Game 45: Indiana Pacers (22-19) @ Utah Jazz (28-16)

[Tom349]

This game illustrated perfectly why we should be playing Exum. We won it with our backup PG logging zeroes in all but steals (2) and turnovers (3). We'd be losing nothing by playing Exum.

Yes there are so many reasons why Exum should be playing over Neto. Mack over Exum I could kind of understand, given Mack is somewhat of microwave scorer and I think with us returning to near on full health the need for Macks scoring is no longer necessary thus the DNP's.

But back to Neto vs Exum:

* Exum is four years younger.
* Neither shoot the three ball well.
* http://stats.nba.com/players/opponent-shooting/#!?Season=2016-17&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&PlayerPosition=G&TeamID=1610612762&DistanceRange=By%20Zone&CF=AGE*LE*26&sort=Restricted%20Area%20FG%20PCT&dir=1&PerMode=Totals

And there is this. Neto is getting feasted on. Admittedly Dante opponents are shooting a very high percentage on their three's but I'm not sure what circumstances are leading to this i.e is he over helping, or giving poor shooters open looks daring them to shoot and them making them?

[Crunch 99]

Alec's ability to push the ball in transition is such a nice addition to this team.

It's really exciting to see Burks making progress in his comeback. He was our star player off the bench last night.

[millslapper]

Just throwing this out there, Alec has clearly watched A LOT of film while he has been out. His ball movement, patience, and defense have all improved dramatically.

But he still needs to work on his defensive footwork. right now, he is an easy victim for badass ankle breakers.

by the way. Pacers look a bit burnt out. opposite of the mavs yesterday.

[babyjax13]

Just throwing this out there, Alec has clearly watched A LOT of film while he has been out. His ball movement, patience, and defense have all improved dramatically.

But he still needs to work on his defensive footwork. right now, he is an easy victim for badass ankle breakers.

by the way. Pacers look a bit burnt out. opposite of the mavs yesterday.

He is, I think a lot of that might just be coming back from surgery. I'm coming back from surgery as well - obviously not in the NBA lol - but it's so strange how movements that were so easy and just muscle memory (like footwork) become a jumbled mess afterward.

[Crunch 99]

Just throwing this out there, Alec has clearly watched A LOT of film while he has been out. His ball movement, patience, and defense have all improved dramatically.

But he still needs to work on his defensive footwork. right now, he is an easy victim for badass ankle breakers.

Yes, and for that reason, defensive liability, he is best suited to play out this season in a heater off the bench role. Burks also committed four fouls in 19 minutes last night. But he is still only 25 years old and really hasn't played much in the defensive minded Quin era. He's still has a chance to become a better defensive player --- beyond shaking off the rust.

[Winglish]

Just throwing this out there, Alec has clearly watched A LOT of film while he has been out. His ball movement, patience, and defense have all improved dramatically.

I was thinking the same thing at the game. Alec is moving the ball and trying on defense. He has tricked me into thinking he would play team ball before. I am not going to trust this behavior until I see it as a habit. Alec has a tendency to coast on defense.

Right now I must admit- Alec Burks looked good last night!

Sent from my SM-N900T using RealGM mobile app

[stitches]

Just throwing this out there, Alec has clearly watched A LOT of film while he has been out. His ball movement, patience, and defense have all improved dramatically.

I was thinking the same thing at the game. Alec is moving the ball and trying on defense. He has tricked me into thinking he would play team ball before. I am not going to trust this behavior until I see it as a habit. Alec has a tendency to coast on defense.

Right now I must admit- Alec Burks looked good last night!

Sent from my SM-N900T using RealGM mobile app

this is not necessarily a strike against his willingness to play team ball since it probably takes some reps, but he actually missed the backdoor Hayward alleyoop play. Hayward made the cut perfect, but Alec was starting to dribble instead of letting the play develop and he missed it.

[Winglish]

Just throwing this out there, Alec has clearly watched A LOT of film while he has been out. His ball movement, patience, and defense have all improved dramatically.

I was thinking the same thing at the game. Alec is moving the ball and trying on defense. He has tricked me into thinking he would play team ball before. I am not going to trust this behavior until I see it as a habit. Alec has a tendency to coast on defense.

Right now I must admit- Alec Burks looked good last night!

Sent from my SM-N900T using RealGM mobile app

this is not necessarily a strike against his willingness to play team ball since it probably takes some reps, but he actually missed the backdoor Hayward alleyoop play. Hayward made the cut perfect, but Alec was starting to dribble instead of letting the play develop and he missed it.

True, but I do not see Alec as someone with exceptional court vision or a real knack for making the right pass. I straight up cringe every time I read about people wanting the 3 wing lineup. It makes me barf a little bit in my mouth to think of Alec as a point guard. I see Alec as a shooting guard all the way and one who should be paired with other facilitators.

That said, Alec has a lot of really nice qualities and I love his game when he plays hard and plays smart.

