Utah Jazz: How Well Can Alec Burks Play?

Potential, it’s a scary word for a lot of fan bases, franchise executives, and even players. When a player has a lot of potential it can only mean two possibilities … the player will reach their potential or they will not.

How high is the ceiling for Alec Burks, and will he ever reach his potential?

It’s starting to look like it.

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After getting drafted by Utah Jazz with the 12th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, the 6’6″ guard from Colorado has gotten better every year.

Each season in the NBA, Burks has improved one aspect of his game. From the summer of his rookie year to his second year, he improved on his assist totals. Then from his second year to his third all of his major statistics improved, including points, shooting percentage, assists, rebounds, steals, and free throw attempts.

Last season out of a possible 78 games, he only started 12 times. Burks was killing opponents off of the bench.

This season Burks will have a more defined role as a starter and as one of the go-to players on offense. That role will require more responsibilities like playing a lot better defense (more on that later), and making sure to stay aggressive on offense.

The transition from the bench to the starting lineup next year should not have an adjustment period. Playing along with Trey Burke and Gordon Hayward, the leap from sixth man to starter is going to have a smooth effect for every member of the Jazz including Burks himself.

The scary thing about Burks is we do not know how high his ceiling is. Some people (like myself) see him as a Jamal Crawford-type of player.

Burks has ability to become an awesome sixth man who can come off the bench and provide a lot of firepower. The role as a sixth man is going has already redefined the way basketball traditionalists view it and Burks could spearhead that. The most important aspect of a basketball game is the lineup that finishes the game, not the lineup that starts it.

However with the lack of depth on the Jazz, Burks has to play in the starting lineup (my idea will work when they get an elite perimeter defender in Utah), whereas other people (including Burks) see him as a star in the league, and for good reason because he has a lot of (here comes that magic word again) potential.

Addressing his potential Burks had this to say with an interview with Mike Sorensen of the Deseret News:

"“I definitely feel like I can,’’ he said. “I’ve got the talent to be. I’ve got the competitiveness to be. I feel like I can become a great player in this league with my athletic ability and potential. I think I can be real good in this league.’’"

The one reason people can see him as a star eventually, is because Burks has scoring ability that cannot be taught. In more than 50 games last year, he scored in double-digits, including a couple of 30-point games.

Also, when Burks is rolling he is nailing jump shots, and more importantly getting to the free throw line aggressively. Although his Jazz teammate Hayward played a lot more minutes than Burks last season he only averaged 0.1 more free throw than Burks. Next year look for Burks to get score more points per game because of his free throw attempts increasing.

One of the glaring weaknesses in Burks game is on the defensive side of the basketball.

As the starting shooting guard of the Jazz he will have to guard players like James Harden, Klay Thompson, Kobe Bryant, Eric Gordon, Monta Ellis and Manu Ginobili.

It is a tall order because Burks is somewhat of a defensive liability. Last season out of a possible 482 players, Burks finished in 459th place.  Also, his defensive win shares placed him at the 309th spot.

Next season Burks said he wants to shooting, but the defense is what he needs to focus on. Cleaning up his defense and staying in front of defenders is going to bring him more notoriety because the Jazz will see the benefits of his effort.

Fighting hard on defense is contagious and his teammates will rally behind him and continue to match his effort.

Burks is going to have an awesome year next year and the Jazz will have a lot of entertainment with him in their starting lineup.

Maybe then we all can see next year if he will live up to his potential.