Four Thoughts On Utah Jazz Newcomer Shelvin Mack

Insertion into the Starting Lineup

To some it came as a pretty big surprise that Mack would be inserted into the starting lineup in just his second game with the Jazz. However, with the up-and-down play at the point guard position that the Jazz have experienced all season, it’s truly no surprise that he would get the nod due to his experience and solid debut performance. There’s no doubt that he feels confident alongside Gordon Hayward and that Coach Snyder has a lot of trust in him.

What will be most interesting will be to see how Mack’s insertion into the starting lineup affects the rotation among his fellow point guard teammates. Neto originally won over the starting position because of his superior defense. Nevertheless, Burke, the better scorer, was often brought in to produce offense and three-point shooting. In the game against Houston, this was largely still the case.

While Neto was the first backup off the bench, Burke ended up posting 28.5 minutes while Neto ended up with just eight. With Mack being plenty capable of playing defense, perhaps more so than Neto, and with Burke still serving as a scoring threat off the bench, it’s very likely that Neto will see a more drastic decrease in minutes than Burke.

And if Burke can maintain the production that he exhibited against Houston – 15 points on 6 of 11 shooting, three of six from deep, in just three minutes less than Mack – he will likely still earn the backup point guard spot. Interestingly enough, even while serving as backup for much of the season, Burke still averages over three minutes more per game than Neto.

Coach Snyder will likely decide the point guard rotation based on who is performing best on any given night. However, Mack definitely deserves to start due to his abilities on both ends of the court and don’t be surprised to see Burke gobble up the remaining backup minutes to provide on offensive spark off the bench.

Next: Long-Term Fit