SALT LAKE CITY — Every day on KSL.com, Andy Larsen writes "The Jazz Daily" keeping up with the latest news and information from Jazzland. The Jazz play their third game of the preseason Friday night against the Phoenix Suns at 7 p.m.

On Dante Exum learning feel for the game

During the first quarter of the Jazz's game against Maccabi Haifa on Wednesday night, Joe Ingles was standing in the corner, arms straight up in the air, waiting to catch the ball and hit his signature shot.

But the ball never arrived. Dante Exum dumped the ball to a trailing Jonas Jerebko for a step-up three, which missed.

Dante Exum finds Jerebko for trailing three: average/good play pic.twitter.com/Blls2juvpT — Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) October 6, 2017

It's not that bad of a play, after all, Exum's pass still led to an open three. But it's the kind of thing that makes a real difference over the course of hundreds of possessions. Jerebko is a career 35 percent 3-point shooter, and having an above-the-break shot that he has to hit despite his momentum still moving forward makes it even more of a gamble. Even though the shot is open, the possession just isn't all that valuable, probably just a smidge over a point per possession on average.

But Joe Ingles shooting from that right corner is basically printing money. He was shooting 47 percent from there last year, and even higher 53 percent in 2015-16. (He was 50 percent in 2014-15). That's among the league leaders in all three years. And Ingles is also pretty open, too: Ingles shot over 50 percent on any kind of threes where his defender was at least six feet away last year.

In other words, that possession is worth over a point and a half each time up the floor. Joe Ingles shooting an open right corner three is a better opportunity than your average layup.

That's one thing that league observers feel that Exum needs to improve: that feel for the game, making the kind of consistently great decisions that the NBA demands from its point guards.

He's gotten "much better" at it, though, according to head coach Quin Snyder. Exum's strength is his speed, but he needs to balance that weapon by being able to use his vision more consistently.

Snyder explained it like this: "When you're going on the highway, if you're speeding, you can't really see what's going on the side of you. You may not see the billboard or whatever. But if you're going a little slower, your ability to read is enhanced. That's Dante's challenge, is to be able to change speeds and find people."

While Exum needs to pick and choose spots when to attack, when the green light is on, he needs to remain aggressive all the way through the finish. Exum's signature layup style might be a scoop that inconsistently involves the backboard. You don't often see that in the NBA because it's just more difficult than it needs to be.

"(My finishing) gotten much better, I feel. I still need to fight through the contact a little bit more, and I'm still trying to avoid it a bit, rather than just go through it and go strong with my athleticism," Exum said." "But once I get past that kind of hump and use my athleticism to get above the rim, I should be fine."

Snyder called Exum's attacking the rim "a real strength", and you see that on plays like this.

Yes. All of this. 🌪💪#MACatUTApic.twitter.com/8PHW9Jd49x — Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 5, 2017

That's the kind of play that makes everyone go crazy, the kind of play that explains why Exum was drafted No. 5. But in order to maintain his place as a point guard in the NBA, it's plays like this that make the difference.

Dante Exum finds Jingles in the corner for open right corner 3: great play. pic.twitter.com/8z2TxVOGak — Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) October 6, 2017

This is perfect. Exum threatens to attack the basket, draws the second defender over to help and delivers the ball right on the money to Ingles, again with his hands up in the corner. What's the result? Swish.

Rest update

Rodney Hood and Joe Johnson were held out of Wednesday's game to rest, while Donovan Mitchell and Raul Neto were unavailable due to leg muscle tightness. But Snyder sounded optimistic about everyone's availability Friday morning.

"Right now, I think everyone will be available," Snyder said. "I know Raul is dealing with a little tightness, that's why he didn't play the other night. We have a lot of games in a short span, so we want to make sure we're not overdoing it with games right now."

While Neto will be watched, it sounds like Mitchell is likely to play. "I think Donovan's going to go," Snyder said. It's not 100 percent, and he'll be evaluated between shootaround and the game, but Snyder's confidence is a good sign.

No TV tonight

Neither the Jazz or the Suns are broadcasting Friday night's game on their TV stations. That means the game won't be on NBA's League Pass platform either: after all, they have no TV broadcast to pick up and stream.

My opinion: It's unbelievable that there are still non-televised NBA games in 2017, especially at home. While the Jazz and AT&T SportsNet are under no contractual obligation to show the game, not doing so is a disservice to the fans who they make money from for the rest of the season. It's unnecessary penny-pinching to the extreme.

Jazz charity event

The Jazz held their annual charity event Thursday night, hosting a game night at Vivint Arena for big-money sponsors. All money raised ($500,000!) went to 5ForTheFight, the Jazz's jersey sponsor which sends money to cancer research and LHM Charities.

Tonight's "Item of the game" is this $15 T-shirt celebrating "J.P. Strong", in honor of 5-year-old J.P. Gibson, whose acute lymphoblastic leukemia has returned. Gibson was the guest of honor at Thursday night's proceedings and ended up with a signed Ingles jersey.

Ekpe's boast

Ekpe Udoh's meeting with the media had a repeated chorus on Friday morning: "I'm one of the best defenders in the world." After the third time insisting that as an answer to various questions, Udoh insisted that we quote him on it. We have.

I asked Snyder what he thought of Udoh's boldness. "The fact that he takes that much pride in his defense is a great thing. What he's done the last few years, in the Euroleague, switching a lot of pick and rolls, and with his intelligence and savvy, he's always been a good defender. With his length, he's a good defender."

"He and Rudy should sort that one out," Snyder concluded.

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