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Trey Burke? TREY BURKE!! Man, the Utah Jazz @ Detroit Pistons game seems like a horrible game to have missed in person (MyLo 's first texts to me this morning were about how we should have gone...). If you missed any of the details of the game you can catch it here: preview, game thread, recap (Shums). ALSO Dyl went to his first Jazz game of his life, which was the game last night. Check out his recap (and lots of videos) here. Dude also got Jeremy Evans ' autograph.
"...I called out, "Jeremy!", and #40 stopped and headed back my way. "I've come from Arkansas to see you guys play" I said. As he signed my program, he asked what point (what town)? I was a little starstruck, but managed to get out "Conway". Jeremy nodded and continued signing others' autographs (he was a little busy and wanted to get in). I ran back to my seat. I didn't really want John Lucas' autograph." - Dyl, 2014
Woo! Read the full FanPost. Lots of great details!
It was a team effort, and a team win on the road; but the big story has to be Trey Burke's return to Michigan. It's a national story because Burke is likely to get a lot of Rookie of the Year votes. But, I can't help but listen to the regional news for this event. Maaan. Pistons fans really took this one the wrong way. The pain is palpable.
Before the game Trey had this to say:
"Obviously it’s going to be in the back of your mind. You’re going to think about it, but at the same time, there’s a balance. You don’t want to go out there and just feel like you’re doing too much. You want to pick and choose your spots to where you can attack and when you need to set your team up. Me, I’m a point guard. I have to be a facilitator as well as a scorer. It’s going to be a balance for me tonight, and it should be fun."
But he also added this:
"I wouldn’t say my feelings were hurt," Burke said before tonight’s game. "Obviously it was a team I could have seen myself playing for, just because I played in Michigan and a lot of people expected them to pick me up at the time. It’s a business. Things happen. They went in a different direction.’’
Before the game everyone was excited:
And then Trey finished with 20, 12, 3, 2, 1 and really made people curse the name Joe Dumars once again. The reactions on the radio have been heartbreaking. A fanbase with hearts tempered by the Detroit Lions futility still had tears to shed for Trey. The passions of the radio and print aside, the true fury of fans exhibits itself on the internet.
Check out the game threads (1st half, 2nd half), recaps, and blogs -- people mad. Of course, the last recourse is twitter.
Joe Dumars watching Trey Burke tonight.. pic.twitter.com/ybdpd4mT0v
— Nick Cox (@NickCox23) January 18, 2014
The referees have stopped the game at the palace and are giving the pistons a mandatory standing eight count
— Terry Foster (@TerryFoster971) January 18, 2014
This trey burke kid is so overrated. 20 points and 12 assists is nothing. He could not make the pistons starting five
— Terry Foster (@TerryFoster971) January 18, 2014
I thought it would be nearly impossible to be down 20 plus to a team that is w/o Gordon Heyward and isn't trying to win games. #Pistons
— Matt Dery (@dery1051) January 18, 2014
@kristoforii Doesn't matter if I like him or not, the team is underachieving.
— Matt Dery (@dery1051) January 18, 2014
Trey Burke: 20 points, 12 assists, and 3 rebounds. Caldwell-Pope: 5 points, 1 assist, and 1 rebound. #TheMichiganDifference
— Ryan Harris (@UofMHarris) January 18, 2014
But again, it was a team game and we had some great performances from Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter, Marvin Williams, Alec Burks, and company. Even Brandon Rush was making shots!
Detroit is playing poorly right now. They are underachieving, and the Jazz are playing very well right now. It was the perfect storm. Take it away Dave:
Forget Burke. The Pistons had five days off, are playing at home vs a bad team that's missing their leading scorer, and are getting crushed.
— Dave Hogg (@Stareagle) January 18, 2014
Pistons lose 110-89, and it wasn't nearly that close. This is the kind of night that kills careers for the guys wearing suits.
— Dave Hogg (@Stareagle) January 18, 2014
Burke was asked if tonight could have gone any better. "Not really. I had a lot of fun."
— Dave Hogg (@Stareagle) January 18, 2014
As a Jazz fan, I'm sorry for Pistons fans. I'm sorry for Detroit. But as a Jazz fan, I'm really really happy we have Trey Burke.
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Last night we got to see some forgotten faces back in action.
