Taylor

Hendricks

Hendricks suffered the gruesome injury during Monday’s game against the Mavericks. He’ll return to Utah with the team for further evaluation, and fantasy managers should plan for the second-year forward to be ruled out for the remainder of the season. John Collins and Cody Williams are in a position to pick up additional minutes. Still, the former has not played alongside starting center Walker Kessler during the preseason or in Utah’s first few regular season games. If that remains the case, Collins’ fantasy ceiling will not rise.

The team is calling it a right ankle injury, but it was clear that it was a severe injury after he slipped on the court. He’ll have to undergo some tests, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Hendricks wasn’t able to return this season. John Collins and Cody Williams should both see extra minutes, with one of them sliding into the starting lineup.

Fantasy managers can take solace in Hendricks’ defensive production on Friday, but the offense wasn’t there. He missed all six shots, with four attempts coming from beyond the arc. There will be offensive hiccups, but Hendricks can still provide value in the defensive categories. That was the case on Friday; he’ll look to bounce back on Monday in Dallas.

Hendricks remained in the starting unit for the second straight game, and he had more success on the offensive end than he did in the last one. He is more than capable of contributing on both ends of the floor, and if he remains in the starting lineup when the regular season begins, he has the chance to be a fantasy stud in the later rounds. His ADP will likely rise now that he has seen some starts, which may make him more difficult to draft, but he should be worth it if you can get him.

Last season, Hendricks was a fixture in the starting lineup after the All-Star break. His start on Friday is a sign that the second-year forward will retain that role in 2024-25. While Hendricks didn’t offer much offensive production on Friday, the defensive numbers (two steals, one blocked shot) can’t be overlooked. At this point, Hendricks is more of a “late-round flier” than a player fantasy managers should feel obligated to draft. But he’s worth watching, as improved performances and remaining in the starting lineup during the preseason will raise his ADP.

Hendricks had his best performance of the summer on Wednesday, missing just one shot attempt while leading the Jazz in scoring and rebounding. However, the defense is noteworthy, as the Jazz have used Kyle Filipowski as their starting center in Las Vegas. The rookie second-round pick isn’t the rim protector that Walker Kessler is, which has put Hendricks in a position where he has to be more active as a help-side defender. He blocked three shots on Saturday and recorded another one on Wednesday. Improved defensive production will go a long way toward ensuring Hendricks of quality minutes once the season begins.

After coming off the bench during Utah’s games in Salt Lake City, Filipowski moved into the starting lineup for the Jazz’s Las Vegas opener. He filled the void left by Walker Kessler, moving into the center position. Whether or not Filipowski can defend that position full-time at the NBA level remains to be seen, but the more versatile he is, the better it will be for him in terms of minutes. Taylor Hendricks (8/8/4/1/3) offered good defensive production next to the rookie, blocking three shots, and that kind of cover may be required to ensure Filipowski is successful when asked to play the five.

Utah ended its 13-game losing streak on Thursday, with a balanced offensive effort doing the trick. Samanic led seven double-digit scorers with 22 points and was also one of two Jazz players to surpass 30 minutes (Keyonte George). Interestingly, he logged more minutes than Utah’s frontcourt rookies, with Taylor Hendricks (5/4/4/3/1 with one 3-pointer) playing 19 minutes and Brice Sensabaugh (17/6/3 with four 3-pointers) 24. That’s something for managers in active leagues to be mindful of for Utah’s final two games. Samanic has been a relatively safe play since moving into the starting lineup.

Markkanen is back after missing time with a quad contusion, which drops Johnny Juzang to the bench. Juzang should remain in the rotation, but he is unlikely to do enough to merit being rostered in any fantasy leagues.

Markkanen has missed the team’s last six games, but he will be back in the lineup on Monday. His return will push either Taylor Hendricks or Brice Sensabaugh to the bench, though both should still see considerable minutes. Utah has a back-to-back on Wednesday and Thursday, so Markkanen should sit one of those, which should allow Sensabaugh or Hendricks to return to the starting lineup later in the week.