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Alec Burks vs. Tinsley and Watson
Posted by: Nick Knows All on February 10th, 2013
The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of the Utah Jazz.Is Alec Burks a starting caliber point guard? No. Is he ridiculously, incomparably better than Jamaal Tinsley and Earl Watson? Yes.
Lets look at the numbers for the last 5 games, where Alec Burks has finally had the opportunity to play an average of 20+ minutes per game. Let’s then compare Burks’ numbers to Jamaal Tinsley’s and Earl Watson’s. I am not even going to make an argument, because these numbers speak for themselves.
Fun fact: Burks is 13-13 from the charity stripe in the last 5 games.
|
|
Points |
Assists |
Rebounds |
FG % |
FT % |
FTA |
MPG |
+/- |
|
Alec Burks |
11 |
2.6 |
2.6 |
43 |
100 |
2.6 |
26 |
+27 |
|
Jamaal Tinsley |
4 |
5.1 |
2.1 |
36 |
72 |
.4 |
21 |
-41 |
|
Earl Watson |
2 |
4.2 |
1.8 |
31 |
66 |
.5 |
18 |
-9 |
Replies: 27
Views: 574
* * * * 5 Votes
27 Responses
…the numbers 2 & 6 seem to be Burk’s magical numerical combination. I’ve double checked them, by the way. It would really freak me out if his +/- was also 26.
This doesn’t even show that Burks is a much better defender as well. His size and athleticism make him a no brainer over Jamaal or Earl. Did you see that block he had early in the game on Jimmer?
Looking at the minutes, it doesn’t seem like we could bench both Tinsley and Watson, but Corbin should make a decision and play only 1 of those guys 20 minutes and continue to let Burks pick up a couple of minutes at the 2 as well.
What happens when Hayward comes back? That worries me about Burks. Will he vanish again?
Perfectly, Nick. This is a no brainer, but Jazz FO lacks brains and a set, so in their mind Watson is MVP.
@Andy I like the block on Thomas!! Burks speed, athleticism, and length game Thomas trouble and he blocked the hell out of his shot. Jazz could have had Nurks at this level in game 6 of the season!! Instead he gets DNPed into oblivion!! Good job Corbin. And looking back they will say, “give Corbin credit he chose to insert Burks into lineup, thats why Burks is playing well,”I. Lol! Ya right!
Burks has as high a ceiling as Favors! And I still think they are behind in their development! Had Corbin had a set and played Burks good minutes last year, this is where hed be like last March!! Imagine if Kanter had 5 straight games with 25 minutes?! Good job Corbin and Jazz FO.
Not a starting calibre pg but a starting 2 for damm sure. Hes a sg with pg skills. . Oh my nekka can ball
When Gordon comes back, you have the perfect “co-point guard” with Alec on the floor, because either one can handle the point or bringing the ball up.
With Gordon back Ty could, if he would, run a 3 guard rotation with Alec, Gordon and Foye, keeping Jamaal and Earl on the bench, where they belong.
Jazzaholic
Nick, I will not argue that Earl and Jamaal exactly Andre Miller or Steve Nash esque players this late in their careers, but with Burks scoring more and dishing out fewer assists have you noticed we have been losing games while his numbers have been improving? (Also, how do you have 2.6 FTA and make 100% of them?)
Thomas lit it up with 30 something points. Burks didn’t slow that down much. “But he blocked his shot” right…? Thomas 5′8″ – Burks 6′6″
We need a Thomas type PG. Someone who an get to the rim with his speed yet can shoot the 3
Also, if Burks is shooting so well from the line, why has he stopped slashing to the basket and drawing fouls?
Kory – he stopped slashing becuase he was asked to play the PG spot where he was looking for teammates first and he has kept that going he has been looking for teammates first then he creates his own shot. Thomas did most of his scoring when Watson and Tinsley were in not when burks was playing him. the past few games with hayward out has showed burks was worth the pick for the SG now we need to put hayward back at the 3 and bring in a solid PG that scores and gets a decent amount of assists..
@Kory….ya he did block his shot!! AND…….
Foye came in for Watson (after Watson fouled him for an and 1) at 6:35 in the 4th!!!!
Thomas had hit the FT…….and went SCORELESS the rest of the way in 4th while Burks guarded him and blocked his shot. Maybe Corbib shoyld have put 6′6 player on Thomas 5′8….but that involes good choaching.
Id say Burks did a fine job holding Thomas SCORELESS in 4th.
@jazzaholic Yeah thats exactly what I would do too! But will Corbin do it? His track record says no! @ kory I would argue its still minutes Watson and Tinsley are getting thats making us lose(along with heavy Al)!!! The few more assists they might get do not make up that they are zero factor on defense and scoring. Not to mention the fact that their guys are now double teaming the post constantly. Opposing pgs know they dont have to worry about them. 4 on 5
Come on guys, isn’t it obvious? Tinsley and Watson are veterans! That makes them the best players of ever! Burks? No way is he a veteran! And thus, clearly, NOT the best player of ever!
@Kory – Did you watch the game?
Yeah i never miss a game. 4 responses to my comment and still no solutions
It is no secret that we are very slim at PG especially at the backup position. My point is, we have won a bunch of games with Watson and Tinsley at the helm even with their meager contributions and everyone still complains and wants to fire Corbin. EVEN WHEN WE ARE WINNING.
