Zach Lowe on Trey Burke

[GONYK]

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/22778687/zach-lowe-10-things-like-including-kyrie-irving-nba

5. Trey Burke, thirsty for 2s
Kudos to Trey Burke for making some changes and reclaiming his place in the league. It feels a little icky to nitpick his shot profile.

But, my god, does this dude love long 2-pointers. Almost half his shots have come from the extended midrange, a share that lands Burke in the 99th percentile among all point guards, per Cleaning The Glass. He has hit 55 percent of them so far -- well beyond typical Dirk Nowitzki/Chris Paul territory. Burke has been solid from the midrange in the past -- around 41 percent for his career -- but this season's number is unsustainable.

Burke has been thirsty since the New York Knicks called him up from the G-League. He's launching 18.5 shots per 36 minutes. That would rank 19th among all rotation players, tied with LeBron James. The guys ahead of him are either stars, wannabe stars on terrible teams, or Marreese Speights.

Maybe it doesn't matter. The Knicks without Kristaps Porzingis are awful. Someone has to shoot. It might as well be Burke (or Michael Beasley). There is value in a backup point guard who can generate decent looks almost on his own for bench units bereft of shot creators. Someone has to pass, too, and Burke is dishing 7.7 dimes per 36 minutes.

But Burke's game is a little out of balance. He has earned a shot as backup -- the Knicks have him on a nonguaranteed deal next season -- and with that done, Burke doesn't have to monopolize the offense. Maybe give Frank Ntilikina a few more turns? Try more pull-up 3s, grind on defense, venture farther into the lane.

[JBreezeNY]

As long as we keep losing he could put up 40 shots for all I care.

[Capn'O]

The above is why most view him as a bench/microwave player in the big picture. He can come in and hurt teams in a hurry but you can't rely on that long term from a starter.

[Sark]

Zach Lowe just made Red Vines' sht list.

[Jalen Bluntson]

The above is why most view him as a bench/microwave player in the big picture. He can come in and hurt teams in a hurry but you can't rely on that long term from a starter.

I saw him as a backup. Now...a fringe starter IF he can sustain the level of play we have seen. So...yeah....bench/microwave is what I see.

[El Poochio]

This doesnt mean anything as long as he is converting them like a layup

[Clyde_Style]

The above is why most view him as a bench/microwave player in the big picture. He can come in and hurt teams in a hurry but you can't rely on that long term from a starter.

That is exactly how I see him. And that has value, but he is not a starting PG on a contender. He has been a good find. If they keep picking up guys like this and Troy, they can have a legit second unit by the time there is a quality starting line-up, so its definitely a sign of some kind of plan.

Now if Mudiay becomes sensational I will definitely eat more hats, preferably ones made of tofu, but I still believe in Frank as our future PG.

[Clyde_Style]

Zach Lowe just made Red Vines' sht list.

I would pay to see that death match

[spree2kawhi]

He plays well. What do you even want?

[GONYK]

The above is why most view him as a bench/microwave player in the big picture. He can come in and hurt teams in a hurry but you can't rely on that long term from a starter.

That is exactly how I see him. And that has value, but he is not a starting PG on a contender. He has been a good find. If they keep picking up guys like this and Troy, they can have a legit second unit by the time there is a quality starting line-up, so its definitely a sign of some kind of plan.

Now if Mudiay becomes sensational I will definitely eat more hats, preferably ones made of tofu, but I still believe in Frank as our future PG.

He has been good in the backup role so far this season for sure, but I watch him through the lens of "what if the shots weren't falling?", because as Lowe pointed out, the current rate he's hitting his shots is unsustainable.

My main issue with Burke is that once he gets the ball, it never moves from his side of the court. A typical possession with him is dribbling around for 10-15 seconds until he can free himself up for jumper, or make the direct pass to the screener. He doesn't swing the ball, he doesn't really look for shooters. He plays for his own shot.

I do think he has certainly solidified that he belongs in the league, but I don't see a PG you can slot in your starting lineup and trust to execute the offense efficiently or defend the position. The role he's in is pretty perfect for him.

[Jeffrey]

Burke is the perfect sixth man/spot starter. We need a guy like that for the 2nd unit, a guy that can score at will and doesn't give a fck. Beasley and Burke are good role players off the bench.

