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Dante Exum’s Phobia Of The Paint Must Be Overcome

By Clint Peterson

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Mar 8, 2015; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Utah Jazz shooting guard

Dante Exum

(11) controls the ball against the Brooklyn Nets during the first quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Dante Exum seems to be allergic to paint. And according to his teammates and coach, Quin Snyder, they’d like to see him step it up a bit. We’ve breached this topic a few times already at PnB, now national pundits are noticing and weighing in too.

You’ve probably already browsed Kareem Copeland’s recent write-up on the subject. One line from Dante Exum really stood out:

"“Yeah, definitely (I was overwhelmed) just coming in straight away.”–Kareem Copeland, NBA.com"

Radio voice of the Utah Jazz, David Locke also asked Exum about his comfort level in the paint recently.

Just how averse to the paint is Dante Exum? A couple of weeks ago, our Rev Ryan dropped an Exum bomb on everyone with this tidbit:

"Since December 29th of last year, Jazz starting point guard Dante Exum has attempted only two free throws.I repeat, since December 29th of last year, Jazz starting point guard Dante Exum has attempted only two free throws. Obviously, this is less than ideal in a league where the three-point shot and getting to the charity stripe are the most efficient way to score points.Exum has shown an increased willingness to drive the basketball (if only marginally so); hopefully this equates to more trips to the line sooner rather than later, but it remains a disconcerting trend.–Ryan Aston, February 25, 2015"

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In the seven games and 146 minutes played since Ryan wrote that, Dante Exum has only two more free throw attempts, bringing his 32 game total since December 29, 2014 to four. Four free throw attempts by your now-starting point guard in over 742 minutes of play. That’s gotta change.

As the Utah Jazz rookie point guard last season, the much smaller Trey Burke was heavily criticized for not getting to the free throw line more. Through Burke’s first 61 games as an NBA player, he’d taken 97 freebies, 1.6 a game. Dante Exum has taken 31, a paltry 0.5 attempts per game.

Dante Exum has a ridiculous first step, and shows no fear on defense, making his obvious odium of venturing anywhere near the rim perplexing

Dante Exum has a ridiculous first step, and shows no fear on defense, making his obvious odium of venturing anywhere near the rim while in possession of the ball perplexing.

You can literally see Exum veer away from the paint on the dribble at times, as if he and the restricted area of the court are the opposite poles of magnetic force, pushing away from each other.

Since gaining the starting job as the Jazz’s point guard on January 22, 20 games ago, Dante Exum has taken only 19 field goal attempts in the restricted area.

Dante Exum shows an aversion to the paint as a rookie

This is 30% below the league average. It’s not a small fear of venturing into the towering trees. What Dante Exum has is a phobia of the entire forest.

Dante Exum far below league average in restricted area field goal attempts

Passes are given, excuses tendered. But Dante Exum shows an extreme unease when asked to drive within the confines of the highest percentage shooting area in the NBA.

Nights like Exum had from three against the Brooklyn Nets, 4-4, will help his cause some, but his ability to help his teammates succeed and get to the next level — whether penetrating and scoring or dishing off of a drive — will be severely limited if he can’t develop the mental fortitude to take more risks closer to the rim.

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