Utah Jazz 2016-17 season review: Alec Burks
By Adam Coffman
Weaknesses
Regardless of his struggles this past season, Burks isn’t a great stylistic fit overall for the way the Jazz have been operating under Quin Snyder.
Utah plays at a methodical pace, eschewing transition opportunities in favor of low turnover numbers and efficient offense, while Burks excels playing in a faster-paced, more chaotic environment.
In college at the University of Colorado, over 21 percent of his possessions came in transition, while only 15 percent of his offense was derived on fastbreaks last season with the Jazz.
More from Utah Jazz
- 5 NBA teams on the rise that will surprise everyone in 2023-24
- Grading the John Collins trade for the Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz
- Ranking the 10 championship-less NBA teams by closeness to title
- A former lottery pick may have a permanent home with the Utah Jazz
- 3 Teams that dodged a bullet with Russell Westbrook news
This fact alone doesn’t necessarily manifest itself as a negative, but it does have the consequence of preventing one of his greater strengths from taking effect.
More specifically, there is the significant issue of Burks’ inability to finish at the rim. Inside the restricted area last year, he converted just 40.3 percent of his attempts, which ranked among the worst marks in the entire league.
His lack of body control contributes to his ability to draw fouls, but it also hamstrings his finishing prowess, as he’ll resort to crazy body contortions as opposed to smarter attempts when presented with resistance inside the paint.
There’s a large divide between what Burks is ideally and what he showed himself to be last year. The difference of these two versions of himself will determine whether or not he has a future with the Jazz or, in a broader sense, a significant role to play at all.