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Dante Exum watched most of Friday's preseason finale from the bench.

The rookie logged just 9 minutes and 50 seconds total. Precious little of that came in the second half, as Jazz coach Quin Snyder opted to go with guard Ian Clark over Exum in the second unit.

Why?

One big reason, Snyder said: "I think Dante was struggling a little bit against what were very strong, physical guards. He's going to get better in those situations."

Snyder went on to say that, as the preseason drew to its close, he had considered sitting other key players and that he also wanted to see how Clark defended Phoenix's stable of point guards.

But Exum, still just 19, was certainly exposed at times in what was indeed a very tough preseason game Friday.

"This was by far the hardest game of the preseason to me," said Suns guard Eric Bledsoe. "We got beat up a lot, but at the end of the day everybody fought through it."

Exum finished with two points and three turnovers. The Jazz haven't been shy in saying the 6-foot-6 Aussie must get stronger to withstand the beating of an NBA season.

And, to be fair, he wasn't the only one who had troubles.

"I think their physicality bothered us," Snyder said. "There was a point where we needed to run our offense with more force, if that makes sense."

• The Jazz committed 21 turnovers Friday, right around their average for the preseason. But as they prepare for the preseason opener on Wednesday, Snyder and Co. don't seem overly concerned about the issue.

"We really took care of the ball in Oklahoma, so that's a positive," the coach said. "I hate to say I have some tolerance for it, but there are certain types of turnovers that are going to happen at times trying to make plays."

There are good turnovers after all, or at least acceptable ones.

"As long as they're aggressive turnovers, then you don't worry about those," swingman Gordon Hayward said. "It's the ones that lead to their fast-break points that are tough to deal with us because that just hurts us defensively and those are draining."

Snyder did see too many bad turnovers Friday.

But he's not pushing the panic button just yet.

"The ones where we're kind of passive, where we're not playing with enough force or they take us out of something and we're weak with the ball, sloppiness, that bothers me," he said. "We had that tonight. But again, it's something we'll continue to emphasize. It's something we need to do better at. But I don't think it's, like, over the top, that's it's a real real problem."

• The Jazz trailed by five points, 101-96, with 20.3 seconds on the clock. Out of a timeout, Hayward scored a layup. Then, with 9.3 seconds on the clock and the Jazz down five again, it was Alec Burks who drove in for two points.

Shouldn't the Jazz have gone for 3 at some point there?

Snyder: "I really like taking a stab at the rim. Soemtimes that rush, that push, actually ends up in a 3. They stayed with shooters and we were on the rim. So there is a point … it's game to game. People vary on how many seconds, how many time-outs" a team can have before it must attempt a 3 over a 2.

• Asked what he was taking from the preseason and the Jazz's 5-3 record, Snyder pointed out three things: Hayward's play and ability to get to the rim, Trey Burke's leadership, and Derrick Favors.

The Jazz were without that last one Friday.

Favors had soreness in his left knee and was kept out of action. Hopefully we'll have an update tomorrow on how serious (or not) the injury is, as Snyder didn't have an answer Friday.

What was clear to the coach was that the Jazz missed him.

"He's a little bit of a settling presence," Snyder said.

With Favors out, Trevor Booker got the start and minutes were distributed a little differently and not always successfully.

"A lot of what we're doing there's not much difference between the 4 and the 5, so guys, in theory, should have been more comfortable than they looked out there," Snyder said.

— Aaron Falk