[AdamJCallejaParticipant]

 Anybody else been impressed by Dante Exum’s pre season play. There have been stretches where he struggles and just looks like he’s not ready for the NBA, but then there are some stretches where it looks like he’s ready to soon become a standout player in this league.

Positives: He always has his head up surveying the floor especially in pick n roll situations. Although he needs to do it more, he it takes it to the rack aggressively using his quick long strides. He has shit the ball very well and has a smooth compact release on his shot that’s only going to get better. I’m impressed with the even keel that he plays with in the offensive side. Defensively he shows solid effort on the ball where he has pretty good lateral quickness. He also showed solid awareness off the ball and is only going to improve on this side of the floor.

Negatives: He definitely needs to tighten up his handle, looks really loose with the ball out there. Lacks creativity in his iso game, only uses simple right to left crossovers but he can get away with it due to his quickness. Must get stronger but he’s only 19 years old so that isn’t a huge issue right now. Can be a bit careless with the ball sometimes throwing wild lobs.

Overall I have been impressed considering that I was really disappointed with his summer league play. I’m really excited to see what he has to show in his rookie season.

[lalailaParticipant]

the best thing is that those streches wasn’t inconsistent..

just at the first games he was consistantly poor and tried to figure it out, but last three games he played consistantly well with around 19mpg he got  10.3 ppg 4assists per game while shooting 9of16 in those games (6of9 from three)

 

he has talent he seems to be smart, he will be good..and even though we will may see some terrible shooting nights ect but he can become really good faster than some think

[lalailaParticipant]

the best thing is that those streches wasn’t inconsistent..

just at the first games he was consistantly poor and tried to figure it out, but last three games he played consistantly well with around 19mpg he got  10.3 ppg 4assists per game while shooting 9of16 in those games (6of9 from three)

 

he has talent he seems to be smart, he will be good..and even though we will may see some terrible shooting nights ect but he can become really good faster than some think

[llperez]

 have watched him 3x recently vs lakers and clippers x2. Ive really liked what ive seen all 3 games. Its gonna take some time, but this guy was very worthy of the top 5 pick and the hype. His combination of speed and length is gonna be trouble. Plus his jumper has been really good. I think hes over 50% from three in the preseason so far. The stats come and go, but just watching him, he has a bright future.

[llperez]

 have watched him 3x recently vs lakers and clippers x2. Ive really liked what ive seen all 3 games. Its gonna take some time, but this guy was very worthy of the top 5 pick and the hype. His combination of speed and length is gonna be trouble. Plus his jumper has been really good. I think hes over 50% from three in the preseason so far. The stats come and go, but just watching him, he has a bright future.

[pe3ucTopParticipant]

What has impressed me most is his seemingly steep learning curve. I don’t want to make sweeping conclusions based on such a small sample size, but you can actually see the improvements he’s made in such a short period of time. His shot seems much more compact and has a much better arc. Last week he had a game with 8 turnovers against the Clippers. One of the Jazz assistants said he was very receptive and proactive in taking coaches’ advice and reviewing tapes. He said they sat down after that game against the Clippers and reviewed plays and talked about the TOs he’s making and the way he can avoid some of them. The result? 2 games(one of them against the same Clippers team) since then, 0 turnovers. Again, small sample size, but you can literally see the improvements he’s making from one game to the next in the way he’s playing.

His handle definitely needs work, especially the left hand. I doubt he’d maintain that insane level of shooting(he’s above 50% from 3 right now in preseason), so he needs to keep working on his shot.

What this season is about for him, I think, is getting used to the pace and physicality of the NBA game and improving his conditioning and adding core strength so he can finish better at the rim. He’s been somewhat hesitant and timid to attack the hoop and I think as he matures and gets used to the NBA game, that will come back to him – lets not forget that that was one of his strongest selling points before the draft – he was going to the rim, he was drawing fouls, he was finishing through contact. In one of the FIBA tournaments he averaged about 10FTA per game which is insanely good. If he can become that type of player in the NBA it would open up the floor for his drive-and-dish and drive-and-kick game as well. It will free him up some space to work with for his shooting…in general it will open a whole new variety of options for him. Yesterday he actually had a moment where he hinted at what type of player he can be when he drove down the lane and finished through contact drawing the foul by DeAndre Jordan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLoWAPloKMQ

Something that hasn’t been talked much about is his defense. I absolutely love his potential in D. He’s super long and high for a PG. He creates all sorts of problems both on the ball and in covering the passing lanes. Yesterday he had 2 steals and forced a couple of TOs in just 16 minutes of play. He doesn’t have the experience and is still adjusting to the quality of NBA PGs but you can’t help but be hopeful about the potential oozing there.

