SALT LAKE CITY, UT - APRIL 27: Alec Burks #10 of the Utah Jazz shoots the ball against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game Six of the Western Conference Quarterfinals during the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 27, 2018 at vivint.SmartHome Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)
Utah Jazz: Should Alec Burks take Dante Exum’s playoff minutes?
Utah Jazz guard Alec Burks made the most of limited opportunities during his squad’s first-round series with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
As the Utah Jazz get set to tip-off their series with the Houston Rockets, there are suddenly major questions on the guard line. They’ve made it to Round 2, but in a cruel twist of fate, starting point-man Ricky Rubio could miss most of the series with a hamstring injury.
Jazz coach Quin Snyder will likely roll with Donovan Mitchell at the point in his stead. The second unit, however, poses problems of its own.
Entering postseason play, former No. 5 overall pick Dante Exum was the one that took the baton from Rubio. But after Exum’s rough go in Round 1, Snyder may want to redistribute some of those minutes.
Alec Burks may actually be the better option against Houston.
Of the players Snyder went to regularly in the six games against the Oklahoma City Thunder, none impacted the game more negatively than Exum. The Jazz were outscored by 13.5 points per 100 possessions when he was on the court in the series.
His problems came on both sides of the ball, too.
Outside of a nice second-half run in Game 1, he was largely unable to capitalize on a match-up with the athletically inferior Raymond Felton. And when he put the burners on in the open court, he had difficulty finishing plays at the hoop.
More troubling, though, was the team’s inability to defend when Exum was on the floor. Utah’s D-rating was 120.3 when he was in the lineup. Woof.
Burks, meanwhile, went from being the forgotten man to a Game 6 hero. With Rubio out, he was forced into action and responded with 11 points in 17 minutes. He also hit key shots down the stretch and played solid defense.
After the close-out victory, Coach Snyder wasn’t curbing his enthusiasm for the performance. “We don’t win that game without Alec,” he said. “There’s no question about it.”
Burks was also dynamite during garbage time in Game 1, racking up 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting. In short, dude gets buckets…and the Jazz will need them in Houston starting Sunday.
In the grand scheme of things, Exum is a rung or two above Burks. His length and speed are elite and a lot of smart people still see star potential in him. All the while, Burks looks like an inefficient, end-of-the-bench guy at this point and the $11.5 million owed to him next season is eating valuable cap space.
Right now, though, it’s not about 82 games, three years down the road or free agency and the cap crunch. Snyder’s sole goal is to win four times against James Harden and the Rockets. And Burks may give him a better chance to do so than Exum.
At the least, it’s food for thought.