Yes, Moose and Squirrel got to play! And it was a fantastic garbage time display! Ian Clark got in for the last 5:45 of the fourth quarter and finished with 7 points (3/4 fg, 1/1 3pt), 2 rebounds, 1 steal, and 2 turn overs. How did he manage to do so much in 5 minutes? (Maybe Clark should have gotten the mandatory drug test last night instead of Trey Burke?) On the other side of the spectrum Rudy Gobert played the last 4:35 of the game and managed only 1 rebound and 1 turn over. How did he do so little? The Detroit game had Rudy playing in his third fewest minutes in a game, but in the two ones with fewer minutes he was hyper efficient. Against the Sacramento Kings (Dec 7) he played 2:05 and finished the game with 3 rebounds, 2 fouls, and 1 missed shot. Against the San Antonio Spurs (Nov 15) he played 3:35 and finished the game with 5 rebounds, 3 points, 3 turn overs, and 1 foul.
I think both of these guys could stand to play a little more; Gobert especially because he seems to do well when dialed into games. He comes off of 13/13/4 in the D-League to play in less than 5 minutes after sitting for several DNP-CDs, he's clearly not dialed into the game. He needs to play. There's no other option, because he clearly has too much time on his hands (I'm joking).
@AllThatAmar @utahjazz thanks i appreciate it
— rudy gobert (@rudygobert15) January 16, 2014
It was nice to see these two guys actually get to play in an NBA game. I'd like to see more of it in the future.
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When was the last time you got a 10 : 1 Jazz highlights vs opponents highlights official game recap from the NBA? This is what having a budding star gets you in today's media driven, star driven NBA. (Which is, btw, why you want to tank and succeed if possible)
Awesome stuff!
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Gordon Hayward, our erstwhile best player (I'd say Derrick Favors is our most important player, and Trey Burke our leader), has now missed four straight games with a 'hip flexor'. But hey, I keep hearing from the local media about how our franchise is too noble to tank. Sure, the beneficial effect is to have Alec Burks actually play minutes with Trey Burke. It's a good testing period. And you don't want to risk worse injury because a guy is playing hurt. But it's still keeping a player out of action. He is banged up, but he sustained the injury 10 nights ago. I'm sorry for going all medical insider here, but this not going for it. If you live in a zero-sum world of only 'going for it' or 'tanking', this is clearly not going for it.
Would I be sitting Gordon Hayward out right now? Yes. I'd also sit Derrick Favors out too. Plantar fasciitis. You know, can't ever be too careful.
"I gots my eyes on you, Delonte West! And you too J.J. Barea!"
Tonight the Jazz play against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Gordo has 'beef' with them, so maybe he'll want to play tonight. I don't know if the Jazz docs will have him cleared or not. (N.B. There's a scene or deleted scene from the Oliver Stone movie "Any Given Sunday" where Cameron Diaz (front office / owner) talks to Ed Woods (team doc) about who is and is not healthy for a specific game. It's a lot more real than fans could ever get.) But hey, good teams never tank.
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Do you know about the show "Undercover Boss"? I did not until my Google Alerts told me something crazy happened.
The owner/CEO of the Utah Jazz has been under cover lately. Not as a spy, as a boss.
Yes, Greg Miller will star in the Feb. 21 episode of the CBS reality series "Undercover Boss."
"He was great," said Mitch Graham, CBS’s vice president of alternative programming, adding that Miller jumped in enthusiastically when the show filmed in Salt Lake City in December.
The concept of the show is that the boss (in this case, Miller) somehow disguises himself/herself and works with his/her employees. It’s a way for the boss to find out what’s really happening inside the business (in this case, the Utah Jazz) and get to know employees in a way they otherwise could not.
Word is that CBS and the producers were somewhat surprised at just how enthusiastically Miller joined in; that they were thrilled that he agreed to do some things they didn’t expect him to do.
At the end of each episode, the boss reveals himself/herself to the employees and generally dispenses largesse in the form of promotions, money, etc. Occasionally, the boss also has to sort of snap back a wayward employee, although we have no way of knowing if that will happen in Miller’s episode.
I think this is awesome that Greg is doing this. And I guess I'm a bad person for immediately thinking that this concept would have been hilarious and awesome in equal parts if it existed back in the days of Larry H. Miller.