Utah Jazz: Reevaluation date approaching, will we see Dante Exum back soon?
Utah Jazz point guard Dante Exum is set to be reevaluated on Friday. Will a return to the court be soon to follow?
When it was announced that Dante Exum would be reevaluated following the All-Star break, I’m sure the majority of Utah Jazz fans figured he would have been back in action by now as we quickly approach the second week of March. However, shortly after the break, it was announced that Exum’s injury was worse than originally presumed due to a bone bruise and that he’d be reevaluated in a couple of weeks.
That report came forth on February 22nd, not long after the conclusion of the All-Star break, meaning that the two-week reevaluation date is slated for this Friday, March 8th. The Utah Jazz also happen to have a game that selfsame evening against the Memphis Grizzlies. With those two things coinciding, could it be possible that Exum will return for that contest?
It would certainly be nice if he could as the Jazz will be facing a feisty Memphis team lead by prolific point guard Mike Conley, who many of the Utah faithful pined after at the trade deadline. I suppose it’s possible that we’ll see him based on the knowledge of timing that we have, but I wouldn’t count on it.
Not only are the Jazz in the midst of a road trip from New Orleans to Memphis, but even if Exum’s evaluation goes swimmingly, they’ll likely want him to continue to work his way back into game shape as much as possible before being flung into a road contest on such short notice. If everything looks good on Friday, I’d say it’s more likely that we see Exum next in Utah’s home contest against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.
Then again, given Exum’s track record and Utah’s history for erring on the side of caution particularly when it comes to dealing with the injury-maligned Aussie, it wouldn’t be surprising at all if the reevaluation date produced nothing more than yet another reevaluation date down the road.
Exum has missed 25 games this season and hasn’t been on the court since January 5th. At this point, the Jazz are quite comfortable without him and it will be intriguing to see what kind of impact he has once he finally returns. It took him some time to assimilate after a lengthy absence a season ago, but once he did come back, he did have a nice impact in the playoffs. That is until he got hurt again. Such has been Dante Exum’s career.
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The Jazz could definitely use Exum, especially on defense but also for point guard depth. But it may yet be another few weeks until he’s actually able to go. Fingers crossed that Friday will bring about good news and we’ll see Dante back in action sooner rather than later.