When he injured his left ankle against the Detroit Pistons on Jan. 5, Dante Exum was convinced he wouldn’t be out long — two weeks, he thought. But the pain just wouldn’t subside long enough. Two weeks became three. Three became four. Before he knew it, he was out two months.
But after finally being cleared to practice just two days ago, Exum made his return to the Utah Jazz on Monday in a 98-89 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
After not playing since Jan. 5, Dante Exum will finally return to the Utah Jazz. It came at a good time, too, with both Ricky Rubio and Raul Neto out due to injury.
Jazz coach Quin Snyder said pregame that he was realistic about what Exum would be able to provide after not playing a game in two months. Once Exum took the floor late in the first quarter, the time off showed. He got beat on defense and committed a foul, then turned the ball over twice by stepping out of bounds on drives to the basket.
“Obviously I came in and made a few mistakes,” Exum said after the game. “But what I tried to do is lock in defensively and that’s what got me more minutes in the second half. It’s just good to get back out on the court. It’s the first step.”
Exum said before the game that he was excited to join his teammates again.
“Obviously I hate being injured. It’s something that’s plagued me for a long time,” Exum said. “But just making sure I’m healthy and in the right mindset to go out on the floor. That was my biggest goal.”
Exum played 14 minutes and tallied three assists and two fouls. He did not make a shot in five attempts. Snyder said before the game Exum would be on a minutes restriction of about 16-20 minutes. Once he gets back into the swing of things, Snyder said, Exum’s impact will be most felt on the defense end.
“I think that maybe the biggest thing that Dante’s able to do that’s different is his ability to contain and pressure the ball, whether it be in the open floor or in pick-and-roll,” Snyder said.
Exum did deliver a couple of nice sequences in his fourth-quarter stint. The first came on a lob pass to Derrick Favors. The other was a baseline drive in which he eluded a defender and found Royce O’Neale in the opposite corner for a 3-pointer. He also connected with Grayson Allen, who made a 3-pointer off Exum’s pass, in garbage time.
“I thought he played hard. He attacked,” Snyder said after the game of Exum. “I thought he did a good job particularly given the fact that he hasn’t played in a couple of months.”
Exum said pregame that he feels his best basketball is still ahead of him. While he struggled in this first game back since early January, he feels more time on the court will get him back to playing at the level he did before the injury.
“I was just getting more and more comfortable with the guys that are on the floor, and hopefully I can get back into a routine with them,” Exum said. “I think playing is just what I gotta do.”
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