Sent from my SM-N900T using RealGM mobile app

[KqWIN]

I was thinking the same thing at the game. Alec is moving the ball and trying on defense. He has tricked me into thinking he would play team ball before. I am not going to trust this behavior until I see it as a habit. Alec has a tendency to coast on defense.

Right now I must admit- Alec Burks looked good last night!

Sent from my SM-N900T using RealGM mobile app

this is not necessarily a strike against his willingness to play team ball since it probably takes some reps, but he actually missed the backdoor Hayward alleyoop play. Hayward made the cut perfect, but Alec was starting to dribble instead of letting the play develop and he missed it.

True, but I do not see Alec as someone with exceptional court vision or a real knack for making the right pass. I straight up cringe every time I read about people wanting the 3 wing lineup. It makes me barf a little bit in my mouth to think of Alec as a point guard. I see Alec as a shooting guard all the way and one who should be paired with other facilitators.

That said, Alec has a lot of really nice qualities and I love his game when he plays hard and plays smart.

Sent from my SM-N900T using RealGM mobile app

The best facilitators on the team happen to be wings as well. That's why the 3 wing lineup works so well. If it makes you barf to think of Alec as point guard, think of Hayward as the point guard. It's not like anything changes when one guy is named the PG and another is named the SG.

[Winglish]

this is not necessarily a strike against his willingness to play team ball since it probably takes some reps, but he actually missed the backdoor Hayward alleyoop play. Hayward made the cut perfect, but Alec was starting to dribble instead of letting the play develop and he missed it.

True, but I do not see Alec as someone with exceptional court vision or a real knack for making the right pass. I straight up cringe every time I read about people wanting the 3 wing lineup. It makes me barf a little bit in my mouth to think of Alec as a point guard. I see Alec as a shooting guard all the way and one who should be paired with other facilitators.

That said, Alec has a lot of really nice qualities and I love his game when he plays hard and plays smart.

Sent from my SM-N900T using RealGM mobile app

The best facilitators on the team happen to be wings as well. That's why the 3 wing lineup works so well. If it makes you barf to think of Alec as point guard, think of Hayward as the point guard. It's not like anything changes when one guy is named the PG and another is named the SG.

I respectfully but very emphatically disagree. I do not love it when Hayward sets the offense either. Gordon tends to dribble himself into trouble as often as not. We have all seen the difference that the arrival of George Hill made for the team. The Jazz have DESPERATELY needed a point guard. Now they have a real point guard and, not surprisingly, the team plays smoother.

[sipclip]

True, but I do not see Alec as someone with exceptional court vision or a real knack for making the right pass. I straight up cringe every time I read about people wanting the 3 wing lineup. It makes me barf a little bit in my mouth to think of Alec as a point guard. I see Alec as a shooting guard all the way and one who should be paired with other facilitators.

That said, Alec has a lot of really nice qualities and I love his game when he plays hard and plays smart.

Sent from my SM-N900T using RealGM mobile app

The best facilitators on the team happen to be wings as well. That's why the 3 wing lineup works so well. If it makes you barf to think of Alec as point guard, think of Hayward as the point guard. It's not like anything changes when one guy is named the PG and another is named the SG.

I respectfully but very emphatically disagree. I do not love it when Hayward sets the offense either. Gordon tends to dribble himself into trouble as often as not. We have all seen the difference that the arrival of George Hill made for the team. The Jazz have DESPERATELY needed a point guard. Now they have a real point guard and, not surprisingly, the team plays smoother.

Lets not kid ourselves and ignore what was their before. It is not like we were constantly running the triple wing lineup for us to judge against that. We were running out Burke, Exum, Neto and Mack. Unfortunately you can make a case that are 4 of those players are 3rd string pg's yet we were starting them at times. Also Gordon may have dribbled into trouble in the past when running the point but we haven't seen that this year and he has spent plenty of time being the ball dominant wing.

[KqWIN]

I respectfully but very emphatically disagree. I do not love it when Hayward sets the offense either. Gordon tends to dribble himself into trouble as often as not. We have all seen the difference that the arrival of George Hill made for the team. The Jazz have DESPERATELY needed a point guard. Now they have a real point guard and, not surprisingly, the team plays smoother.

I don't really care who dribbles the ball up the personally. If Alec brings the ball up the floor and passes it Hayward, voila, it doesn't matter anymore. We definitely do not rely on one dominant ball handler and the positions are interchangeable. I don't see any fundamental changes in anyone's role when we go to three wings. It just means that we have our best players on the court and there are more threats.

Of course Hill made a big difference, he's a great player and he was replacing bad players. We saw the same effect when Alec came in a year ago and we've seen it a few teams this year as well. We just closed out a game in Dallas with it and won. Who isn't on the floor matters just as much as who is on the floor. Playing Alec means that we don't have a crappy backup PG playing instead. He as the advantage over Exum/Mack/Neto in my opinion simply due to the fact that he's a much better player.

It's not like Hill is a true PG or either. He's more of a combo guard and the reason why he fits so well is because he can play off the ball. I've wanted Hill on this team for years, and that's the reason why.