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Last week featured the preseason NBA debut of Dante Exum. And while the Utah Jazz point guard hasn't wowed in his two games, he has been solid coming off Quin Snyder's bench.
Monday night will see the delayed debut of Utah's other first-round draft pick, small forward Rodney Hood.
The former Duke University star was held out of consecutive wins over Portland with a hip flexor he strained last Monday in the team's intrasquad scrimmage. He was cleared for Thursday's game at Portland, but Snyder decided against playing him.
That won't be the case for Monday night's matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers.
"He's going to be in the rotation," Snyder said. "He's someone who offers value to us because he stretches the floor and gives us spacing with his ability to shoot the ball."
Snyder said Hood will come of the bench against the Clippers. If there was a weakness with the Jazz last week, it was lack of scoring in the second unit. Hood helps with that.
In Sunday's practice, Hood went full tilt in scrimmage action, and stayed after to work on his jump shot, taking 3-pointers from all around the arc.
"He looked good," Utah point guard Trey Burke said. "He's someone who definitely can help us out, and we look forward to having him."
Stating the obvious
Snyder looked incredulous when asked this question on Sunday afternoon.
"What kind of problems do the Clippers pose?"
"Other than being one of the best teams in the league?" came Snyder's response.
Indeed, the Los Angeles Clippers are one of the best rosters in the NBA, full of talent from top to bottom and full of All-Star caliber players.
The matchup at EnergySolutions Arena figures to be a good one for Trey Burke and Enes Kanter. They have to square off against Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. That doesn't sound like an evening of fun for either of them.
"I know it's going to be difficult," Kanter said. "[Griffin is] one of the best players in the game. I know I have to be tough defensively and try and make him work whenever I can. He's a great player."
Homecoming
Monday will mark the return to Utah for former Pleasant Grove star C.J. Wilcox, who will be playing in Salt Lake City for the first time as a pro. He is a former Class 5A all-state performer, and a former all Pac-12 selection at Washington. Wilcox, the 24th overall pick in this year's draft, played four minutes last week against Golden State and didn't score.
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