With every high-scoring game Brice Sensabaugh puts up, he's making it clear that the Utah Jazz may have hit a home run when they drafted him. It was more of the same from him in their loss against the Hornets last night, as he put up 19 points with four rebounds and four assists.
After a shaky rookie season, the second-year Jazzman coming around has made for one of the Jazz's bright spots in a pretty bad overall season. Before the Jazz's game against the Hornets, the Jazz's X account noted the rare feat that Sensabaugh achieved in which only one other Jazz alum has done.
. @bricepsensa has scored 77 points and hit 15 threes over his last three games, all of which he came off the bench.
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 15, 2025
He joins Rodney Hood (Nov 2017) as the only Jazz players to average 25.0 points and 5.0 three-pointers made over a three-game span while coming off the bench. pic.twitter.com/yywTBufPEJ
Why this is scary for the Jazz
Rodney Hood wasn't bad when he played for the Jazz, but he was among the most frustrating players of that era. This accomplishment he shares with Sensabaugh symbolizes how good the former could be while on his game and how mind-bogglingly inconsistent he was during his time in Utah.
There were stretches when he looked like the most unstoppable player on the floor, which made many wonder why he couldn't play like that every game. He was clearly capable of scoring 20 points on any given night, yet he never consistently did so. His scoring abilities were undeniable, but so was his unpredictability.
So, seeing Sensabaugh share this honor with Hood is kind of scary because, as good as he's been as a scorer, the Jazz do not want to see him turn into Rodney Hood 2.0 while they're rebuilding.
No one's ready to call Sensabaugh's production a problem just yet because they shouldn't. It's way too early in his career to decide what his ceiling truly is, plus it's fun to see that if and when the Jazz trade some of the more established scorers in the coming weeks, they have another one waiting in the wings.
The one cause for concern is that Sensabaugh has gone on stretches were he's scored a notable amount for multiple games this season and then follows it up with stretches where he barely scores at all, which is called, "The Rodney Hood Special."
However, in his defense, the Jazz's focus is trying to make their tradeable veterans as appealing as possible, which would cut into Sensabaugh's playing time and usage opportunities. When those guys are no longer in the picture, then we'll get a clearer picture of what's to come from the Jazz youngster.
For now, Sensabaugh could be anything for the Jazz as he continues to figure it out. If he turns out to be their next scoring spark off the bench, that's great, and it could get even better. The bottom line is that it's a big win if he turns into the next Jordan Clarkson, and it's a big "ugh" if he turns into the next Rodney Hood.