Utah Jazz: Why Alec Burks Should Move To PG

The Utah Jazz need more production from their point guard position. Is it time Alec Burks started at point guard?

Play your best five players. It’s not complicated; it’s simple.

Your best five players–no matter the height, weight or size–should be the five players on the court for the majority of the game.

One of the reasons why the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, and the Miami Heat were the last three champions in the NBA is because of their ability to adapt and change. All three of those teams have been at the forefront of the positionless basketball movement and each of them has gotten bountiful results because of their decisions, an NBA championship.

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For the Utah Jazz, it’s been difficult seeing their team struggle because they don’t have an adequate point guard. Even though some people feel that their backup point guard Trey Burke was given the demotion as a backup unfairly and unwisely, it doesn’t change Utah’s lack of success. Utah has a 12-16 record, they’re ranked last in pace and they are 24th in points per game.

Their struggles offensively are large because of the team’s inability to create shots for other players.

Since head coach Quin Snyder promoted rookie point guard Raul Neto to the starting lineup it hasn’t yielded much for the team or for Neto’s game. Concurrently, Burke is coming off of the bench and having the season of his life averaging 11.1 points, shooting 43 percent from the floor and 36 percent from the three-point line in a career-low 23.1 minutes per game.

Starting Five, Meet Alec Burks

Nevertheless, because Utah is so poised to keep Burke off of their bench, they need to find the answer to their starting point guard woes and another person on the bench might be the answer to their problems.

Due to the fact that Utah desperately needs to start scoring more and pushing the tempo, does that mean that Alec Burks, should have the opportunity to start at point guard? Should Utah start Burks at point guard and start entering into the era of position-less basketball?

During Utah’s four-game losing streak two weeks ago, it was evident that Burks might have a chance to play point guard and succeed, at least for this lone season. When Utah played against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah had every chance to win the game and it was mainly because Quin Snyder started a lineup that included Gordon Hayward, Rodney Hood and Burks.

Having three wing players was ingenious but it came too late, as Utah ultimately lost 104-98. However, what was good to see was that Hayward, Hood and Burks each scored at least 21 points and Burks had the second-most assists during the game.

There’s a Chance This Could Work … Yup

Additionally, against Oklahoma City, Russell Westbrook wasn’t too explosive as he had to scratch and claw to get to 25 points. Westbrook ended up shooting 9-of-25 from the field and 0-for-4 from the three-point line. The defense, the cornerstone of the team, didn’t take a hit with Burks in the starting five.

If Snyder decides this could be a lineup for the rest of the year, it could mean the end of Dante Exum in Utah.

If Burks can come in and succeed at point guard then Utah won’t have a need and could start using him as trade bait for a first round pick. Burks gives Utah a better chance to win because he’s big, quick, and scoring savvy enough to compete against point guards in the league. He wouldn’t need to create either, just help with getting points.

Furthermore, having someone like Burks isn’t necessarily a bad thing even if he’s not distributing the basketball. Thankfully Utah has two other playmakers in Hood and Hayward that each can get others involved. Burks has the ability too, but he’s more of a scorer than a facilitator which is good because Utah needs more offense.

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If they bring Burks into the starting lineup, then it will also force management to look for other perimeter oriented talent to play or it could open the door for players like Elijah Millsap to get more minutes.