SALT LAKE CITY — The most memorable part of Friday night’s preseason game between the Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz was the unfortunate play that resulted in tough-luck Dante Exum getting hurt, of course.
That ugly moment happened in the second quarter when Suns forward TJ Warren landed hard on Exum while trying to block a layup by the Jazz point guard. The 6-foot-8, 225-pound Phoenix player’s momentum drove Exum’s left side into the Vivint Arena court.
Exum quickly grasped his left shoulder and writhed in pain on the hardwood floor for a moment before hopping up and sprinting to the locker room.
“It wasn’t good if you saw his shoulder,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said.
Exum, who’s played well this preseason, went to the hospital from the arena to undergo an MRI test to determine the severity of his shoulder injury.
Warren’s thigh was injured on the play. The 24-year-old later left the game after falling and hitting his head on concrete after fouling Rodney Hood while closing out on a 3-point shot. Warren required five stitches in his head and was placed on the NBA’s concussion protocol.
Hood finished with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including 3 for 3 from 3-point range. He also had three rebounds and two steals.
Here are a couple more of Hood’s highlights, both of which included him playing off of a high screen from Jazz bigs:
This Jazz game wasn’t televised, but here is video evidence that new point guard Ricky Rubio actually made a shot in a Utah uniform. The longtime Minnesota playmaker went 0 for 4 in his first two games and then missed his first five shots Friday before finally draining a long shot.
The crowd cheered loudly for Rubio — some tongue-in-cheek mock cheers included, no doubt — and the Spanish player ended up hitting 2 of 9 field goals.
Snyder gave one of his classic in-depth responses when asked if that make was like a weight being lifted off of Rubio’s shoulders. (Spoiler alert: No.)
“What you just described is the trap that I can hear everybody falling into, that somehow we’re going to continue to evaluate Ricky,” Snyder said. “I’m good if Ricky was 0 for 10 from three tonight. I don’t care. I like that he shot 10 shots (nine). There’s a tendency (for people to think) we’re waiting for him to show us something.
“If he plays that way, if he’s trying to prove something or please someone, that’s just the wrong approach. The guy’s a 90 percent free-throw shooter.”
Snyder said he would like Rubio to continue to work on his floater, and he definitely wants him to shoot open shots regardless of whether he’s hit or missed his first attempts of the game.
“I’m not going to keep track of if he’s 0 for 3 or he’s 3 for 3. I just want him to take them when he’s open,” Snyder said. “The goal for Ricky is not to go 4 for 4 a night. The goal for Ricky is to become a better player every week, every month throughout the course of the season. The way to do that is to just play the right way and continue to be aggressive and then work.”
We’re not going to document every made Rubio shot this season, but here’s the other one:
Likewise, Snyder said he’s not going to overvalue one strong performance by Alec Burks, who clearly looks healthier, more athletic and more comfortable than he has since dealing with various injuries over the past couple of seasons.
Burks showed spring in his step and confidence in his jump shot while hitting 8 of 12 shots for 19 points off the bench. He also had six rebounds and two of the Jazz’s 10 steals.
“I know who Alec is,” Snyder said. “He’s a really good player.”
Case in point:
Even so, Snyder pointed out that Burks and Hood, both of whom had nice offensive outings, misplayed the pick-and-roll on defense at times and need to work on that.
Here are some more highlights from Friday’s 112-101 win, including some nice passing, footwork and baskets from bigs Rudy Gobert, Derrick Favors and Ekpe Udoh.