[Red Vines]

I swear people still can't accept that he's good. He has certain midrange hot spots which set up his drives. He can shoot threes but he's not about to start launching in volume, he knows he's being evaluated by doing other things right now.

[Clyde_Style]

The above is why most view him as a bench/microwave player in the big picture. He can come in and hurt teams in a hurry but you can't rely on that long term from a starter.

That is exactly how I see him. And that has value, but he is not a starting PG on a contender. He has been a good find. If they keep picking up guys like this and Troy, they can have a legit second unit by the time there is a quality starting line-up, so its definitely a sign of some kind of plan.

Now if Mudiay becomes sensational I will definitely eat more hats, preferably ones made of tofu, but I still believe in Frank as our future PG.

He has been good in the backup role so far this season for sure, but I watch him through the lens of "what if the shots weren't falling?", because as Lowe pointed out, the current rate he's hitting his shots is unsustainable.

My main issue with Burke is that once he gets the ball, it never moves from his side of the court. A typical possession with him is dribbling around for 10-15 seconds until he can free himself up for jumper, or make the direct pass to the screener. He doesn't swing the ball, he doesn't really look for shooters. He plays for his own shot.

I do think he has certainly solidified that he belongs in the league, but I don't see a PG you can slot in your starting lineup and trust to execute the offense efficiently or defend the position. The role he's in is pretty perfect for him.

I agree with this. He certainly gives the team a penetrator on offense, but I see him primarily as an off-guard and perhaps as a back-up PG when you want your second string to put offensive pressure on the opponents.

He will always be a thirsty player and in many instances that is good when you don't have the bona fide starting unit yet. So the prism of seeing his play now does have to be seen through the present circumstances.

One thing about Burke is I don't get much of a supportive teammate vibe off of him. He went through tough times, but he still comes off as a me-first player. When other guys are jumping off the bench to celebrate someone else's good play Burke is often very meh. He strikes me as having a very predatory attitude about playing time. It is just my read on his body language, but if Frank and Mudiay broke their legs I don't think it would break Trey's heart.

I like his aggression right now. I'd like to see how he handles distribution and shot taking when the starting unit is upgraded and he has to share. I'd rather he be hungry and confident though so I can't split this hair too fine. Frank probably should drink a little Trey juice himself.

[Red Vines]

Zach Lowe just made Red Vines' sht list.

Nah but I think he's ignorant about this, Burke's been killing it for months now.

[3toheadmelo]

meh i think we should at least give him a shot at starting and see what happens before we come to any conclusions IMO. but i can see why people look at him as a 6th man

[Da ThRONe]

The above is why most view him as a bench/microwave player in the big picture. He can come in and hurt teams in a hurry but you can't rely on that long term from a starter.

That is exactly how I see him. And that has value, but he is not a starting PG on a contender. He has been a good find. If they keep picking up guys like this and Troy, they can have a legit second unit by the time there is a quality starting line-up, so its definitely a sign of some kind of plan.

Now if Mudiay becomes sensational I will definitely eat more hats, preferably ones made of tofu, but I still believe in Frank as our future PG.

He has been good in the backup role so far this season for sure, but I watch him through the lens of "what if the shots weren't falling?", because as Lowe pointed out, the current rate he's hitting his shots is unsustainable.

My main issue with Burke is that once he gets the ball, it never moves from his side of the court. A typical possession with him is dribbling around for 10-15 seconds until he can free himself up for jumper, or make the direct pass to the screener. He doesn't swing the ball, he doesn't really look for shooters. He plays for his own shot.

I do think he has certainly solidified that he belongs in the league, but I don't see a PG you can slot in your starting lineup and trust to execute the offense efficiently or defend the position. The role he's in is pretty perfect for him.

Trey finds open shooters all the time on dribble penetration. This post IMO couldn't be more totally off. I don't get why after everything he's done this season and the fact that he hasn't been given a chance to start people seem so regulated to type cast Burke as a sixth man.

[Red Vines]

If you have Kyrie, Lillard, CP3, Curry, etc Burke is a 6th man otherwise start the man.

[TheGreenArrow]

The above is why most view him as a bench/microwave player in the big picture. He can come in and hurt teams in a hurry but you can't rely on that long term from a starter.

exactly my point.

[Blockwatcher]

Trey is a genius. He's getting ready for the NBA to get rid of the stupid gimmicky 3 point line

[ronnymac2]

Interesting article. What I learned is that Zach Lowe is a hater.