This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

The beauty of the NBA schedule lies in the fact that there is hardly any time for a player to feel sorry for himself. Like the great former Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan once said, the games won't stop coming.

And if that's the case, it's a good thing for Jazz point guard Trey Burke.

The second year man out of Michigan is mired in a three game shooting slump to begin the season. Heading into Monday night's contest at the Los Angeles Clippers, Burke is shooting 15-43 from the field. He's shooting 2-15 from 3-point range, and he's even missing free-throws at a substantial clip, when last season he was 90 percent from the charity stripe.

Burke is one of the more confident players the Jazz have, so he isn't worried about the futility of his jump shot. But him missing open look after open look has been one of the more concerning developments of a 1-2 start.

"I'm not really that alarmed by it," Burke said on Monday, following shootaround. "It's something I have to work through. A lot of the shots I've missed have been open looks at the rim, so I know that they're going to start to fall."

Tonight, Burke gets to match up with Chris Paul, two nights after having to chase Eric Bledsoe all over EnergySolutions Arena. Obviously, it's a difficult test, seeing one of the best point guards in the NBA. But Burke said his focus is on helping the Jazz get a win, and getting his own game on track, rather than fretting over his individual opponent.

On the young season, Burke is averaging 12 points and five assists per game. He's been an improved defender and he's kept his turnovers low. Now, the mission is to find his shot.

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The Jazz are facing a Clippers team that lost on Sunday afternoon to the Sacramento Kings. Simply put, Los Angeles hasn't been playing well. Yes, Paul has been doing his thing. Yes, Blake Griffin's been elite. But overall, despite a 2-1 record, this team hasn't put it all together.

The Kings loss summed it up nicely. Whenever the Clippers made a run, Sacramento had an answer. Whenever it looked like Los Angeles would exert their will, the Kings would make a big shot. Eventually, Darren Collison hit the back-breaker, an 18-footer that sealed it late. Count on the Jazz seeing a ticked off Clippers squad tonight.

Tony Jones