Ahead of his return to Salt Lake City to play his former team, the Utah Jazz, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Alec Burks relishes the opportunity he has now that he is with the Cavs.
The Cavs play the Jazz tonight, which will be Alec Burk’s first return to Vivint Smart Home Arena since being traded. After spending seven seasons with Utah, Burks was sent to Cleveland earlier this season in a deal that saw him and Kyle Korver swap teams.
Through his 25 games with the Cavs so far, Burks seems to be enjoying his new situation.
“I would say there’s more opportunity here, definitely” said Burks when speaking with Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “”I think it's been great. Been up and down. Still going to be up and down I feel like just trying to find a rhythm. Only been like a month in. But it's getting better and better. I'm adjusting more and more every day.”
Utah's drafting of Donovan Mitchell last season left fewer minutes for Burks, who had previously averaged over 20 minutes per game with the team. The emergence of Rodney Hood during their time with the Jazz took minutes away from Burks, as well. In fact, in the 17 games he played for Utah this year, he averaged 15.8 minutes per game — almost similar to his minutes during his rookie season.
Since coming to Cleveland, his minutes for the season have almost doubled. He has been playing 28.9 minutes per night and has even started in 16 games. His numbers have seen a big bump too, as he is now averaging 11.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists.
The Cavs have even opened the door for him to step up and be the man on defense. Tasked with taking on the opposing team’s best perimeter player, Burks even drew praise from coach Larry Drew who said “he doesn’t shy away from the challenge and he takes the challenge head on.”
Big effort on the defensive end of the court, like what Burks delivers, is exactly what Cleveland needs this season. Not only is their defense the worst in the NBA this season, but it could end up being the worst in league history.
This new opportunity with the Cavs has helped revive Alec Burks’ career, and with his contract expiring after this season, that may have been exactly what he needed.
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