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The Trey Burke Strikes Back: The Downbeat #1480

Trey Burke gets statistical. Rudy gets political. Trevor gets philanthropic-al. Kanter gets highlightable. And we get Turducken-ical.

By Mychal Lowman
Look at you, Burke. Playing all good and stuff.
Look at you, Burke. Playing all good and stuff.
Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

Rudy can be a beast on the court, but on some instances he can rule the political sphere.  Without allowing this downbeat to turn completely political I post this here.

Hats off to Rudy for giving a well written response to a complex issue.

This is the time of year where we can get excited for the great things players do off the court for their charities and organization.  Trevor Booker made us all proud this week.  I think as Jazz fans we have a higher standard for what players do in the community and on the court.  We expect our players to use their platform as an NBA player to do big things for the underprivileged.  Trevor Booker's energy boosts the Jazz on the court and he looks to be a great fit off of it, too.

Jody Genessy with the story.

Jazz forward Trevor Booker assists Utah families for Thanksgiving | Deseret News
The event, called "Booker’s Thanksgiving Assist," will take place Sunday at Smith’s Marketplace in Bountiful. "It’s just another way to give back. Some families are not as fortunate as others," Booker said. "I picked out a few families to help out to make them feel special and get them together with their families so they can have a nice meal on Thanksgiving." Booker won’t do any of the Turkey Day cooking for the families, but this was his way of being able to give back to a community that has embraced him since he signed a two-year deal with the Jazz in the offseason. "I’ve always been active in the community, maybe not as much as I am now, because obviously I’m more financially stable," said Booker, a valuable backup for the Jazz who’s making $5 million this season. "I feel like I can do more with me being stable. I’m comfortable doing a lot more than I used to."

It has been no secret that I've been vocal about expected more out of Trey Burke.  He is a second year player who should be ready for a leap in production, he had a phenomenal preseason, and is playing in a guard/wing friendly offense.  Yet his shooting percentages are in the Sebastian Telfair / Jerryd Bayless range.  His usage rate his high and his production is low.  But kudos to Trey the last couple games to finally turning a corner.

Trey Burke's Last Two Games:

  • 61.5% FG%
  • 19 PPG
  • 7 APG
  • 1.5 RPG
  • 3 Turnovers per Game
  • 1 SPG
  • 43% 3pt%
That's the Trey Burke we expected to see in the regular season.  If Trey plays like that, then it allows Dante Exum to really develop and not be thrown into a starting role too soon.  While I still advocate Dante Exum starting at some point this year it's on the basis that Trey still hasn't shown a consistency to play the kind of basketball he's played in the last two games.  Those games are outliers rather than a norm.  But if Trey puts up numbers like these that changes the plan and for the better.  This is what will allow Utah to groom Exum to become the superstar they want by allowing his rookie year to be an acclimation year rather than being thrown drafted to the Wolves.

Enes Kanter breaks into the top 10 highlights of the day with his B-A-UTIFUL spin around dunk.  GORGEOUS.

The Utah Jazz have their next game against the Thunder on Wednesday before Turkey Day.  So for today's #5 I want to know what three players on the Utah Jazz you could put together to create a Turducken Superstar.  It will be a Jazzducken.  It's that thing when you put a Jazz player into a duck, stuff it into a turkey and then it guards KD.

Rules:

  • The biggest player must be last.  Rudy Gobert would obviously be the turkey.  Or Big Turkey can be the Turkey.
  • They can currently be in the D-League.
  • Photoshops are welcome.
  • The Turducken Superstar must end up being elite in at least 3 categories.
Ready .... TURDUCKGO!

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