This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
For most of Jeff Withey's NBA career, he's been a fringe roster guy. And with a partially guaranteed contract, he was thought to be that with the Utah Jazz as well.
So far, however, he has outplayed expectations.
Part of the reason is that Tibor Pleiss is proving he needs some time to acclimate himself to the NBA. And a significant factor is that Withey has been playing good basketball in the preseason, maybe even the best of his professional career.
"It's been tough in some places to get into a rhythm when you don't play many minutes," Withey said. "Here, I've been playing consistently, and it makes a difference. Coach (Quin Snyder) doesn't breath down your neck, or anything, so that makes it easy to go out and play."
In Tuesday night's preseason game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at EnergySolutions Arena, Withey was the primary backup center to Rudy Gobert for the first time. It had been Pleiss, but he has been struggling through the course of the preseason.
And with the Jazz cutting Bryce Cotton and Treveon Graham on Tuesday morning, Withey is all but guaranteed a spot on the opening night roster.
He's done this by blocking shots and being a rim protector in the paint. He's done this by finishing with force around the basket. He had his finest game of the preseason in Sunday's loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, notching 10 points and 11 rebounds. If he can keep playing well, it stands to reason that minutes off the bench will continue to flow in his direction.
A return ... or not
Former Jazz center Enes Kanter didn't play against Utah on Tuesday night, Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan preferring to rest him. As such, Kanter wasn't made available to the media before the game or after the morning shootaround.
Still Kanter's Thunder teammates stood up for Kanter, with superstar Kevin Durant praising his defense.
"He's been good for us," Durant said.
This was to be Kanter's second game in Salt Lake City since being traded away last February. Kanter is currently the first big man off OKC's bench.
They're back
After missing Sunday's game in Portland, Gobert returned to the Jazz starting lineup, along with Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors. Gobert was resting against the Blazers, while the other two were nursing minor injuries.
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