Did anyone see Mo’s tweets in response to what Bill Simmons from ESPN said about Utah? He stated that Utah needed a PG and Mo replied with #what the hell have I been playin all season #c’mon
Its obvious burks is a better player than both watson and tinsley. I understand why tinsley starts tho, there is no need for a scorer with that group. Burks has outplayed them both, watson is nothing close to what he used to be.
The questions regarding burks PT, is how well he performs when Gordon comes back. On paper it looks really good, they have performed well together in the past, but Burks was definitely not playing this well. So it will be interesting to see the adjustment that both will have to make in order play well together. BUT i think both can, and WANT to play together which is way more important IMO
Solutions:
bench Al
DNP Watson and Tinsley
Favors 10; Kanter 25; Al 13
Millsap 25; Favors 23
Marvin 25; DC 18; Hayward 5
Hayward 30; Burks 18
Foye 33; Burks 15
No Hayward: split 35 minutes between Marvin (5); DC (10); Murphy (5); Burks (5); Tinsley (10)
With Mo:
Favors 10; Kanter 25; Al 13
Millsap 25; Favors 23
Marvin 25; DC 15; Hayward 8
Hayward 23; Burks 25
Mo 25; Foye 23
Coach that does that….hire him.
Kory wtf are u talking about man.. the jazz play like watching wet paint dry.. not fun…
I had a dream the other night that we fired Corbin and hired Stan Van Gundy… Then I woke up and was disappointed when it didn’t happen…
@Omar, I like the way you are thinking. Next year without Al and Paul we would probably lose more than now, for a season, but with a good draft pick or two we could be much better in the years to come.
@kory regarding your question about burks, thats a pretty dumb question to ask. Your asking a question where only person who can answer that is burks himself. Thats like asking questions like
If Al’s footwork in the post is so good, why does he shoot eight 18ft jumpers a game?
If Lebron is the greatest player on the planet, why is he only shooting ~70% the last 5 games?
If a deal could have been made for james harden or lillard why didn’t KOC make it happen?
Burks had 24 pts on 15 shots last night. This is the NBA, opposing players will get hot. Thomas was hot. They were also well rested, while we were on a back to back. Its not always about shutting down opposing players but neutralizing them. Burks just about neutralized thomas with his own production. Tinsley & watson did nothing to stop thomas or neutralize him. I will agree he needs to become a better defender, but he kept us in the game.
@Kory – I believe the point is Burks is a better player right now and isn’t at his ceiling, while Tinsley and Watson are worse players snd are at their ceilings and decling.
Does the solution really need stating? Can’t tease it out of those facts? Ok I’ll spell it out in eady to understand words:
Play Burks over Tinsley and Watson.
As for winning, it takes time on the court to learn to win in this league. The future is Burks, not Tinsley and Watson. Alec won’t learn anything on the bench. Wins and losses aren’t that important when you’re looking at a best case-scenario 7th seed. In fact I would argue a lottery pick + development of our young guys is more beneficial than a later pick, benched young guys and an 7th or 8th seed exit to Spurs / OKC.
WOW Kory. Really? You apparently do not know how statistics work. 13 free throws in 5 games is 2.6 free throws per game. WOW. Quite the brain on you.
Also one big statistic I left out is that Burks is only averaging 1.8 turnovers over the last 5 games. That is more than Watson but fewer than Tinsley.
@Jazzaholic and Omar: absolutely agree about the co-point guard idea.
@pintz, I also agree that Burks IS a starting caliber shooting guard. Between Foye, Burks, and Hayward, we have all the ball handling we need.
If it were me, I’d have a 4 guard rotation of Burks, Tinsley, Foye, and Hayward (Hayward can play some small forward). I’d start Burks and have Tinsley come off the bench as backup point guard. Sorry, but Watson looks like a decrepid old man out there.
Having 1 mediocre backup pg is enough of a liability as it is. You have to choose Tinsley even though Watson is a slightly better defender, because Watson is such a poor offensive player teams literally do NOT guard him. No point. He guards himself.
Also, when I read the Mo Williams tweet, I had to laugh. WIlliams has missed half of the season, and by the time the season is over, he will have missed 2/3rds, if not 3/4ths of it (don’t hurt yourself tyring to figuree out that math, Kory).
So yeah. We DO need a point guard. Sorry Mo. We love you, but with your injury history, you need to come off the bench.
#DontFireCorbin
I would argue that Watson hasn’t hit his ceiling yet. I mean he had like 5 times his season average in points Saturday.
Just kidding, the ceiling over Watson and Tinsley is collapsing like a blanket fort in a snow storm.
I 2nd Jamezz with #DontFireCorbin, which I know is still unpopular around here, but if someone could get him to stop licking his lips so often that would be great.
@Andy – The man’s got dry lips, what do you want him to do? lol
I myself have been critical of Corbin, but only recently (last week or so) have I gone to the #FireCorbin side. What kept me back was that I’m leery about who we would hire to replace him. But I came to the conclusion that any coach we hire would be able to evaluate the innate talent and skill of our young guys and know that they should develop that. Corbin got a three year extension. Does he want to be winning games for an 8th seed now while sitting that talent while giving up future wins due to lack of development? Apparently so. I would have thought the three-year extension would have given him more leeway to develop the young guys, but its been the opposite. Its the second year in a row that injuries have made him look like he’s making good decisions (playing Burks), but its all smoke. The Tinsleys and Watsons and CJs and Howards are going to get their minutes when they come back from injury, no matter how detrimental to the team and the development of our future, because they’re scrub veteran players just like Ty was and he somehow feels the need to play them over what could be developed into much much more. Seriously, what is your argument to not fire him? I’d love to hear your reasoning.