Jazz's Exum on registering 0 assists in 1st start: 'It's not good enough'

For the first time in his young NBA career, Australian rookie Dante Exum drew the start at point guard for the Utah Jazz on Monday.

With Trey Burke sidelined due to illness and the team woefully thin at the guard positions, head coach Quin Snyder had to call on the 19-year-old to give him 30 minutes, a new career-high. It was a lot to ask, and the Jazz are surely hoping Monday's loss was a learning experience for the youngster.

The results were somewhat mixed, as they tend to be with rookies in large roles. Exum scored 13 points but failed to register a rebound or assist. He also shot just 5-of-14 from the floor, missing his first three shots and six of his first seven. He kept shooting and finished 4-of-7 in the second half, showing some growth within the game, and Snyder drew up a play designed to get Exum a clutch shot late.

"I'm proud of him for hanging in there," Snyder said after the game. "I think a lot of guys would have stopped shooting. He didn't do that. I thought he defended. I was proud of him."

Exum didn't get to take the shot off that designed play, as the Indiana Pacers opted to foul while up three. Still, the confidence Snyder showed in the rookie meant a lot to him given his earlier struggles.

"The thing I kept hearing was 'Keep shooting. Keep shooting. Keep shooting your shot,'" Exum said. "When you start zero for five, that's the first thing you want to hear. It was nice that he had confidence in me to shoot that shot."

Even with the late vote of confidence and a steadier second half, Exum was critical of his performance. In particular, he took issue with registering zero assists, a minor surprise since he's averaging three assists for every 30 minutes of action.

"I found a couple guys a few times," Exum said. "But not getting any assists as a starting points guard, it's not good enough. It's something I need to work on and hopefully, when I get the chance again, I can step up."

The Jazz play again on Wednesday, and Exum could get another opportunity if Burke isn't feeling better.