Utah Jazz: (Over)reactions from game one of 2018-19

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SACRAMENTO, CA – OCTOBER 11: Alec Burks #10 of the Utah Jazz looks on during the game against ghte Sacramento Kings on October 11, 2018 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The bench (especially AB) looks great, but that won’t be enough

Now for a little bit of positive. While there wasn’t all that much that looked great on Wednesday night, Utah’s second unit definitely deserves praise. Each of Alec Burks, Dante Exum and Jae Crowder looked phenomenal, and they were the real reason why Utah was able to climb back into the game and ultimately take the lead. What was at one point a 16-point first quarter deficit shrunk to just four at the break thanks to their efforts.

All three of them put up 13 points apiece and each shot over 40 percent from the field. Burks was the most impressive of them all. He finished shooting a terrific 4-of-7 (57.1 percent) from the field which included going 3-of-3 from deep. Not to mention, he posted an astounding net rating of 74.9.

Burks was once thought of as a skilled offensive weapon for the Jazz, but injury after injury set him back significantly. Early signs are such that he may very well finally break out this upcoming season. His decision making and shooting stroke look much improved, and the Jazz could certainly use his contributions as a playmaker off the bench.

Although Derrick Favors is a starter, he played several minutes with the second unit and deserves a shout-out here as well. He was highly efficient in his time on the court, putting up 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting while being the only starter to finish positive in terms of plus/minus. He was solid on defense and had an all-around good game.

Truthfully, the reserves were the reason that Utah won this game. And while it’s great to know that their depth will be so exceptional as to help them overwhelm opposing teams’ benches, it also won’t be enough to make the Jazz elite. A great bench is an awesome commodity. But the starters have to follow suit. They were far from doing so, as all of them, with the exception of Favors, had atrocious net ratings, whereas the reserves posted marks that were red hot.

Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles and Rudy Gobert all had good moments (I’ve already spoken of Donovan’s and will touch on the other two shortly), but as a unit they simply weren’t good. Unfortunately, much of that issue stemmed from the play of the other starter that quite truthfully had no positive impact on the game – Ricky Rubio, who I’ll discuss next.

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