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Reeling Jazz tries to move on after Hendricks' gruesome injury

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Utah Jazz have emphasized that this season will focus on the development of their young players like forward Taylor Hendricks, but now he is likely gone for the season.

On Monday night, Hendricks ran across the field toward the baseline, stumbled and fell awkwardly on his leg. With no one around, he broke his right fibula, twisted his ankle, and screamed in disbelief as he saw his foot move one way and his leg the other.

During a lengthy break during which medical staff took Hendricks away on a stretcher, several Jazz players had tears in their eyes and covered their heads with towels. They lost to the Mavericks 110-102 and now face a rebuilding season without a key defensive player.

“Some of us were visibly unsettled. “It was really hard to see,” Utah coach Will Hardy said Tuesday. “Everyone processes these things differently. Everyone has to pick each other up at different times.”

After the Jazz selected him No. 9 in the 2023 draft, Hendricks spent about half of his rookie season in the G League before entering the rotation later in the season. In the first three games of this season, Hendricks was in the starting lineup and took on the task of guarding the other team's biggest threat, shadowing players like Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and Ja Morant.

“There are some gaps with Taylor that we have to try to fill now,” Hardy said.

The Jazz staff is still determining the optimal date for surgery with additional testing. For similar injuries, full recovery took a year or longer.

“Taylor is a pretty optimistic and positive person. So he seems to be in good spirits. He's taking it all with a lot of maturity… but I'm sure there will be moments of frustration,” Hardy said of the rehabilitation ahead.

Hendricks focused his first offseason on making the jump to his second year, and he spent most of his summer in Salt Lake City building muscle and mobility and refining his shot.

“Your first season in the NBA, if you're even in the rotation, gives you experience, but the most important thing it gives you is the perspective that the world no longer revolves around you. “They're trying to solidify themselves as NBA players and probably take on a different role than they've ever had on a team before,” Hardy said.

Utah guard Keyonte George mentioned how Hendricks willingly gave up offensive opportunities and used his energy on defense. There isn't really another player like that on the roster, but rookie Cody Williams, who passed by Hendricks on his way to the arena on Tuesday, started against Sacramento.

“It's so sad. I don’t think anyone really wants to get minutes that way,” said Kyle Filipowski, who scored his first NBA points and finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.

For the foreseeable future, Hendricks will be busy recovering as the Jazz try to find their way.

“Everyone needs to pray for him and we need to be close to him,” center Walker Kessler said hesitantly after Monday’s game. “T is a really good guy and he worked hard. T is very important to all of us, but the season doesn’t stop.”

The season actually continued for the dejected Hendricks-less Jazz on Tuesday with their fourth straight loss, this time to Sacramento 113-96 at home. To make matters worse, Utah star Lauri Markkanen left the game at halftime with back spasms, but it's not expected to be serious.

“We have to recalibrate,” Hardy said of the task of taking young players to new places they may not be prepared for.

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