Ruben Nembhard realizes his days with the Utah Jazz may be numbered. He's fully aware that he has just six days remaining on his current contract.
When those six days are up, well . . . he'd really rather not think about it."I'm having the time of my life," said Nembhard, who along with his Jazz teammates will battle the Portland Trail Blazers tonight at 8 p.m. in the Rose Garden.
Nembhard has learned in the past two weeks that - whether it be with the Jazz or elsewhere - he can hold his own in the NBA.
"I feel really confident right now," said the former Weber State star who is in the middle of his second 10-day contract with the Jazz. "The past couple of games have helped me to know that I'm good enough to play and score in the NBA."
Jazz coach Jerry Sloan agrees. "There's no question in my mind that Ruben can play in this league. He just needs to keep working on his defense and to get a better understanding of the game. Offensively, he's already there."
Nembhard was the Big Sky Conference player of the year two seasons ago when he led the Wildcats to an NCAA upset of Michigan State and near-upset of Georgetown.
"I had a good experience in my three years at Weber," he said. "I learned a lot from Coach A. (Ron Abegglen) and met a lot good people there."
He spent last season playing professionally in Germany before being invited to Jazz training camp this fall. After being cut by the Jazz before the regular season began, he found a home with the CBA's Yakima (Wash.) Sun Kings - where he averaged 17.5 points.
He signed his first 10-day contract with the Jazz in time to go to Chicago Jan. 6 to watch Michael Jordan and the Bulls play, but watching was all he did. In fact, his first three regular season NBA games came and went without him taking his sweats off. He had DNP-CD - did not play, coach's decision - by his name in the official boxscores.
The 6-3 guard finally saw brief action in games against Detroit and Philadelphia last week. In the past two games, however, he's been a major contributor in Jazz victories over Phoenix and Vancouver.
When the Jazz were struggling in the second quarter against the Suns in the Delta Center Thursday night, Nembhard provided a major boost. He scored 10 points in a two-minute span to lead the Jazz from a three point deficit to a four-point lead. The 6-3 guard finished the game with 12 points, two assists and one steal with no turnovers in 19 minutes.
"Ruben gave us a tremendous lift," said Jerry Sloan after the Suns game. "It was good to see some energy out there. When you play the game with enthusiasm, it's fun. When you don't, it's a job."
Nembhard followed his fine game against Phoenix by playing acareer-high 20 minutes in Friday night's blowout victory over Vancouver.
Despite his recently expanded role of the team, Nembhard realizes his chances of sticking with the Jazz are iffy, at best. The Jazz will have to either sign him for the remainder of the season or let him go when his contract is up in six days.
If he isn't signed by the Jazz it will likely be back to the CBA for a time while he awaits another call from an NBA club.
"No matter what happens, I'll be grateful to the Jazz," said Nembhard. "They had the confidence in me to give me a chance and I've learned a great deal from the coaches and players. Now, hopefully other teams in the NBA will know I can play at this level."
INJURY UPDATE: Bryon Russell, who didn't play Friday night against the Grizzlies due to a bruised left knee, practiced Saturday and is expected to play tonight. Center Greg Ostertag (sprained left knee) did not make the trip.