Keyonte George has not taken the steps the Utah Jazz hoped he would. That was until the Jazz changed up his role. Making George an offensive focal point in their starting lineup was the wrong decision. He's not the next face of their franchise, but his latest stretch has indicated that he could be their Sixth Man of the future.
It wasn't easy at first, but George has looked much better coming off the bench. George is having his best stretch as a Jazzman this month. He's averaging 18.7 points a game while shooting 45% and 37.8% from three. He's even added 6.8 assists and 4.6 rebounds a game to his impressive production.
These were the numbers the Jazz hoped George would post when his sophomore season started. In such cases, the common phrase "better late than never" could not be truer here, especially for teams that should have all the patience in the world, like the Jazz.
This is all super encouraging to see from George. He's well on his way to flipping the narrative of a sophomore slump, though he'll have to make sure the numbers he's putting up from here are sustainable, and that will be some time.
Almost everything about his latest surge is good news for the Jazz, except for one thing. His improvement could put Brice Sensabaugh's future into question.
Sensabaugh might have issues fitting in long-term
Before George's recent play, it was Sensabaugh who first looked like he could be the Jazz's next sixth man. There was a stretch there where he was straight-up dominating as a scorer in their second unit. His play was so good that he now shares a rare honor with Rodney Hood. (See here for why that's not a good thing.)
That was back in January, and he hasn't exactly built off it. In fact, he hasn't been able to go on a hot stretch like that since. With George now appearing to have found his calling as the Sixth Man, that could be trouble for Sensabaugh.
While one could argue that the Jazz could try both as scoring sparks off the bench, basketball isn't played in a vacuum. Playing two guys who do the same thing when they take the floor isn't always good. That especially applies to score-first players who are best used coming off the bench. Oh yeah, Jordan Clarkson's still on the team!
George's progress may simply be coming in baby steps, and before we know it, he'll be back in the Jazz's starting lineup in due time, which would slot Sensabaugh into that Sixth Man role he appears to be best suited for. Conversely, Sensabaugh might be able to acclimate himself as a starter in due time, but he hasn't shown it yet.
The Jazz want this rebuild to go the right way more than anything. That means putting their young talent in the right roles where they can thrive. Until he proves otherwise, George's best role is being a scoring spark off the bench. If that's where George's best suited, Sensabaugh might be better off elsewhere.