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<\/p>\nHere\u2019s the scenario:<\/p>\n
You\u2019re an entry-level employee at your dream job. You don\u2019t have a ton of responsibility just yet, but there\u2019s definitely some potential for upward mobility. All you have to do is perform well and hope that a little luck rolls your way.<\/p>\n
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Your boss comes to you and says, \u201cHey buddy,\u201d \u2014 you\u2019re still so low-level that your superiors call you buddy \u2014\u201cCathy is gonna be out on vacation and both James and Lauren came down with the flu. You\u2019re gonna need to fill in and do some extra work while they\u2019re gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you excel, you not only have the potential to rise in the office hierarchy, you have the chance to make a lot more money. Life-changing money even.<\/p>\n
Can you picture it? Good.<\/p>\n
That was the situation that third-year player Taylor Hendricks found himself in last week against the Celtics and Clippers. Injuries and load management for a tanking Jazz team led to a wide open spot in the starting lineup for Hendricks.<\/p>\n
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Unfortunately for Hendricks, he performed so poorly that not only did he not rise in the office hierarchy, he might\u2019ve been demoted to just one level above the interns.<\/p>\n
Hendricks\u2019 performance in his two starts<\/p>\n
Against the Celtics on Tuesday, Hendricks replaced an injured Ski Mykhailiuk in the starting lineup to make a lengthy starting unit. Unfortunately for the Jazz, Hendricks didn\u2019t shoot nearly as well as Mykhailiuk and his defense wasn\u2019t good enough to justify his playing time.<\/p>\n
He finished with three points on 1-of-4 shooting and only logged 17 minutes and 26 seconds of playtime.<\/p>\n
Against the Clippers on New Year\u2019s Day, it only got worse for Hendricks. With an injured Jusuf Nurkic, Hendricks got his chance to start at center, a position that many fans have been clamoring for him to play. In two minutes, Hendricks picked up two quick fouls, prompting Hardy to sub him out.<\/p>\n
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In only 16 minutes of play, Hendricks had five fouls, scored five points and only snagged two rebounds as the starting center.<\/p>\n
In back-to-back starts, Hendricks only averaged four points a game.<\/p>\n
Needless to say, he did not earn a promotion. He came off the bench the following game against the Warriors and only managed to score one point. One point.<\/p>\n
So what do the Jazz do with Hendricks?![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/ffd464134259652697ad9dedaff34c72.jpeg\"\/)
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For a long time, Hendricks was being held on a long leash because of his gruesome leg injury only three games into last season. It\u2019s hard to come back after not playing basketball for a year.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s come to a point now where people are starting to lose patience. We\u2019re almost half way through the season and there have been no signs that Hendricks can be a serviceable NBA player on a good team.<\/p>\n
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The assumption when drafting Hendricks at No. 9 overall in 2023 was that even though he was a project, he had the potential to be the picture-perfect 3-&-D type player. Think Jae Crowder but with freakish athleticism and length. But he has yet to hit the 3-point shot with serious volume, and his defense isn\u2019t good enough to give him serious minutes on one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA.<\/p>\n