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ORLANDO — The first chance for rookies to shine has come and gone. The Jazz ended Summer League 2-3 and finished fourth after losing a rematch to the Indiana Pacers in the third-place game.
What has the Summer League actually shown about the Jazz young players especially rookies? A little, but hopefully not that much. Hopefully, because if the Jazz and fans did learn something it was a bad something.
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Ultimately the Trey Burke experience in the Summer League wasn't good. Blame it on nerves, a learning curve or just a little bit of fatigue, but it wasn't good. He played the most minutes of anyone on the team with 105 in only four games. He scored 8.75 points per game and had 16 assists to only 9 turnovers. If shots went down for his teammates it probably would have been over 20 assists.
The last two games, both Pacers games, Burke looked a lot more calm and decisive about what to do. The rookie finally started to settle in despite his shot not falling, ever. He ended the event shooting 13-55. Burke took 15 more shots than the next closest player, Chris Roberts with 40, but made the third most, behind Roberts and Jeremy Evans. Burk only made one more than Alec Burks, who shot 26 fewer times in 49 fewer minutes.
Burke went 1-19 from beyond the arc. Some were contested, like the last two he took against the Pacers while he was guarded by Solomon Hill. Some were wide-open. Some were off screens. While some were spot-up jumpers. Burke is a far better shooter than 1-19. There is no way he couldn't be.
Summer League Stats
| Name | MPG | FG | 3PT | FT | Off/Def Reb | Ast | Stl | Blk | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremy Evans | 23.75 | 16/28 | 0/1 | 8/11 | 11/16 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 10 |
| Rudy Gobert | 20.8 | 10/19 | 0/0 | 7/10 | 12/19 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 5.8 |
| Alec Burks | 18.6 | 12/29 | 2/5 | 16/20 | 4/0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 14 |
| Trey Burke | 26.25 | 13/55 | 1/19 | 8/10 | 4/10 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 8.75 |
| Chris Roberts | 20.75 | 22/40 | 5/9 | 10/13 | 3/9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 14.75 |
| Dionte Christmas | 20.6 | 9/21 | 4/10 | 6/6 | 1/12 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 9.3 |
| Raul Neto | 15.6 | 3/11 | 0/3 | 5/8 | 0/6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 3.6 |
| Jerel McNeal | 22 | 11/25 | 1/6 | 1/3 | 2/3 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 8 |
| Amath M'Baye | 13.5 | 1/7 | 0/2 | 3/3 | 2/1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2.5 |
| James Mays | 18.25 | 12/31 | 0/0 | 2/2 | 11/7 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 6.5 |
| Rasid Mahalbasic | 15.75 | 4/11 | 0/0 | 4/7 | 6/11 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 3 |
| Jeff Brooks | 6.6 | 1/4 | 0/1 | 3/4 | 3/4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1.67 |
| Michael Stockton | 8.67 | 3/7 | 2/3 | 5/5 | 0/4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 |
| Rodney Green | 5.5 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 2/4 | 0/1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Tony Gafney | 14.6 | 6/13 | 2/4 | 5/7 | 5/6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 6.3 |
| William Buford | 11.75 | 6/13 | 2/4 | 5/7 | 5/6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5.5 |
| Rick Jackson | 14 | 2/2 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1/4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
Most guys in a rec gym could go five percent from beyond the arc. Burke is a lot better than most guys at the gym. His time at Michigan showed he had range to hit those shots, they just didn't fall. Hopefully that doesn't mean anything.
When the regular season starts and Burke is lined up next to Alec Burks, Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter he will hit his open shots. Hopefully Summer League really means nothing.
On the plus side Burke did grab over three rebounds a game and dished out four assists per. His decisions got better and he seemed to get more comfortable in each game.
If Summer League does mean something then Rudy Gobert really was drafted way too low. The giant Frenchman played over 20 minutes per contest, the last three with a bad toe. Gobert was 10-19 shooting and shot 70 percent from the free throw line. Oh, and he added 12 blocks in the five games, and affected probably twice as many other plays on defense.
Gobert grabbed 31 rebounds in the five games, which shouldn't be shocking for someone who is 7-1. What is impressive is that 12 were offensive. On the flip side grabbing only 19, less than four per game, on the defensive side leaves something to be desired.
Hopefully we didn't learn that Gobert just wants highlight touches. During hotly contested defensive rebounds he seemed to shy away from the jump. On the offensive side he was more than willing to try for the put back. Rebounding is about effort and if he is struggling to just go get the ball it might be cause for future problems.
Hopefully we didn't learn about how little Raul Neto will play. The Brazilian point guard who is the other rookie for the Jazz wants to play this year. He will play either in the NBA or back in Spain. It seems like he will play wherever he can get more minutes.
In the three games he was available he only played 15.6 minutes per contest, that is seven less that Jerel McNeal and five less than Dionte Christmas and Chris Roberts. Neto was and is still learning the system, but if he is looking to play this year 15 minutes in Summer League can't look too good.
Neto looked great handling the ball, but his stats weren't exactly lighting up the scoreboard. He shot 3-11and ended with 11 points. He had four assists and six turnovers. Hopefully we didn't learn that he will struggle.
All in all hopefully the Summer League is what it is supposed to be. Hopefully the Jazz found players to round out the roster. If that is Jerel McNeal, Dionte Christmas and Chris Roberts then great. Maybe Michael Stockton and Rasid Mahalbasic gets a shot in the NBA, just imagine running the pick and roll with Stockton and the Mahal-man. The Jazz could have found someone on an opposing team they fell they could sign.
Hopefully Burke, Gobert and Neto can go back and look at what they need to change — then go change it. If this Summer League does nothing more than working out the kinks it was worth.
In the end hopefully fans and those on the outside learned very little from the Summer League, while the players end up learning a lot.
