There are plenty of reasons for the Utah Jazz to be thankful despite latest loss

Oscar Tsiebwe was at Salt Lake City Stars practice on Wednesday when he was pulled to the side and told that he’d been called up. The two-way player would be making his Utah Jazz debut in a few hours.

That would be great news on its own, but Wednesday was also Tshiebwe’s 25th birthday, so it served as an excellent birthday present.

Micah Potter, meanwhile, knew he’d be in the Jazz rotation on Wednesday considering the number of injuries and players who would be missing from the Jazz roster for their game against the Denver Nuggets.

But Potter, another two-way player, learned that not only would he be in the rotation, but also that he would be starting for the Jazz — the first start of his career.

Tshiebwe and Potter combined for 25 rebounds Wednesday, both setting career-highs in that category (16 for Potter, nine for Tshiebwe). Despite not having played with the Jazz this season, not having chemistry with the other fully rostered players and not knowing all the nuances of the Jazz’s offensive or defensive schemes, the two were bright spots in the the Jazz’s 122-103 loss to the Nuggets.

Potter, who is in his third year with the Jazz as a two-way player, added nine points, three assists and a block to his game-high 16 rebounds and is someone Jazz head coach Will Hardy said he can always rely on to make a good decision and play hard.

“Micah is super solid,” Hardy said. “Micah is a really good player. His physicality when rebounding is good, he makes quick decisions with the ball, he is pretty good at assembling his feet and getting his shot off, but when he doesn’t, he usually just gets to the next action quickly…Micah is somebody who knows his strengths at this point in his career, and he doesn’t go outside of them very much. He keeps the game pretty simple.”

Then there’s Tshiebwe, who is a favorite of everyone on the team. Though soft spoken, Tshiebwe makes sure to say something to every teammate and coach in an attempt to brighten their day, and he accomplishes that mission time and time again.

If you ask anyone who has met Tshiebwe what they think of him, they immediately smile and say how much they love him and talk about how kind he is and how he makes everyone feel good.

“I love everything about Oscar, man. He just makes you feel good. I wish I was more like Oscar,” Hardy said. “He’s one of the sweetest human beings of all time even though he’s one of the more physical people you’ve ever been around. Yeah, I don’t know. He just smiles and gives you a hug and makes you feel good. He’s hard not to like.”

But don’t let Tshiebwe’s smile, soft voice or cheerful disposition make you think that he’s an easy target on the basketball court. Tshiebwe has made life hard for every Jazz and Stars player during practices. He hunts rebounds like his life depends on it and is always willing to do all the grunt work during a game that won’t show up on a stat sheet.

“It’s miserable playing against him,” Potter said. “There’s not one person in the NBA or in the world, at least that I’ve played against, that plays like him.

“He’s relentless. He’s a relentless rebounder. It’s one of those things where you have to just go hit him, but he’s so strong that he’ll hit you back, and still, he’s got like a 7-5 wingspan, so he’s got the length and everything, and it’s unbelievable.”

That dogged play is why Tshiebwe is averaging 16.9 rebounds and 16.1 points with the Stars this year and why he was able to grab nine rebounds in just 15 minutes after a whirlwind of a day on a team he hasn’t played with.

The Jazz were playing without Lauri Markaknen, John Collins (left knee contusion), Jordan Clarkson (plantar fasciitis), Kyle Filipowski (left lower leg inflammation) and lost Drew Eubanks midway through the night with a left knee contusion.

It was going to be an uphill battle against the Nikola Jokic-led Nuggets and there were certainly moments when the Jazz looked completely outmatched.

But there were also moments of great competition and fight, and Potter and Tshiebwe were bright spots.

“This job is crazy, like, this is not real life,” Hardy said. “I get to coach basketball every day, I get to be with these guys every day. I love them to death, and they drive me crazy.

“We’re just as dysfunctional as any family. I’m just thankful for this whole thing. It’s like surreal every day. I haven’t gotten used to it and I hope I never do.”

And speaking of something to be thankful for, Markkanen missed Wednesday’s game not because of the knee contusion he suffered on Tuesday night, but because his wife Verna gave birth to their third child.

So as the Jazz head into two days off, despite the loss to the Nuggets and a 4-14 record, there are reasons to smile and plenty to be thankful for.