Wow sucks. I was really looking forward to see Exum and Mudiay playing together sooner than later. Perhaps after mid season or next.
They're on different teams... you realize that right? The Jazz are f'd! Dante's development was key to this year. Still likely not to make the playoffs, but really primed for the following year. Now, they probably don't have him the full year or most of the year, he doesn't get to develop, and the team has to find better PG options if they want to be successful. There is "some" blessing in disguise potential, in that they could get another decent lotto pick next year and weren't going to make the playoffs this season anyway, most likely... but for a team that is on a projectory, momentum killers like this REALLY suck.
don't really see exum being the difference between them making a run at the 8th seed. they'll likely need to find a solid backup to Burke however
Well, he might or might not have been the difference. His growth this seasons was/is very important to the Jazz. At this point not as important as Gobert's continued growth, and Favors continued growth and a good season from Hayward, and Burks staying healthy, etc.. but definitely important. I am not a fan of Trey Burke. His really inefficient scorer, not enough of a playmaker for his usage and is undersized and not a great defender. To be fair, all of these can be said about Exum at this point, but with his size, age and athleticism, the hope for the Jazz was that he gets better and better. Whether or not Exum could have taken that next step and been inserted as the starting PG getting 32+ mpg in a lineup of Exum, Burks, Hayward, Favors, Gobert would have been very important.. .not just for this year, but for the following. Like I said, there is a silver lining in that to the extent Exum wouldn't have developed, an injury like this might accelerate thinking of "don't count on Exum"... In any case, the Jazz PG situation wasn't great and it's really bad now. In a league where PGs are so important, and there are so many good ones, that's their glaring hole.
Don't worry, Joe Ingles just signed a long term deal and will remain as a NBA player even though he is the bottom rated of all players by Tom Ziller.
yeah i agree about Burke but I guess this gives him another chance to prove himself as a starter in the league. he's shown here and there he can be solid and efficient but needs to be more consistent. Getting Burks back should help.
Torn ACL <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Utah Jazz have confirmed that Dante Exum has a torn ACL in his left knee.</p>— Jody Genessy (@DJJazzyJody) <a href="https://twitter.com/DJJazzyJody/status/629381911891152896">August 6, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">As feared, Dante Exum tore his left ACL, the Utah Jazz confirm.</p>— Aaron Falk (@tribjazz) <a href="https://twitter.com/tribjazz/status/629382051527954432">August 6, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
He's 19 years old. The studies on ACL show that the younger the age the player suffers it the less the decrease in explosiveness and speed. For his age I think the number is quite minuscule. Less than 5%. It will take him from 9 months to a year after the surgery to come back so next year he won't play at all. But this isnt any more a carreer destroying injury as it used to be decades ago. The problem will be mental. He already had trouble getting into the paint and attacking and looked too timid. He must learn again to trust his knee and be aggresive. As for the Jazz they already had the worst point guard rotation in the league so it's no big loss. They in my opinion stand about the same chance to make the playoffs as before.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I will be back stronger, quicker and faster. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/perseverance?src=hash">#perseverance</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/hardwork?src=hash">#hardwork</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/focus?src=hash">#focus</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/drive?src=hash">#drive</a></p>— Danté Exum (@daanteee) <a href="https://twitter.com/daanteee/status/631161707574923264">August 11, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Damn. He had that Penny Hardaway, Shaun Livingston type of build and movement. Too bad they all suffered from knee problems - too explosive for their own ligaments perhaps.
