There has been a lot of talk about the logjam with our bigs. We know something must give for them all to get the minutes that they deserve. I don't think there has been as much discussion with what will happen with Alec Burks (I know it has by Yucca though). When Alec got consistant minutes he was great. I don't know why he didn't get more minutes since he just had to beat out Raja, CJ and Josh but it is what it is and hopefully he gets minutes due to his immense talent and confidence.
Over at Slam there is a great question and answer with our very own Aleksei Burlakov (Go read the whole thing!)
A few things stuck out to me and its all about playing time:
SLAM: How would you evaluate your rookie season?
AB: I feel like it was up and down. At first I didn’t think I was getting as much playing time as I should. But we had some injuries and I had a chance to show my talent and I felt like I was good toward the end.
SLAM: What was the most difficult aspect of your rookie year?
AB: Probably the learning process. I thought I was going to play a lot more than I got. The adversity—that was probably the biggest learning adjustment. You’re coming in like the man and you’re thinking you’re going to be the man again. It’s not like that; you got to build your way up again.
SLAM: Not getting the minutes was frustrating.
AB: It was, but I understood. I still had to pay my dues. It was probably more frustrating for the people around me that thought I should be on the court. I look back and I understand it will make me a better player.
Translation: ALEC WANTS TO PLAY!
So with adding Foye and William's how does that effect Alec? So we know Marvin will take minutes at the 3 which will move Gordon to the 2, what about Alec? Mo and Fo have both played two in the past...all very interesting for our young coach to figure out.
The key is Alec wants to play and we here at SLC Dunk want Alec to play.
Yesterday Prodigal Punk pointed out David Aldridge's opinion on the Jazz. Amar shared with us ESPN's Future Power Rankings had the Jazz at #4.
Hoopsworld has the Jazz at 10th in the West this year. (check their article for reasoning)
Their list is:
1. L.A. Lakers
2. OKC Thunder
4. L.A. Clippers
8. Portland Trailblazers
10. Utah Jazz
I don't agree with the rankings hardly at all, do you?
@YuccaManHoops our team plays to make the playoffs, and for US that's our championship. different game. _ Amar's twitter
agree or disagree?
Jeff Van Gundy said something similar on his interview with the Zone last week. He said how if the Jazz make it to the 2nd or 3rd round of the playoffs that is the equivalent of the Lakers making it to the Finals or winning a championship.
I don't think Jeff Van Gundy meant the Jazz's only goal was to make it to the playoffs. I think he meant that the difficulty for the Lakers to win a championship is the same as the Jazz making it to the WCFs.
I do wonder sometimes why I am such a huge fan of a team/league that has such an uneven playing field. It was satisfying yet sad to hear a former NBA head coach confirm my beliefs.
Does the hiring of Dennis Lindsey make you think that the next head coach maybe from someone outside of the Jazz family?
I imagine that Ty won't be here 23 years like Jerry was. I mean he may want to move on, the Jazz may want to move on, the NBA isn't the same and neither are the Jazz.
I was wondering the other day if the Jazz were "brave" enough to bring in Lindsey from the Spurs maybe when the next coaching changes occurs they will bring in an outsider. Because before the Dennis Lindsey hire I never thought the Jazz would bring in an outsider for such an important postion.
Or will it be Jeff, Scott, Sidney or Mike?
ProdigyJF shared this article on twitter about the great John Stockton. It is well worth the read
The writer was a Bulls fan growing up who came across Prodigy's Stockton highlights and became a Stockton fan and realized his greatness. (Feels like a missionary moment for Prodigy, way to go!)
Just because:
Post Script: Happy Birthday to my son Josh.