night and i think that's what coach Q wants.

Jazz Traveler said:
No matter what, someone is going to get the short end of the stick.
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Raw end of the prawn would also be acceptable.
 
Rubashov said:
I just don't see him playing solid D every minute of every night and i think that's what coach Q wants.



Raw end of the prawn would also be acceptable.
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That is why the solid D is part of the "if" statement. And why I am cautiously optimistic and not fully on the bandwagon. He has some holes in his game still, but really imo his biggest weakness is his IQ for the game. He just isn't as smart on the floor as most of our team is, and it means he does boneheaded things a little too frequently, like losing his man on D or not being in the right spot after a shot goes up or whatever, and those little lapses can really add up.
 
LogGrad98 said:
That is why the solid D is part of the "if" statement. And why I am cautiously optimistic and not fully on the bandwagon. He has some holes in his game still, but really imo his biggest weakness is his IQ for the game. He just isn't as smart on the floor as most of our team is, and it means he does boneheaded things a little too frequently, like losing his man on D or not being in the right spot after a shot goes up or whatever, and those little lapses can really add up.
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Im not buying in at the moment. I think if somebody gets traded this year its AB. He just looks the most expendable, well AB and Thabo. That said i think they still likely finishes the season in Utah.
 
Rubashov said:
Im not buying in at the moment. I think if somebody gets traded this year its AB. He just looks the most expendable, well AB and Thabo. That said i think they still likely finishes the season in Utah.
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I agree he is the most likely to be traded. I just hope he has a minor breakout before the deadline so we can flip him for some real value.
 
Burks logged 18.9 minutes per game in five preseason contests, where the Jazz finished 5-0. He also put up 13.4 points and 4.2 rebounds on 51.2 percent shooting and 47.6 percent from three
 
"I had a great summer," Burks said. "No injury, no rehab, just all playing and working out so I'm good."

"He looks like AB before the injury," said Jazz forward Derrick Favors. "He's been explosive, back to his scoring ways. He's been passing the ball a lot better. He's been more focused. He's back to playing the way he was before he got hurt and I'm happy for him. I think he's going to have a big year for us."

"I've slowed down enough where I can see what's going on," Burks said. "I was just going so fast because my summers were so different. I got a summer to really catch a rhythm and it's showing."

Jazz player development coach Jeff Watkinson has helped him become more efficient in taking shots off the dribble when defenders go underneath the pick. His speed has been a gift and a curse for him offensively because he feels he can blow by anyone in the league but now he's focused on reading defenses better.

"I'm not going 100 miles per hour," Burks said. "I can read. It's beautiful what you can read when you're not going so fast."

Jazz coach Quin Snyder sees that offensive progression as part of his evolution as a basketball player.

"The key thing just is to read," Snyder said. "Sometimes Alec is such a creative offensive player. He's got great quickness and handles the ball well so there's time where he may not need a screen and we want him to take advantage of those opportunities but also his ability to read and set up and put himself into higher percentage situations.

"I think more than anything it's helped his passing because he finds himself in slightly different space at times and Alec's a really good passer."

Burks' string of injuries first started during the 2014-15 season when he was sidelined for 55 games with after shoulder surgery. Then in 2015-16 he missed 50 more games with a broken fibula and underwent another arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle in 2016 before returning to play 64 games last season.

With his body intact this offseason, the former Colorado star put heavy emphasis on just hooping as much as possible as the team is projected for a strong finish in the West. If everything goes as planned, maybe fans will be exposed to the guy Wade warned them about two years ago. Just maybe.

"I'm ready. I'm ready for whatever happens," Burks said. "I've been ready. I had a good summer and I'm comfortable in my abilities. I know what I can do and I'm going to prove it."
 
I just hope Burks stays healthy this season. Both we and he deserves that after all the injury nonsense. I saw him play last season in L.A. and he killed the Clippers. Looking forward to him playing like that....
 
I'm cautiously optimistic because I've been disappointed too many times. I was one of those who had predicted that AB would be better than Hayseed early on. I'm a bit worried that his BB IQ will get the better of him.
 
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