SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz are 5-5 through their first 10 games, eight of which were on the road. That's an impressive feat considering at no point last season was Utah's record at or above .500.

The Jazz are 4-4 on the road, picking up their fourth win on the road more than a month earlier than they did last season. Again, it's an impressive accomplishment and a great sign of growth from this young roster.

And now they need a point guard — quickly.

Trey Burke is having the best season of his career. Though his average points per game is down, his per-minute production is has taken a drastic leap, over four points per game over a 36-minute stretch. He's scoring efficiently, up over 10 percent on his shooting from the floor, and up over 16 percent on his 3-point shooting. If he continues at this pace, he'll finish the season as one of the NBA's most efficient scorers at point guard.

But the Jazz can't start him.

Through 10 games, Burke appears to have found his ideal role as a secondary point guard, who is relied on more for his scoring than his traditional point guard skills. His assist numbers are way down this year, off over 25 percent from last year's contributions, but it doesn't seem to matter. Burke is playing with confidence in his new role, best-suited for his undersized frame and athletic shortcomings.

If he were moved into the starting lineup, the Jazz would risk subjecting him to the same issues he struggled with over his first two seasons: too small to fend off the more physical starting guards and too slow to keep the quicker guards out of the paint.

In the starting lineup, the Jazz have relied on rookie Raul Neto, a second-round pick, from the same draft class as Burke.

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Neto has better size and seems to have more natural point-guard instincts than Burke, offensively and defensively, but his inexperience is glaring in the starting lineup.

According to ESPN.com, Neto is the 62nd ranked scorer among point guards, out of 63 in its database. Only Detroit reserve Steve Blake averages fewer points per game than Neto's 3.4, Though Neto doesn't play traditional starters minutes, his lack of scoring prowess is clear when he's on the floor.

Neto started the season shooting well from beyond the 3-point line, converting 6 of his first 10 attempts. Since then, he's completed just 1 of his last 11 (9 percent). Overall, during the same stretch he's shooting just 26 percent from the floor.

Neto is the worst starting point guard in the league, and it isn't close.

The Jazz are largely thought to be competing with the New Orleans Pelicans and the Sacramento Kings for the final spot in the Western Conference playoff picture. With the Pelicans currently in last place in the West with a 1-9 record, and Sacramento in 12th place, four spots back in the final spot in the conference with a record of 4-7, the Jazz are ahead of the pack in the playoff race.

If the Jazz want to keep the distance between themselves and the closest playoff competitors, a new point guard might aid in their efforts.

Mario Chalmers, former Miami Heat guard was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies earlier this season essentially as a salary dump. The Heat will save roughly $6 million in the trade.

Could the Jazz offer another team up against the luxury-tax limit relief in exchange for an average-level point guard, offering second-round picks and low-level rotations players in hoping to get an upgrade over Neto?

It's hard to imagine finding a guard to come in who would be less effective, even in Neto's minuscule 17 minutes per game, unless the Jazz were to trade for Blake.

Neto isn't a bad player; he's young, appears to have an NBA future and will make progress throughout his rookie season. But the Jazz, who are fighting for a playoff spot, can't wait on the development of one of the most easily replaceable players on the team to determine whether they make the playoffs or not.

Before the season, Utah GM Dennis Lindsey told the media, "We've got close to $7 million in cap that we are authorized to use, but we want to use that well. We have a significant pick and asset base built up that we can address a deficiency as it comes up on the roster, whether that's at point guard or any of the other positions moving forward."

While the Jazz may not be willing to give up a future first-round pick simply to add a stop-gap point guard until Dante Exum returns next season, the time has come to explore the market for what could be had with the combination of cap space and second-round draft picks to improve the point-guard rotation.

Ben Anderson is the co-host of Gunther in the Afternoon with Kyle Gunther on 1320 KFAN from 3-7, Monday through Friday. Read Ben's Utah Jazz blog at 1320kfan.com, and follow him on Twitter @BenKFAN.

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