Utah Jazz: Alec Burks aims to keep proving himself in second season with Jazz

"I anticipate seeing him more on the floor on a consistent basis," Corbin said. "He's had a great summer, and now we need to get his summer and training camp to transfer over to the games. I thought at the end of last year, he came on very strong for us, and he had a good summer league down in Orlando.

"He didn't get as many minutes as I wanted to get him in the first game (Monday), but he will play for us, and we're looking forward to him continuing to develop. … Everybody has to raise their level of play to compete for minutes on the floor.

"He's coming along," Corbin said of Burks. "He's getting stronger, and he's understanding on the defensive end when to be aggressive and when to back off a little bit, and offensively how he has to have pace but controlled pace to his game."

Corbin pointed out Burks' propensity to take the ball hard to the hole when a different approach might be more beneficial.

"One of the things you saw in the game the other night, he came in and rushed a little bit," the Jazz coach said. "And when you go into the basket against big guys, you have to go in with body first and go vertical and not horizontal because these guys are so big.

"He's going to continue to get experience in this league, and minutes on the floor will help that and just playing. And that's going to come with time and getting used to playing at this level."

Indeed, the learning curve continues for the former University of Colorado star and Missouri prep player of the year, with plenty of on-the-job training to come.

But Burks' playing time won't ever be hindered by his lack of confidence or fearlessness.

No, he already possesses those critical characteristics in great abundance.

Email: rhollis@desnews.com