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He missed his first shot and then his second.
So what?
Then he missed again and again until the box score showed he'd missed his first six attempts of the night.
No biggie.
"They ain't got to worry about me," Alec Burks would say later.
Armed with a healthy shoulder and a new outlook, Burks and the Jazz know good things are coming for the 24-year-old shooting guard.
Before last year, Burks said, he took his health and his natural gifts on the basketball court "for granted." But after a hard fall aggravated a nagging shoulder injury and forced Burks to sit out the rest of the season, the fifth-year Jazzman said he has a renewed commitment to his craft.
"I see a lot of things differently now," Burks said this week. "Me being out, I got to see it from a different perspective."
Burks first aggravated his shoulder on a hard foul by then-Denver guard Arron Afflalo that caused Burks to crash to the ground. Burks tried to play through the injury, but it soon became apparent he would need surgery to fix the damage. Burks underwent a procedure in early January to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder and he missed all but 27 games last season. The rehab that followed was strenuous. Burks said he had to relearn his shooting form and it took more eight months before he was cleared for contact.
A month into the new season, Burks said his surgically repaired shoulder feels great and he's been putting up the numbers to prove it.
Through the season's first 11 games, he is averaging 15.9 points (second on the Jazz roster behind forward Derrick Favors' 16) to go with 3.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists off the bench. Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey on multiple occasions last summer said Burks' return would be akin to the team adding a key free agent. And, so far, the shooting guard has looked the part of a Sixth Man of the Year candidate.
Burks has always been a gifted scorer. He can slash and get to the free throw line better than almost anyone else on the Jazz roster. He can amaze with his finishes around the rim, contorting his body and putting the right kind of English on a layup to make shots he has no business making.
But while the guard joked at one point during preseason that he could "score on accident," Burks' early success this year has been about being deliberate, Jazz coach Quin Snyder said.
He's finding his place within the Jazz's system, the coach said. He's playing more under control and making better reads.
"Sometimes, he used to be one foot in front of the 3-point line just kind of watching," Snyder said. "Now there's recognition and he's behind the line, ready to shoot."
Snyder continued, "There are a lot of little things, habits that are hard. Literally, which foot do you want forward? … All those things that maybe you don't see add up."
Burks once scoffed at the minute details. Now he's embracing them.
"He's on me every day about every little thing," Burks said. "It's good for me. It's going to make me better in the long run."
And Burks is, of course, still brimming with confidence.
Wednesday night, after Burks' 0-for-6 start against the Toronto Raptors, the guard went on to hit five of his next six attempts. He finished with 13 points, nine coming the fourth quarter. And with the game on the line, Snyder put the ball in Burks' hands. The guard ran a perfect pick and roll, dropped a bounce pass to Favors for a crucial basket in crunch time.
Twitter: @tribjazz —
Sixth-men scorers
The league's top bench scorers with at least five appearances as a reserve this year:
• Ryan Anderson, New Orleans • 17.7
• Alec Burks, Utah • 15.9
• Darren Collison, Sacramento • 14.8
• Will Barton, Denver • 13.6
• Kevin Martin, Minnesota • 13.3
• Enes Kanter, Oklahoma City • 13.3
• Jerryd Bayless, Milwaukee • 13.0
• Lou Williams, L.A. Lakers • 12.9
• Jeremy Lamb, Charlotte • 12.5
• Trey Burke, Utah • 12.4 —
Jazz at Mavs
Friday, 6:30 p.m.
TV • ROOT Sports —
Jazz at Mavericks
P At American Airlines Center
Tipoff • Friday, 6:30 p.m. MT
TV • ROOT Sports
Radio • 97.5 FM, 1280 AM
About the Jazz • They've kept their bags packed early this season. Thursday's game in Dallas marks the ninth road contest for 6-5 Jazz. … Went 0-2 against the Mavericks in Dallas last season, but snapped an eight-game losing skid against them with an April home win.
About the Mavericks • After being spurned in free agency by center DeAndre Jordan, pundits had all but written off the Mavs. But, so far, Rick Carlisle's bunch is off to an 8-4 start. … Deron Williams is enjoying his Texas homecoming, averaging 13 points and 5.4 assists per game. He now shares a locker room with former Jazzmen Wesley Matthews, Jeremy Evans and Devin Haris. … Dirk Nowitzki, 37, is averaging 18.5 points per game on better than 52-percent shooting.