Utah Jazz: Alec Burks making the most of his opportunities

In expanded minutes so far this season, shooting guard Alec Burks is having a bounce-back year and is making the most of his opportunities for the Utah Jazz.

When veteran wing Joe Johnson exited the Utah Jazz rotation with tendon instability in his right wrist at the end of October, the Jazz immediately looked to who would be the next player to step up and fill that void during Johnson’s absence.

From that point on, especially recently, Alec Burks has been that player for Utah.

Burks, in his seventh NBA season out of the University of Colorado, is having a nice bounce back season after falling short of expectations a season ago. Recently, he’s certainly made the most of his opportunities in receiving extra playing time while Johnson attempts to recover and make his way back into the lineup.

Last year, Burks had a career-worst year after being a key role player for the majority of his career up to that point. In 42 games during the 2016-17 season, Burks averaged a career-low 6.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 0.4 steals in a career-low 15.5 minutes per game. He also shot a career-worst 39.9 percent from the field and 32.9 percent from 3.

Some of that disappointing production out of Burks last season could have been because of the addition of a few key pieces in the Jazz’s second unit.  Mainly (you guessed it), Johnson.

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This season, though, has been a nice turnaround for the shooting guard. With his recent play, Burks has proven why he could continue to be a nice piece coming off the bench for Utah.

This season, Burks is back to the level of play Jazz fans were accustomed to seeing from him. Through 26 games, he’s averaging 10.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.9 steals per game.

Along with seeing increases in nearly every category, he’s also having nearly the best shooting year of his career. So far, he’s shooting 44.8 percent from the field, which is the second-best mark of his career, and 40.8 percent from 3, which is a career high.

In the last six games, that increase in production has taken off to the next level. During that span, Burks has averaged 21.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals in 27.4 minutes per game coming off the bench. His hot streak in shooting has been a big reason for those numbers, as he’s shooting 56.8 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from behind the arc.

A highlight during that six-game span was Burks’ 20-point performance on Sunday night in a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks:

With the addition of rookie Donovan Mitchell — who has been playing extremely well in his first season — to the starting lineup and the absence of Johnson and Rodney Hood, Burks will continue to get his chance to show the Jazz what he’s capable of coming off the bench.

If he continues to produce the way he has this season, especially in the last few weeks, Quin Snyder and the Jazz coaching staff will have a hard time denying Burks minutes.

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There still is one question that remains if Burks’ solid production does continue. When Johnson and Hood rejoin Utah’s rotation down the road, it might be a little too crowded at the wing position within Utah’s second unit. So, does that mean the Jazz will likely make a move and trade away one of those players? Or will someone simply get the short end of the stick for playing time? We’re just going to have to wait and find out.