Salt Lake City — The minutes are starting to mean more for rookie Khyri Thomas. It’s not just mop-up time at the end of lopsided games; it’s turning into quality playing time during critical junctures.
With Ish Smith’s injury throwing the reserve backcourt rotation in a flux, Thomas has emerged as a beneficiary, with the work he’s done early in the season to hone his defense and shooting consistency.
Playing time has been hard to come by in the first half of the season, but for the first time, Thomas played in back-to-back games, against the Kings and Clippers, getting 17 minutes and four minutes, respectively.