Three thoughts on the Utah Jazz’s 82-70 summer league loss to the Sacramento Kings from Salt Lake Tribune Jazz beat writer Andy Larsen.
1. The struggles of Taylor Hendricks
I’m officially worried about Taylor Hendricks.
Yes, Monday’s performance was just one game. But players who end up contributing to their NBA teams in significant ways rarely have these kind of games — in the end, playing at the NBA level just means that you end up naturally make an impact.
Hendricks was invisible on Monday. He finished with three points and five rebounds in his 26 minutes on the floor, shooting 0-6 but adding three free throws. The most discouraging bit of the game was just how little of an impact he made defensively, in a game where the Jazz really could have used his length and athleticism, he stood largely stagnant.
When he’s presented with a familiar situation, I think he can use his length and athleticism to make an impact. But when he’s asked to improvise, he simply looks lost. On the offensive end, he simply can’t be asked to dribble right now.
He’s still just 20, and obviously there’s room to improve. But a player’s second year is usually where you start to see them move from project into learning how to make in impact in at least one way so they can stay on an NBA floor, and Hendricks doesn’t really have that linchpin skill right now. There needs to be a drastic improvement in basketball IQ and his overall level of play to pencil him into the Jazz’s rotation for next year.
2. Isaiah Collier’s down then up game
This was an interesting matchup for Isaiah Collier, perhaps his most challenging of the summer league. For much of the game, he was matched up against Keon Ellis, who has used his defensive impact to go from undrafted to the Kings’ real-life NBA rotation. For Collier, it was a rare summer league chance to play against a highly-regarded NBA defender.
He really, really struggled! He had a whopping seven turnovers in the first half. Coach Sean Sheldon indicated that Collier found himself pushed to the sideline too often, which limited his options. Add in a roving Kings defense excited to get as many steals as possible, and the result of the recipe was an absolutely abysmal Jazz offense. 25 points at halftime is about as bad as it gets.
But second half adjustments were made — both from the coaching and player’s side of things. Collier stayed much more in control after the interval, and didn’t have a turnover in the second half. He also judiciously used his speed to get to the rim when there was a lane, not when there wasn’t.
Jazz fans will be familiar with this turnover problem from their ballhandlers; it’s also the one that Talen Horton-Tucker and Collin Sexton struggle with in their worst moments. Sheldon said that the team needed to make decisions earlier in their drives. Summer league is for learning, and it appeared progress was made tonight.
3. Brice Sensabaugh’s injury
Of all of the Jazz’s players, Brice Sensabaugh made the best improvements on his body in between the Jazz’s season and summer league. It’s ironic, then, that he’s the one to get injured.
But that’s what happened on Saturday, when a finger injury cost Sensabaugh the rest of summer league and at least six weeks of basketball play. An MRI taken Sunday revealed he had torn the extensor tendon in his left middle finger, which is the one right in the middle of your finger — at first, it appeared he had only jammed it in a minor way, but doctors found they couldn’t get it to stay straight.
Regardless, it was a really good summer league through three-and-a-half games. He scored 13 points in an average of 19 minutes, and he shot 44% from the field and deep. I think that hints at an adjustment he’ll have to make to his game: simply taking fewer twos and more threes.
The most encouraging part of Sensabaugh’s play, though, was his defense. Slimming down made it much easier for Sensabaugh to move with attacking players and stay in front, he also gave a lot more defensive effort than he has in the past. It’s not that defense is a strength for him yet, but it seemed playable.
He still has to improve his conditioning, though — and that’s something he can work on even given his finger injury. Too often in Salt Lake, he had hands on knees in fatigue, and you can see it impact his aggressiveness on both ends. The good news that, if he plays mostly with the Jazz next season, he’ll likely play a bit role… but being ready to go for a full game will impress coaches far more than the alternative.
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