Utah Jazz Preseason Preview: Four Reasons to Watch

The Mystery Man – Dante Exum

OK, so maybe it’s a little dramatic or theatrical to refer to Dante Exum as “The Mystery Man,” but at the same time, that’s essentially what he is. After a slow start in his rookie season, Exum picked things up towards the end of the year and was one of the players that several Jazz fans were most looking forward to watching last year.

But of course, that all came unraveled during the offseason following his season-ending ACL injury. Now that Exum is back and reportedly healthy, it will be absolutely thrilling to see how he looks.

Will those flashes of superstar potential be back? Will he have the speed, quickness and lock-down D that fans expect of him? Just what exactly can we expect out of this mystery man? Those questions alone should be enough to get Jazz fans stoked about watching the match-up tonight.

Much like pretty much every player across the league, I expect Exum to have quite a bit of rust, especially considering that he missed the entirety of last season. But if he can put in some threes, finish some quick drives to the hoop and reasonably contain opponent Damian Lillard, there will be great reason for optimism among Jazz fans.

While we don’t know exactly how much playing time he’ll get, simply seeing the flashy guard back on the court and getting an idea of how much he’s improved since we last watched him will be one of the most exciting facets of the night.