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There wasn't much doubt on Monday who Tyrone Corbin preferred to have running the point for his team. In a close game, he left veteran Jamaal Tinsley on the bench and let Burks play final 22 minutes of the game. The second-year guard out of Colorado scored 14 points and decently shepherded the Jazz offense in a fourth-quarter comeback in an eventual 98-91 overtime win over Sacramento. Corbin said he playing Burks alongside Randy Foye allows the team the option of either guy initiating the offense or drifting into a secondary, off-ball role.
So, if Corbin likes that look so much, should Alec Burks be starting?
Here's Corbin's thoughts:
"It's not his position, so I think we'll let him look a little bit. We never know what will happen. I think right now to let him see what's going on, to understand defensively how he has to play different guys, we'll have a great test on Wednesday with [Milwaukee guard Brandon] Jennings and that group coming in, who quick-quick scoring guards and they're point guards. So he can see a little bit before we get him out there and we can see how we can get him in the game."
Corbin said earlier in the day that Burks was showing signs of being able to transition into a traditional point guard role, and after the game said he thought the progression continued against the Kings.
"It's a tough position for anybody," Corbin said, "being a point guard you've got to get the ball up the floor, you've go to make the calls, you've got to get everybody in their place and Alec by his nature is a scoring two-man. But he has great ball handling skills, and we need him right now."
— Bill Oram