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SALT LAKE CITY — It wasn't the prettiest ending to the unofficial first half of the season, but the Jazz snatched their third straight win before heading into the much-needed break.
The NBA All-Star Break is the oasis in the desert for young players and teams. It gives players a break to rest their legs and get away from basketball for a few days, as long as they aren't participating in the all-star festivities.
Before the break, the Jazz needed to finish strong and that would mean their first three-game winning streak of the season. Enter the Philadelphia 76ers who just went through back-to-back 40-point blowouts.
The Jazz dispatched the Lakers in Los Angeles Tuesday night and traveled back home for another back-to-back. It took every last minute, but the Jazz pulled it off, thanks to the heroics of Alec Burks. Burks capped off a roller-coaster start to the season with a 26-point performance while taking only 10 shots.
Burks has, like so many Jazz players this season, shown flashes of brilliance and an ability to be a star in this league. Against the 76ers, he seemed impossible to guard for most of the game, he has just been getting better this season and for him the all-star break isn't completely needed.
“I'm good. I'm 22.We all need the rest though,” Burks said.
While Burks has been getting stronger, it seems Gordon Hayward and Trey Burke are getting tired. A lot has been said about Hayward's play over this season. His shooting numbers are way down, but he has been very good at making sure he is still involved in the offense and defense. Against the 76ers, he scored 17 points on 17 shots, which isn't great, but added seven rebounds and assists with two steals and three blocks.
Hayward has carried the team for much of this year, and sometimes he's done it well and other times not so much, but he has been solid this season. He is scoring 16.3 points while grabbing 5.6 rebounds and dishing out five assists per game. The 16-5-5 line is pretty unique. This season only LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, Michael Carter-Williams and Hayward have it.
Over the course of previous seasons it is a number mostly reserved for stars on a team. It's about always having the ball in your hands and being the go-to scorer. Most of the time those with that stat line score in the area of 23 or more points.
Hayward is shooting far worse than any of those that did it before and worse than his career average. This break could help him regain his legs and allow him to find his shooting ability. If so, this could be a very special season for him, especially if he can get up to around 18 points per game, while keeping his similar numbers.
Burke, on the other hand, has clearly hit the rookie wall, and he knows it. While the Jazz have played 52 games, and he only played only 40, it is still more than he played all of last year in college, including a trip to the national championship. He played in 39 games last year, and this season is longer, but also more compact compared to that and it is nearly impossible to just figure it out, hence the rookie wall.
His shooting has slowly fallen off as the season has progressed and it is very easy to assume tired legs have something to do with that. In December he was shooting 41 percent. In January it was 35, and this month it is down to 29 percent. He needs the rest, but unlike the previous two players, he won't really get it.
He is playing in the Rookie-Sophomore game Friday and participating in the Skill Challenge this weekend, so he won't really get to rest for those days. He doesn't want to sound ungrateful for the chance to learn from the games great players.
“I don't really want to say that, but you always want your rest,” Burke said. “Just to have this opportunity to be a part of the all-star game. You don't want it to be kind of like your dragging yourself there, or you really don't want to be there. You want to enjoy this process at the same time find ways to get your rest. I think that's something I can see how the other guys are going to handle themselves getting ready for the second half of the season.”
The break is really just three days, however for the Jazz it's four: Friday-Sunday and then they will get back to work Monday. The break will help more than just tired players, though. It will allow two banged up players to get closer to healthy.
Marvin Williams has battled a foot injury all season and he said that is hurting him more than a tired body. The other player is Derrick Favors, who tweaked his hip injury in the victory over the 76ers. He left just six minutes into the game. Favors has battled small injuries off and on this season, and through his career. This hip injury has already cost him games this season.
If this season is all about the future then what happens after the break will give fans and the front office a good look at what they can expect in the coming years. They have confidence with big wins and head coach Tyrone Corbin has started to find out what lineups are working best.
Now the Jazz need to carry on their momentum from the past three games and show off what this team can do when healthy and rested for the season.