The best thing is that it seems like the psychological evaluations that were talked about by NBA teams about him seem to be true and he’s indeed a good kid with great work ethic, who’s going to do everything possible to succeed. I wouldn’t expect him to be consistent threat this season, but in several years, if he keeps working and improving his craft, he can be one of the best PGs on both sides of the floor in the NBA.

[pe3ucTopParticipant]

What has impressed me most is his seemingly steep learning curve. I don’t want to make sweeping conclusions based on such a small sample size, but you can actually see the improvements he’s made in such a short period of time. His shot seems much more compact and has a much better arc. Last week he had a game with 8 turnovers against the Clippers. One of the Jazz assistants said he was very receptive and proactive in taking coaches’ advice and reviewing tapes. He said they sat down after that game against the Clippers and reviewed plays and talked about the TOs he’s making and the way he can avoid some of them. The result? 2 games(one of them against the same Clippers team) since then, 0 turnovers. Again, small sample size, but you can literally see the improvements he’s making from one game to the next in the way he’s playing.

His handle definitely needs work, especially the left hand. I doubt he’d maintain that insane level of shooting(he’s above 50% from 3 right now in preseason), so he needs to keep working on his shot.

What this season is about for him, I think, is getting used to the pace and physicality of the NBA game and improving his conditioning and adding core strength so he can finish better at the rim. He’s been somewhat hesitant and timid to attack the hoop and I think as he matures and gets used to the NBA game, that will come back to him – lets not forget that that was one of his strongest selling points before the draft – he was going to the rim, he was drawing fouls, he was finishing through contact. In one of the FIBA tournaments he averaged about 10FTA per game which is insanely good. If he can become that type of player in the NBA it would open up the floor for his drive-and-dish and drive-and-kick game as well. It will free him up some space to work with for his shooting…in general it will open a whole new variety of options for him. Yesterday he actually had a moment where he hinted at what type of player he can be when he drove down the lane and finished through contact drawing the foul by DeAndre Jordan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLoWAPloKMQ

Something that hasn’t been talked much about is his defense. I absolutely love his potential in D. He’s super long and high for a PG. He creates all sorts of problems both on the ball and in covering the passing lanes. Yesterday he had 2 steals and forced a couple of TOs in just 16 minutes of play. He doesn’t have the experience and is still adjusting to the quality of NBA PGs but you can’t help but be hopeful about the potential oozing there.

The best thing is that it seems like the psychological evaluations that were talked about by NBA teams about him seem to be true and he’s indeed a good kid with great work ethic, who’s going to do everything possible to succeed. I wouldn’t expect him to be consistent threat this season, but in several years, if he keeps working and improving his craft, he can be one of the best PGs on both sides of the floor in the NBA.

[HazelParticipant]

One side note.  I was one of those who thought he just couln’t shoot.  I was wrong.  He has excellent form and is very effective with a set-shot off the pass.  His pull-up game or shooting off the dribble is pretty much non-existant.  Can’t seem to get balanced and consequently has has some pretty ugly results in that area.   That is where he runs into trouble. 

The result is no mid-range game. 

The truth is, that is not a necessary piece for someone with his passing/length skillset.  (Just ask Ginobli).   His ability to hit the open shot off the pass has already precluded him from the Rubio shooting doom I previously saw as his floor.  

That, along with all the previous points made here, makes me very excited.  Bright future.  

[HazelParticipant]

One side note.  I was one of those who thought he just couln’t shoot.  I was wrong.  He has excellent form and is very effective with a set-shot off the pass.  His pull-up game or shooting off the dribble is pretty much non-existant.  Can’t seem to get balanced and consequently has has some pretty ugly results in that area.   That is where he runs into trouble. 

The result is no mid-range game. 

The truth is, that is not a necessary piece for someone with his passing/length skillset.  (Just ask Ginobli).   His ability to hit the open shot off the pass has already precluded him from the Rubio shooting doom I previously saw as his floor.  

That, along with all the previous points made here, makes me very excited.  Bright future.  

[Author]

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