With Dante Exum out, Trey Burke must step up
Here’s the Deseret News reporting on guard Trey Burke, an intriguing young member of the Utah Jazz backcourt who this season has a golden opportunity to raise his value in this league while starter Dante Exum is out with a serious injury:
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Burke enters his third NBA season having averaged 12.8 points per game last season, when his shooting percentages plummeted to 36.8 percent overall and 31.8 percent from 3-point range — and his struggling shooting nights were well documented. He also averaged 4.3 assists and 2.7 rebounds a game.
The 6-foot-1 guard, who was named the Collegiate Player of the Year while starring for the Michigan Wolverines in 2013, shed some weight during the offseason in an effort to improve his quickness and lateral movement.
What he can’t do, however, is replace Exum’s 6-foot-6 size and length, particularly on the defensive end of the court where guys Burke’s size often get taken advantage of.
“We’re just gonna have to have other guys pick up for (Exum),” said Utah’s leading scorer, Gordon Hayward. “We can’t really pick up his length or some of his speed on the defensive end, but the system will stay the same, the principles will stay the same, and we’ve got other guys that can step up.”
