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The Downbeat #1507: The Meet Don Stockton Edition

John Stockton's twin Don Stockton made his television debut on Christmas for State Farm! Gordon Hayward is the leader of the Jazz? Baby Face Exum is growing up before our eyes and a Merry Jazzy Christmas.

By dianaallen
Helloooooo, is there anybody out there?
Helloooooo, is there anybody out there?
Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

So this happened yesterday, John Stockton gave Jazz fans the greatest Christmas gift ever!

Stockton's greatest commercial to date aired yesterday during NBA Christmas. You can read all about it here from Jeff Case at the All Ball blog on nba.com. You can also read more about it here at Sports Illustrated.

Here is the State Farm commercial

And here is a bonus clip with Don Stockton!

Enjoy, Enjoy, Enjoy!

EDIT!!!!

The Vine guru Jody Genessy shared this special Don Stockton vine with me this morning! It is so great I couldn't not include it in this downbeat!! Thanks Jody!!!

If you haven't checked it out already, Gordon Hayward posted a new post on his blog.  Hayward shares his feelings about how the season has gone so far, his role as a leader on the team (including how Earl Watson and Raja Bell influenced him as leaders of the Jazz) and his relationship with Quin Synder. Hayward also mentions how well Trevor Booker, Dante Exum and Rudy Gobert have played for the team.

I'll share one quote that I found interesting. Then go read it. There is a lot of good info in Hayward's post, its well worth the read.

Hayward's thoughts about a recent conversation he had with Snyder:

We recently had a long discussion after one of the games about what I can do better to help the team, and how I feel about our direction. Coach wanted to hear what I see out there on the court. I think that helped us both a lot, because at the end of the day, he can only coach us so much. He’s not out there. He can't see everything.

It’s important to have a give and take between the coach and players in leadership roles. The head coach can’t necessarily have that type of relationship with everybody, but having that type of dialogue with a player like me connects him with all the players because I can bridge that gap.

Do you feel Gordon Hayward is a good leader for the Jazz? What have you noticed this season that he has done to help other players in his capacity as a leader?

ICYMI, our pal Jody Genessy wrote an article on Dante Exum. The premise for the article came from this tweet:

Quin Snyder on Dante Exum

"I want him to attack," Snyder said. "He’s got the freedom to make mistakes. We can live with the mistakes as long as they’re made when he’s attacking."

Exum's statistics are modest for a high lottery pick who has been called a potential franchise-type player by numerous pundits and experts around the NBA. He's only averaging 4.9 points and 2.0 assists as second-year point guard Trey Burke's primary backup.

However, Exum seems to be figuring out how to use his size (6-foot-6) and elite quickness to be more productive on both ends of the court.

Jody's article talks more about Exum's expectations so far into the season, what Gordon Hayward thinks of Exum and more from Quin Snyder.  Go read it!

What are your thoughts on Exum? Can he become the star the Jazz are oh so desperately looking for?

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas. I had a lovely Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I couldn't have been happier spending quiet days with Lou and the kids. We all had so much fun together and enjoyed each other's company. I received nice gifts from Lou and the kids. I however wanted to share a gift that one of my best friends gave to me.

Isn't that awesome! It is chock full of information about the 1992-1993 Utah Jazz team also. There are pages of info about all the players, coaches, and FO people on that team and  info on their wives and families. I plan on doing a post about the cookbook or sharing a little here or a little there during different downbeats.

This was also a great gift from another one of my best friends. The kids LOVE them and so do I.

Did you receive any Jazz related gifts? If so please share in the comments!

We all saw Peter J Novak in his new jersey right?

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. I hope you are enjoying your holidays. I can't wait however for the Jazz to play  this Saturday and get this blog rolling again!

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