Through games played on Monday, October 28, there are just two teams remaining that are looking to get in the win column. One is the Detroit Pistons. The other is the Utah Jazz, who have lost their first three outings. They fell to 0-3 after their 110-102 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
While Utah possesses a former All-Star in forward Lauri Markkanen, few believed they would be able to compete for even a spot in the Play-In Tournament. What the team and fans were hoping to see is continued development from the youth.
One of their key young pieces is 20-year-old Taylor Hendricks (turns 21 on November 22). Unfortunately after Monday night’s game, it may be a while before we see Hendricks play again.
2023 Lottery Pick Likely Sidelined For Season For Jazz
Major Injuries Suffered For Hendricks On Monday
In each of Utah’s first three outings, Hendricks has been in the starting lineup. It was a big step forward for Hendricks, who spent much of his 2023-24 rookie season in the G League.
Whenever you hear the phrase non-contact injury, the worst is feared. That seems to be the case for the 6-foot-9 Hendricks. The power forward sustained the injury in the third quarter as he fell to a heap with nobody in his vicinity.
The injury looked gruesome live. The verdict of the injury sustained is not good either. Hendricks has a fractured right fibula and dislocated ankle according to the team. The injury is almost certainly to sideline Hendricks for the rest of the season after just three games.
If that is the end of the 2024-25 season for Hendricks, he will finish with averages of 4.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.3 blocks in his three games.
Lottery Pick In 2023
The Jazz thought highly enough of Hendricks to use the ninth overall pick on him in the 2023 NBA Draft. He was a lottery pick after just one season at Central Florida. In his 2022-23 season, Hendricks was named Second Team All-AAC.
While fellow 2023 first round pick Keyonte George was thrown into the fire from the get-go, that wasn’t the case for Hendricks last season. Hendricks had multiple stints in the G League. He did enter the starting lineup on a full-time basis in late February.
Altogether, Hendricks appeared in 40 games (23 starts) for Utah last season. In 21.4 minutes per contest, he posted averages of 7.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.8 blocks. Hendricks shot 45.0% from the field, 37.9% from beyond the arc, and 79.3% from the free-throw line. In 13 regular season games for the G League’s Salt Lake City Stars, Hendricks had averages of 14.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.9 steals, and 1.2 blocks.
While it is unclear who will take Hendricks’ place in the starting lineup, John Collins is a strong candidate to do so. The 27-year-old started 66 of his 68 appearances for Utah in 2023-24, his first season with the team. Through three games in 2024-25, Collins has averages of 13.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks in 20.3 minutes per night. Collins also was the full-time starting power forward for the Atlanta Hawks for the five previous seasons before joining Utah.
