With the Utah Jazz rebuild in full effect, many eyes have been on their rookie class and how their sophomores like Keyonte George and Taylor Hendricks would do. Not much focus was put on Brice Sensabaugh.
Sensabaugh had an unremarkable rookie season but he has slowly established himself in the Jazz's rotation. While it's not like Sensabaugh has lit the world on fire in his sophomore year, his progress has been pretty easy to see.
Besides the fact that he's had his occasional scoring breakouts, Sensabaugh's efficiencies have gone up this season, and it's led to him playing consistent minutes in the Jazz's rotation. While his scoring average has gone down (which isn't his fault), his shooting percentages are a sight for sore eyes, improving his overall field goal percentage from 39% to 45% and his three-point percentage from 29.6% to 38%.
There's enough ample evidence to believe that Sensabaugh could be a fixture in the Jazz's rotation for years to come. In an interview with RG's Grant Afseth, Sensabaugh revealed what's been the key to his improvement this season.
“I think I've done a decent job focusing on what I need to get myself in the rotation and get valuable minutes,” Sensabaugh told Afseth. “But obviously, translating it into wins is the most important for me because winning is the name of the game. I just want to continue getting better, focus on the details with all these guys, take the right shots, make the right reads, and keep the game simple.”
Part of what's kept Sensabaugh in the rotation is how well he's played beside his teammates. He explained why he's fit better along the other Jazz players when he takes the floor.
“I think it's about taking the load off the other guys by being in the right spots and being ready to shoot if I get the ball,” Sensabaugh told Afseth “Maybe I can make a scoring read or use my scoring instincts, but it's about making the right plays and keeping it simple.”
Part of why Sensabaugh hasn't scored much is because the Jazz haven't asked him to. Because they have veterans who can put the ball in the basket, they're primarily asking him to play off-ball. That could change not too long from now.
Sensabaugh might get bigger opportunity this season
For the time being, Sensabaugh won't light up the box score too much because the Jazz will turn to other scorers like Collin Sexton, Jordan Clarkson, and John Collins to handle that load. However, those three also happen to be the three most likely Jazz players to get traded this season.
While it may be a while before the Jazz send them to their next teams, if and when they do, that opens Sensabaugh should have the opportunity to show what he truly is made of. He's played well enough that he's earned the chance for a bigger role down the line.
Time will tell to see what his ceiling is as a player, but as far as progress goes, this was about as good as the Jazz could have realistically expected out of Sensabaugh to start this season.