Exum Suffers ACL Injury, Playoffs Wide Open
- Aug 7, 2015
- 2 min read
Dante Exum, the 5th overall pick of the 2014 draft, suffered an ACL tear in Australia's friendly against Slovenia two days ago. The 20 year old had an average year with the Jazz but is showing signs of potential as a lengthy defender and possibly a knock down shooter. Exum averaged 4.8 points along with 2.4 assists throughout the season and started 41 games for the Jazz towards the end of the season as Trey Burke failed to find his shooting touch.
The Jazz finished first in OPPG (opponents points per game) over the course of the entire season, and were first in defensive efficiency post All-Star break. This is largely attributed to Rudy Gobert (or the "Stifle Tower") becoming a starter after Enes Kanter was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Jazz have the potential to become a playoff contender this year, with younger players such as Derek Favours and Rodney Hood set for big years following a strong finish to the 2014-15 season. There is a good chance Dallas drop out of the top eight following the "loss" of DeAndre Jordan and saying goodbye to both Rajon Rondo, Tyson Chandler and Monta Ellis. One can only wonder where the scoring is going to come from on that team and an aging Dirk Nowitzki isn't quite the same player he used to be, especially on the defensive end. They've brought in Samuel Dalembert but he is far from the defensive player that Tyson Chandler is, and that's saying a lot considering my views on Chandler.
Portland are also another team likely to drop out of the playoffs, with the entire starting five bar Damian Lillard has left for greener pastures. While they're still a relatively solid team, expect the Jazz to push them for the 8th seed.
R.I.P City.
Comments