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Dante Exum's confidence waned. But he never lost it.

And Quin Snyder warned us all in the infancy of training camp: Developing his baby-faced, 21-year-old former lottery pick was going to take time, and patience. The words were one thing. The words being put into action are another.

So Utah Jazz nation asked the collective question on Monday, when Exum received a DNP-CD for the first time in his young career: Why was Exum out of the rotation? Almost a week later, Exum was back in the rotation and back into the starting lineup, with George Hill out due to a sprained toe.

So, the roller coaster continues.

"When your minutes go down, your confidence can go down, too," Exum said. "But I'm here to do whatever coach wants and help the team win. The biggest thing for me is defense, just trying to be the aggressor and trying to disrupt the player."

After a year away from the Jazz due to ACL surgery, circumstance around the team has been Exum's most formidable challenge. He was the starter during the second half of his rookie season out of need. The Jazz weren't getting anything out of the point guard slot, they were extremely young at the position and it made sense to give Exum all the minutes he could handle.

This season, the point guard position is different. Hill has come in and played at an All-Star level. Shelvin Mack is a steady veteran hand as a backup. All of which means Exum has to earn minutes, a potentially daunting task for such a young player.

Exum has been inconsistent this year. He's more aggressive offensively, but has struggled on defense, which has been his calling card. Whenever Hill comes back, it's unclear whether Exum will return to the edge of the playing rotation. In that light, Exum knows he has to take advantage of his playing time now.

"Obviously, I want to do whatever I can to help the team win," Exum said. "I want to be on the court and give whatever is possible. Coach told me the biggest thing is to stay ready. He told me to stay positive, and that's what I've tried to do."

A tribute

On Tuesday night, following Utah's win over the Houston Rockets, Jazz point guard Raul Neto left the locker room in a Brazil soccer jersey, in remembrance of the Brazilian team members who were tragically killed in a plane crash in Colombia.

While Neto didn't personally know any of the victims, he — like most in his native Brazil — grew up playing soccer and remains a big fan of the sport.

"At first, I thought it wasn't that serious," Neto said. "I saw the news and they said the airplane had exited. So I went to sleep and woke up the next morning and they said only six people survived. I felt really bad, because we're all athletes and we travel every day almost. It can happen to anyone. I was really sad that it was people from my country."

Injury woes

Hill missed his 10th game of the season on Saturday against the Denver Nuggets with a sprained toe. He remains in a protective walking boot. … The Nuggets and the Jazz played for the third time this season on Saturday night.

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