JUMP START
Burke’s scoring and assists surge in new role
From Microwave to Passing Fancy, Trey Burke has gone from impersonating Vinnie Johnson to having more Magic Johnson in his game for the Knicks.
It’s the natural progression when you go from bench guy to starter.
“It’s a thin line. Coming off the bench, obviously you’re in a more strict role,” said Burke, who heads into Tuesday’s game at the Garden against the Magic following a career high-tying 15-assist effort. “Coming off the bench ... you have a little bit more room to be aggressive.”
And he still aggressively scores when starting — witness his 42point detonation three games ago.
“For me, it’s trying to take what the defense gives me as soon as the game starts and not trying to predetermine, ‘ OK, I’m going to get four or five shots this quarter’ or ‘I’m going to be aggressive right now,’ ” Burke said. “It’s just letting the game come knowing I’m going to have enough opportunities to play-make, to attack. The biggest thing when I’m starting is trying to attack in transition, trying to get my guys easy buckets as quick as possible.”
So come off the bench and heat up the offense. Start and set up others. But score, too.
“You like guys who can heat it up off the bench. When Trey was coming off the bench, that’s what we were asking him to do, go out and score for that group,” coach Jeff Hornacek said Monday after practice in Tarrytown. “As a starter, you have other guys who can score and you have to find ways to get them the ball. I thought he did a great job the other night with his point-guard stuff — his leadership, his passing. He didn’t try to do something that wasn’t there.”
Burke has been assisting since moving into the starter’s role four games ago for the Knicks, who are limping to the end of yet another 50-defeat season. The minutes are way up — 33.6 starting to 17.8 off bench — but as a starter Burke is averaging 9.0 assists per game.
In 27 bench games, he got 3.7 assists. The scoring is lopsided through the strength of those 42 points at Charlotte. In his four starts, he has averaged 24.3 points, more than double the 10.9 he scored in reserve.
It’s taking what the defense gives, Burke insists.
“I haven’t changed much. Just trying to figure out the flow of the game is the toughest part. I knew when I was coming in when I was coming off the bench,” Burke said. “As to now… starting the game, you might come off a pick-and-roll the first two possessions and you’ve already made your mind that you’re going to pass. And that pass might not be there, it might be a shot.”
Burke, who began the season in
the G-League, repeatedly stressed the need to force nothing, to take what defenses allow. He said the Pistons gave him different looks and assistant Corey Gaines suggested some adjustments.
“They were trapping off the ball screens,” Burke said. “Coach Corey said I’m going to have to give that ball up first, hit the pocket man and let the roll man make the decision. So I’m sure teams are going to give me different looks finishing out the season. This is my job to make the right play.”
There’s one other factor — experience. Burke is comfortable now in any role. He’s only 25, but has crammed a lot into the memory banks since he left college. He came out prepared in some areas — “I learned how to really read defenses off pick-and-roll in college,” he said — but in other spots, it has been learning, experiencing, some trial and error.
“The game’s slowed down tremendously for me. The biggest thing is not predetermining what I’m going to do coming off the pick-and-roll, but just letting the play pretty much form and allowing the defense to make a mistake and whatever they take away, I know what my other option is,” Burke said. “That’s just from years and years of watching film, game experience.”