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SALT LAKE CITY — Keyonte George remembers feeling slight uneasiness the first few games of the season.
He looked around and saw Lauri Markkanen, a guy who started in an All-Star Game a few months earlier; then there was Jordan Clarkson, a former Sixth Man of the Year, and Kelly Olynyk and John Collins, who have made deep playoff runs.
He never felt like he didn't belong on the court with those players, though. Throughout his basketball life, it was rare he wasn't the best player on the court, but that wasn't so cut and dry now.
"It's like, how can I come in and be myself with guys that have already kind of established themselves and have a step in some way in the league," he said. "It was real difficult."
George quickly found his place — earning the starting spot after just eight games — and has been even better lately. In his last 10 games, he's averaging 18.8 points and 5.6 assists, and is shooting 46% from the field and 47% from 3-point range.
Now, he's seeing his fellow rookies make the same strides.
If there is a positive to the last month-plus of Utah Jazz basketball, it's that Utah's rookie class is improving.
In his last six games before missing time with a sprained big toe, Taylor Hendricks averaged 9.2 points and 7.0 rebounds while becoming more and more active on the defensive end. His shot — 53% from the field and 36% from 3-point range over that span — also appears to be getting more comfortable.
Brice Sensabaugh has seen his minutes increase, and has even jumped into the starting lineup over the last three games, averaging 11.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in 28 minutes with an impressive midrange display.
What's been the secret? To them, it's simple: They are getting NBA minutes.
"I mean, getting NBA reps against the top-tier guys, it's always gonna get you better," Hendricks said. "The G League is also a great route, too, but I feel like the NBA is a different level."
The Jazz have won just two games since the trade deadline moves that torpedoed their depth and pushed Hendricks and Sensabaugh into the rotation. To put all the blame on the youngsters would be unfair — Sensabaugh, for example, has finished with a positive plus/minus in each of Utah's last four losses.
Regardless of the game's results, the minutes have accelerated the growth of the rookies.
"I think it's absolutely necessary in order to grow really at all," Jazz coach Will Hardy said about getting consistent NBA minutes. "Because there's things that you can watch on film, but there's nothing like a game."
The competition teaches you. Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Jimmy Butler, and the like aren't going to give players a break because of how many years they have been in the league, and the best teams exploit every mistake. Every possession can be seen as a learning opportunity.
Sensabaugh remembers the film sessions when he was getting a few minutes here and there at the end of lopsided games. There were a few things coaches would point out, but "nothing crazy." They are a little crazier now.
"When I'm in the game, that moment where the game can sway either way, win or lose you know, they've gone up in more detail," he said. "It's helped me a lot."
Sensabaugh mentioned one recent game where coaches pointed out that he was too aggressive guarding the ball. That error made it so teammates had to scramble to try and make up for him getting beat. When you're playing 20-plus minutes, those mistakes can alter a result.
Now, he has a chance to hone in on those details. When minutes are inconsistent, Hardy said, players tend to feel they are only being evaluated on makes or misses, so when a shot doesn't go in, there's a glance to the bench to see if they are about to get pulled. That usually doesn't produce the best basketball.
"It lets them settle in a little bit where you're not getting kind of yanked back and forth," Hardy said. "If you get to do that for 10-15 games in a row, I think it gives you an opportunity to not worry about results as much like you're not shooting for your life on every shot. Then you're able to focus on all those other things like spacing and cutting and the defensive assignments."
That's what Sensabaugh and Hendricks, who is expected to return soon, are now getting. And, like George before them, they are finding their footing.
