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SALT LAKE CITY — "Next man up" is a pretty trite cliche, overused to the Nth degree by coaches and players alike.
Which doesn't make it any less true.
On Wednesday night, the Utah Jazz were without the services of three starters (Lauri Markkanen, Keyonte George, and Taylor Hendricks) and one key reserve (Walker Kessler) in their matchup with the Chicago Bulls.
Which meant the least-heralded of the team's trio of rookies got his biggest opportunity to date. Brice Sensabaugh, welcome to the starting lineup.
"When they put the matchups on the board this morning, my face (got incredulous)," he noted postgame. "It was a pretty cool experience."
Getting to go out on the court with the first five was one thing. Following it up with an impressive double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds, though, was validation of both his work and head coach Will Hardy's trust in him.
Sensabaugh quickly made his presence felt, racking up 8 points and five boards in the first quarter alone.
While his statistical output would slow thereafter, he still made an impact. And while his 5-for-8 from the field, 2-for-4 from deep, 3-for-3 from the line effort was nice, it was the other things he did that made him stand out.
Asked a few weeks ago what he'd like to see from Sensabaugh over the remainder of the regular season, Hardy was concise and blunt: "Everything but shooting."
He got that on Wednesday.
"I was happy with his defensive rebounding tonight — that's been a big emphasis for him, just kind of participating in all the things that aren't scoring," Hardy said. "Overall, he did a good job defensively, still (has) got to work on some technique stuff and directing the ball in pick-and-roll.
"But Brice is playing hard, he's learning, he's letting us coach him hard," he added. "He's showing the ability to learn on the fly, he's able to pick things up in a game, which I've said to you guys before is always a good sign."
Sensabaugh's teammates were impressed, as well, considering he's spent most of this season assigned to the G League affiliate Salt Lake City Stars.
"I saw some growth from Brice tonight in his ability to stay aggressive, attack the rim. Obviously, I didn't know he was that good a rebounder — he got 12 tonight — so I'm very impressed with that, as well," said John Collins, who racked up a season-high 25 points to go along with 14 boards himself. "A lot of upside for Brice."
Jordan Clarkson added that Sensabaugh appears to be at the stage where the game is slowing down for him, noting that the 6-foot-5 wing is "definitely a different player" than the one they met in training camp.
Perhaps most indicative of the Ohio State product's progress, though, is not that he started the game, but that he finished it — getting subbed in at the 6:17 mark of the fourth quarter and playing the rest of the way of a tight contest, save for a few seconds.
He wasn't perfect by any means — he was blown by defensively on one possession; he sent Chicago's Ayo Dosunmu to the line for some timely free throws, and did the same with DeMar DeRozan when he attempted to draw a charge but instead was charged with a block; and he threw a careless cross-court pass in the final minute that was easily intercepted by Alex Caruso.
But he also had some nice moments, grabbing three big rebounds down the stretch, while also going one-on-one and burying a close-range jumper that cut a Jazz deficit from 4 points to 2.
"He definitely didn't look shy. That, coupled with his execution at the end, doing what he was supposed to do on those last two plays, I think Brice showed some maturity being out there at the end of the game. Definitely not looking out of place," Hardy said. "I mean this in a good way: I didn't notice Brice at the end of the game. Generally, when you're not running actions through somebody, not noticing them can mean that they're doing their job very well."
Sensabaugh, asked postgame how excited he was by his performance, was quick to mention the final result, a 119-117 defeat, and that winning is ultimately what matters most to him.
The obligatory big-picture, team-first comment duly handled, he relaxed a bit and ultimately conceded the obvious: After a season spent mostly in the minor leagues, having a night like this on the big stage was definitely a big deal.
"I've put in a lot of work to get where I'm at, and to see it pay off like this, I think it's important for more confidence, just use this to keep going and keep growing," Sensabaugh said. "So yeah, it was a blessing, it was a lot of fun, and I look forward to the next."
