Trey Burke: Defense Key To His Sophomore Breakout
By Evan Massey
The Utah Jazz selected former Michigan point guard Trey Burke with the ninth overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, and they were fairly happy with what they saw from him in his first season last year. He showed a lot of potential on the offensive end of the floor, and took on some leadership as well towards the end of the season.
Now heading into Burke’s second season, the Jazz would like to see him improve his defense and become an above average perimeter defender.
Burke spoke to Jody Genessy of the Desert News about the coaching staff asking him to step up defensively.
“(Coach) kind of challenged me when he first got the job at the beginning of the summer to get better in that area. He said I would be a much better player if I was more active on the defensive end, specifically on pick-and-roll situations.”
One of the best traits for any young player in the NBA is to focus on becoming a two-way player and locking down on defense. There aren’t many players across the league that take pride on the defensive end of the court, and Burke could set himself apart from them by doing so. His offensive game will continue growing with experience, and his athletic ability leaves plenty of room for his defense to improve as well.
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It will be very interesting to see what this season holds for Burke and the Jazz. They were one of the NBA’s worst defenses, but have plenty of potential to improve that. Burke has the most talent of any player on the Jazz roster, and will need to step up and lead by example on the court this season.
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There could be some improvement from Burke in the shot selection area as well, but defense is the key for his second NBA season. Utah needs a franchise player to step forward this season, and Burke appears to be that guy at this point in time. He has to take the next step in his career this season in order to prove that he has that type of potential.
Expect to see a much better season from Burke this year, especially on the defensive end of the court. Quin Snyder has made it clear that he wants the Jazz to step up on the defensive end of the court, and Burke appears to be a player that is beginning to take pride on that side of the court.