Versatility is the name of the game for Taylor Hendricks

The upside is real for this Jazz rookie

• By
  
  miguelcaramoan
  
• on September 20, 2023 10:00 pm

When you land in the territory of the draft lottery, most likely, the feasible thing to do is get the best talent available. That’s exactly what the Utah Jazz did with their ninth pick in the 2023 NBA Draft in getting Taylor Hendricks.

For a squad that just acquired John Collins and with an already formidable frontcourt in Lauri Markkanen, Kelly Olynyk, and Walker Kessler, you could argue that adding another one would just make the roster composition somehow redundant. But it’s important to understand the context of the Jazz itself, a team gearing towards the future, so in hindsight the Hendricks inclusion will only strengthen the young core.

Moreover, we should not discount his talent at all. There’s a reason why Hendricks was picked that high, having been named in the second team All-AAC and AAC All-Freshman team at age 19 for UCF.

Now, we’ve reached the heart of this piece by going through film of his games and why Hendricks could be a vital cog for the Jazz even in his rookie year.

One word that fully encapsulates the game of Hendricks was mentioned in the headline: versatile. It’s also worth noting that he stands 6’9” while having a 7’0 ½ “ wingspan, a height that slots into a perfect mold of a modern big man in the NBA.

The raw averages that Hendricks had was quite impressive with a stat line of 15.1 points, 7 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks on an efficient 58.6 true shooting percentage (TS%). These numbers do provide intrigue and it’s only fitting that we dissect more in detail.

Hendricks’ defense pops up first when you watch his games. He’s an intimidating presence at the cup as a rim protector, can defend at the post, and laterally quick to take on switches versus quicker perimeter players. Even though the NBA is a whole different in terms of the quality of basketball, the aspect that probably got the interest of the Jazz was his discipline on this end at a young age.

Watch him defend in the post through this clip. Notice how Hendricks doesn’t put his hands in the cookie jar and makes sure that he’ll be bothersome through his length in contesting shots. Per Synergy, he allows a low 0.4 points per possessions when guarding post-ups. Real good stuff.

Circling back to the switching aspect of the NBA, when we assess the depth chart of the Jazz, Hendricks is assumed to play in the second unit as the backup center. Knowing that Walker Kessler was terrific defensively last season, an element that the 19-year old rookie can bring to the table is he possessed some reps of being a primary defender to guards/wings in college. It’s exciting to see if Hendricks will…