Utah Jazz: Reevaluating Four Bold Predictions From January
Alec Burks Will Be Playing Significant Role By All-Star Break – MOSTLY INCORRECT
This one is a tricky one to assess, because while Alec Burks has returned to the Jazz’s rotation, he hasn’t exactly overwhelmed at the position. Not to mention part of the reason he’s enjoyed the minutes that he has since returning from surgery is because he’s had to step in for the injured Rodney Hood.
In his last 15 games, Burks is averaging just seven points on 44.4 percent shooting from the field and 32.4 percent from deep. That isn’t all that bad, especially in just over 15 minutes per game, but I also wouldn’t exactly call it playing a significant role.
It's fair to wonder how/if Alec Burks fits on this team.
— Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey) February 14, 2017
He did have a stretch of five straight double-figure scoring games from January 21-28, but saying he was vital or significant during that slate of games may be a bit of a stretch.
Not to mention, Burks isn’t doing much this season to contribute in other areas such as rebounds (1.9), assists (0.6) or plus/minus (0.3), so it’s abundantly clear that having him on the floor hasn’t really been that much of a necessity for the Jazz.
In fact, Joe Ingles surprisingly has arisen as a more valuable and versatile player than Burks, so it will be interesting to see how Alec fits into the rotation at all once Hood is back on the court, which should be tomorrow night against Milwaukee.
Rodney Hood is expected to play tomorrow against the Milwaukee Bucks.
— Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) February 23, 2017
Therefore, while it’s good that Burks is at least healthy enough to be in the rotation, it’s disappointing that he isn’t contributing as greatly as Jazz fans might have hoped at this point and he certainly hasn’t lived up to my expectations from back in January. That’s why I’m calling this prediction mostly incorrect.