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Charlotte, N.C. • The workouts, the shooting, the repetition. It's all a vigorous regimen for Dante Exum, who at times puts in hours following practices with assistant Lamar Skeeter, as the two focus on perfecting his form.
For the Utah Jazz, and for Exum, the sample-size is small — eight games, not counting Wednesday night's matchup at the Charlotte Hornets. But in that small sample, Exum is shooting 50 percent from the field, 42 percent from 3-point range and 90 percent from the free-throw line.
Exum's shooting represents the progress that the Jazz front office wants to see in Exum's first season since a torn ACL.
"The biggest thing is I'm trying to shoot the right shots," Exum said. "I think it's just about concentrating on what I've been working on and shooting the ball with confidence. The game is slowing down for me. I still rush a bit and sometimes I get too excited. But I'm finally starting to get back into a good rhythm."
Exum's primarily been playing a lot of shooting guard. But he played extensively at point guard on Monday against the Philadelphia 76ers, with George Hill out due to a sprained thumb.
His versatility on both ends has been a help for the Jazz off the bench. As a rookie, Exum made his mark defensively, harassing opposing point guard. He's continued that this season, even if he's been a work in progress on offense.
Exum's also becoming better at getting to the basket off the dribble. In the first half on Wednesday, he was 1 of 2 from 3-point range. On his make, Jazz coach Quin Snyder ran a play to get him the open shot.
"He's definitely shooting the three well," forward Gordon Hayward said. "He's finding his spots, he's getting his feet set and he's knocking them down. That's huge for us if he can continue doing that. It means the defense can't suck in. He's definitely helping spacing for us."
Jazz in ESPN's top 50
ESPN's ultimate standings recently ranked the Jazz 43rd out of franchises in all of the major professional sports. The rankings are compiled by a number of criteria, including coaching, fan relations, ownership and stadium experience. The NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning came in first, and the NFL's San Francisco 49ers were last at 122.
Teammate reunions
Wednesday's matchup featured Rudy Gobert and Nic Batum, the Charlotte shooting guard, who play together on the French national team It also featured Trey Lyles and Aaron Harrison, who reached at Final Four at Kentucky.
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