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What Taylor Hendricks' injury means for the Jazz: “We already miss him a lot”

An emotional and visibly shaken Will Hardy spoke about Taylor Hendricks after the Utah Jazz lost 110-102 to the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night. When a head coach watches someone train in the weight room all summer, work tirelessly on their shot and generally do everything asked of them, moments like Monday night are difficult beyond the obvious reasons.

Hendricks, a 20-year-old second-year forward for the Jazz and former lottery pick, suffered a serious injury against the Mavericks. Officially he has a fractured right fibula and a dislocated ankle. Team sources confirm this The athlete that he will be out for the rest of the season due to the injury. Sources say Hendricks will undergo surgery soon and then a long rehabilitation process will begin.

It's an injury with potentially lasting effects on Hendricks, his teammates and the Jazz organization. The shock of seeing it live meant Hardy and the Jazz had to make sure the players were in the right place mentally heading into Tuesday night's game against the Sacramento Kings. The Jazz need to replace Hendricks' minutes and impact on the starting lineup, and Hardy did that by moving rookie lottery pick Cody Williams to the top five. Hardy also had to manage the rotation with the backup minutes.

“Taylor is very important to us,” said starting center Walker Kessler The athlete. “In many ways he is our best defender. We named him the other team's best player every night. He's such a great guy from the floor. He is our brother. We didn’t see him (Tuesday), but we miss him a lot already.”

The non-contact injury was as bad as it was unfortunate, and just as difficult to process in real time as it was in the minutes that followed. Jazz point guard Keyonte George had tears streaming down his face. Other Jazz players sat on the bench, visibly emotional. It was the kind of injury you can never miss.

Hendricks came to Utah as a rookie last year, a shy teenager with potential. He was initially reluctant to take protocols, but by the end of the year he became a regular contributor. This season he secured a place in Hardy's starting lineup. He had shown significant improvement. His movements were more confident. The game had slowed down for him.

So, on a personal level, his injury is difficult for the Jazz organization to digest. Hendricks is in every respect one of the most likeable and hard-working players in the squad. It made him easy to get excited about and made him one of the most popular players on the team. It says a lot that the entire team surrounded Hendricks as he was carried off the ground on a stretcher. At this point, basketball was the furthest thing from the mind of the Utah Jazz.

“Taylor had obviously gained a lot of weight and strength,” Hardy said. “It showed up in the preseason and it started showing up in the regular season. This is far from over for him. We will support him on his way back and that is our focus for him. This is a pause button for Taylor. He will come back. The hard thing is that you could see where this was going to lead for him. It started to come together.”

Last season, Hendricks showed flashes of his potential. It would be a play here or there, like the one where he recovered from a dribble by Kevin Durant and blocked his shot against the backboard. As the season ended, these flashes became more frequent. Over the summer, Jazz officials gushed privately about how much work he had put in. And in Monday night's game in Dallas, there was Hendricks constantly pressuring Mavericks star Luka Dončić into shots and plays that made him uncomfortable.

From a basketball perspective, Hendricks' absence will be notable as his skill set is difficult to replicate. He is Utah's best and most flexible defender and can guard big and small players. In last Wednesday's season opener against the Memphis Grizzlies, Hendricks served as Ja Morant's primary defender. His size and defensive ability allowed the Jazz to open an imposing frontcourt that also included Lauri Markkanen and Kessler, both 7 feet tall. Without Hendricks, Utah's overall length on offense won't be as pronounced, meaning the smaller backcourt of George and Collin Sexton will have more moments where they can and will remain on an island on defense.

Offensively, Hendricks was still being formed. He had developed into a shooter, but the Jazz had hoped to improve his dribbling skills, believing that would be the skill that could potentially transform him from a role player to a potential star. Without Hendricks in the lineup, Williams and fellow rookie forward Kyle Filipowski expect to see an uptick in minutes. Filipowski, the 7-footer from Duke, got into Hardy's rotation when Hendricks went down.

Williams scored nine points, dished out two assists and had two steals in Utah's 113-96 loss to the Kings in his first career NBA start. He showed flashes, including a few excellent plays that led to assists. He scored all of his points above the 3-point line. Without Hendricks, Williams will often have the toughest defensive task. Filipowski was great. He scored 12 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out two assists. Offensively, he showcased his versatility by pushing inside the court for baskets and scoring from distance. He made plays off the dribble. On a night where the Jazz lost their fourth straight game to open the season, Filipowski was a bright spot.

Hardy knows what awaits his team mentally. But he was glad that the Jazz appeared to be in a good position during Tuesday night's game. He knows the healing process will take time. But the game against the Kings served as a refuge.

“It was strange being without him because we had found a rhythm playing with him,” Hardy said. “You know what lineups he’s going to play with; You know what substitution pattern you will have. Without him, we had to figure out a lot of things. But I thought when we're in the game, the guys lose track and concentrate on the game. Once it's over, we'll all be thinking about Taylor again.

“But I thought the players were relatively well positioned tonight. I didn't think it was like last night when I thought it was clear we were thinking about Taylor. I thought tonight was a positive step.”

From a front office perspective, Hendricks' injury is devastating. Hendricks was the only second-year player to make a jump from his rookie season. George struggled as Utah's starting point guard. Brice Sensabaugh had some moments but couldn't find a solid footing in three games. Hendricks has laid the groundwork to at least be a valuable role player, with the ceiling for more.

With Hendricks out for the season, it takes a year of development time off his rookie contract, which is crucial for a team like the Jazz. A major focus this season has been getting the young players reps and playing time, evaluating them and getting better. The good news is that Hendricks has shown enough that you can see where he belongs and where he's headed as a player. Even if he doesn't emerge as a star-level talent, his defense and shooting ability make him a valuable potential role player on a good team.

For Hendricks and the Jazz, the primary goal is to begin the rehab process and get him back to full strength as quickly as possible.

“The most important thing is Taylor, of course,” Hardy said. “We want to make sure he’s okay. That was difficult to bear. He's done a lot of great work and he's a good kid. These are the moments in sports that suck.”

(Photo by Taylor Hendricks: Richard Rodriguez / Getty Images)