Keyonte George told Taylor Hendricks to ‘be ready,’ and the No. 9 overall pick proved he was
Story by
Keyonte George told Taylor Hendricks to ‘be ready,’ and the No. 9 overall pick proved he was
Utah Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks dunks against the New Zealand Breakers during preseason basketball game Monday, Oct. 16, 2023, in Salt Lake City. Saturday night the Jazz rookie got his first meaningful minutes of his NBA career in overtime victory against the Blazers. | Rick Bowmer, Associated Press
Injuries were holding out a few of the Utah Jazz's main rotational players and there was likely to be an opening for some minutes.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
The opportunity came Saturday, when Hendricks was called up from his G League assignment with the SLC Stars so that he could be made available for the Jazz's game against the Portland Trail Blazers that night.
He'd been playing well with the Stars, including scoring 26 points on 10-for-12 shooting on Wednesday with the Jazz's G League affiliate.
"I've been seeing what he's been doing with the Stars," George said. "I think that can come into play with us — being that guy that comes in and can guard the best player, frustrate them, help-side, go block a shot. And we all know he can hit open shots. He can shoot that thing. He's just gotta be confident. I'm just excited that the opportunity came for him."
Hendricks had played in the Jazz's season opener on Oct. 25 against the Sacramento Kings, but had barely logged two minutes in that game, so it wasn't much of a debut.
Saturday felt much more like his first real NBA run. He wasn't there to pick up minutes in mop-up time or to just play a minute here-and-there. Hendricks played 18 important minutes ina 118-113 overtime win. And although his shot didn't go in as much as he would have liked (he finished 2-of-7 with five points) it was his defense that stood out, including two key blocks. One of those blocks was on a jumper by Portland's highly-touted rookie, Scoot Henderson.
"I'm way more concerned with Taylor's defense than his offense," Jazz coachWill Hardysaid. "I think he had some really good moments switching on the ball, he had a couple of nice block shots — chasing down in transition and had one on the ball on a jump shot. That was great. That's my expectation for him."
Hendricks knows that he has to make the most of these opportunities. Behind the likes ofLauri MarkkanenandKelly Olynyk, who were both sidelined Saturday, as well asJohn Collinswhen it comes to the Jazz's rotations, Hendricks has to try and show that he's learning and growing.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
"It felt really good," Hendricks said after Saturday's win. "I put in a lot of work in the G League, trying to get better to ultimately lead up to this point. It felt pretty good."
Hendricks is learning a whole different style of playing basketball than what he was used to in high school and college. On defense, he's being asked to play in more rotations with more shifting and helping, whereas in college he was more of a roaming defender. On offense, Hendricks is learning to play looking at the basket (compared to with his back to the basket) with a whole new idea of spacing and speed than anything he's ever done before.
The good news is that the few weeks that he's spent in the G League seems to be paying off. He's getting incrementally better with every game and he's picking up on what the coaches from the Stars and the Jazz are trying to teach him, from improving his ball-handling skills and differentiating between good shots and great shots, to learning what kind of angles and timing to use on defense and how that changes depending on the player in front of him.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Hendricks will likely return to the Stars when either Olynyk or Markkanen return to the lineup, and with three days off before the Jazz's next game, there's a good chance that happens sooner rather than later.
But for at least one night, Hendricks was able to show off his potential and remind everyone that he's improving and that he's taking George's words to heart and staying ready.
"When somebody gets thrown in for the first time, you're kind of just hoping they don't disrupt the rhythm of the team," Hardy said. "And he didn't do that at all. I thought his energy added to our group tonight and he helped us get a win."
Utah Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks talks to members of the media during Utah Jazz media day at the Zions Bank Basketball Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Oct. 2, 2023. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
