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Shelvin Mack entered training camp, in some regards, as a forgotten man.
A few months earlier, after a late-season trade, the point guard had stormed his way into the Utah Jazz's starting lineup and flourished. But with guard Danté Exum already working his way back from ACL surgery, the Jazz's trade for another point guard, George Hill, bumped Mack back down the depth chart.
So far, Mack's done a good job of making sure people remember him.
The 26-year-old has averaged 8.7 points and 3.2 assists coming off the bench in six preseason games, and seems to hold the edge over Raul Neto for the Jazz's third point guard spot.
"There's always going to be competition," Mack said of his move from starter to third string. "It's not the first time I've been through something like this. It's not going to be the last. It's just competition. I feel like it brings the best out of me and overall it helps my game a lot."
With Mack expected to see fewer minutes this season, Jazz coach Quin Snyder is demanding a greater commitment from the guard's defense.
"At the end of last year, we needed different things from him," Snyder said. "Part of it is him adjusting to what's the fit and where can he add the most value. That's scoring opportunistically but really defending the ball."
Mack, meanwhile, said he feels sharp after an offseason of working out with Jazz shooting guard Rodney Hood in Atlanta. He has remained aggressive in attacking the rim, but said he has also focused on improving his midrange game to exploit defenses that tend to focus on the 3-point line and the painted area.
"We've been missing our top three scorers from last year, so I'm trying to make up the scoring somewhere," he said.
Coming off the bench, Mack saw 18 minutes a game in six preseason appearances compared to Neto's 12 minutes a game in five appearances.
Injury report
Forward Derrick Favors (IT Band syndrome) continues to do a little more each day in practice but his status for Tuesday's season opener remains in doubt.
"We're gradually increasing his activity," Snyder said. "We're scaling up to games."
Gordon Hayward and Alec Burks were held out of practice again Monday.
Another one
The Jazz on Monday picked up options on Exum and Hood, and second-year forward Trey Lyles, a housekeeping move that simply keeps them under contract through the 2017-18 season.