The Utah Jazz have not been having the season that a lot of people expected them to. They were a popular favorite to take a leap this year, but they are just 1-4 this season so far. And with injuries to Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jusuf Nurkic, maybe the Jazz should try playing some small-ball. And maybe Brice Sensabaugh should be the beneficiary.
So far this season, Sensabaugh hasn’t been playing a ton of minutes. Through the Jazz’s first five games, he’s only played 14.8 minutes per contest. But he’s been lights-out. He’s the best three-point shooter on the team right now and one of two guys shooting above 35% from deep (Keyonte George being the other).
Utah’s defensive rating (108.7) ranks 20th in the NBA. Perhaps they should test out some new combinations, and perhaps Sensabaugh is the guy to test. Maybe it’s Sensa-ball time.
The Jazz should lean into Sensa-ball
It’s been a pretty down year for the Jazz’s offense so far. They should have plenty of players capable of lifting them up on that end of the court, but the efficiency just hasn’t been there.
Lauri Markkanen – who should be leading the charge – hasn’t been hot to begin the season. Darryn Peterson is going through the typical rookie efficiency woes.
Ace Bailey has been good, but the three-ball hasn’t been amazing. George has been the only real consistent source of offense the Jazz have been able to rely on this year.
Then, there’s Sensabaugh. Again, he hasn’t been playing much so far this year, but with injuries racking up, maybe it’s time for Will Hardy to change that reality.
In his five appearances (in limited minutes), Sensabaugh has averaged 9.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.0 assists while shooting 50.0% from the floor and 52.6% from deep on 3.8 three-point attempts a night.
In those minutes, that production is elite. And obviously, the three-point shot isn’t going to be that consistent all year, but he’s certainly been on fire through the first few games.
Not much else has been working well for the Jazz so far this year, so why not throw a dart at the wall? Why not lean on one of the few guys who have been making shots this year?
Utah can’t exactly play big right now anyway, so maybe it’s time to unleash Sensa-ball on the rest of the NBA. It can’t hurt. The Jazz need to try something at this point.
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