Taylor Hendricks strikes back: 23 points and near-perfect shooting highlight Jazz win

LAS VEGAS — There was a lot of noise surrounding Taylor Hendricks coming out of Monday's game.

The No. 9 pick in the 2023 draft went 0-for-6 from the field and finished with 3 points and five rebounds in 26 unimpactful minutes. Undoubtedly, it was a rough outing with the second-year player disappearing for large portions of the game.

Summer league, though, can be a mirage. Players who go off for a week in Las Vegas often fizzle out when the real games begin.

Carsen Edwards got a $4.5-million guaranteed contract after popping off on the court in 2019. Donte Green, Von Wafer, and Marcus Banks all scored over 40 in a summer league game. If any of those made you ask, "who?" know you're not alone.

One good game — or one good week — doesn't mean a player is destined for NBA stardom. Conversely, one rough performance in the middle of July doesn't equal a sure bust.

And after Wednesday, there may be a different kind of noise surrounding Hendricks.

"I think we can try to get him out of the corners a little bit more," Jazz summer league coach Sean Sheldon said about Hendricks following Monday's game. "I think a really easy way for our guys to try to get involved is just offensive rebounding and crashing. It's a good way to get yourself a rebound and try to get an easy one at the rim. You see one go in and then it's like OK, you're kind of rolling a little bit."

Hendricks certainly got rolling. The former top-10 pick scored 23 points and nine rebounds in Utah's 86-76 win over the Toronto Raptors. He went 9-of-10 from the field (making his first nine shots) and 3-of-4 from 3-point range.

"Just my mindset, really," Hendricks said when asked what was different. "I'm still taking the same shots; just slowing myself down a little bit, and letting the offense come to me."

Wednesday's game may have been the prototype for success for Hendricks in the NBA. He took the open 3-pointers — and made most of them. He cut to the basket and found open space (four of his nine buckets came on assists as he drove inside). He crashed in and got two tip-ins on offensive rebounds.

Hendricks mostly just made the simple plays and used his athleticism to find spots on the floor where he could make a difference.

Hendricks is still just 20 years old, and even after a year in the NBA, he still hasn't played a ton of organized basketball in his lifetime. There will be rough nights, but that also means there is a lot of room for growth. Patience will be required, but Wednesday's performance proved it may be worth it.

"Every game, you learn something, so I'm definitely looking to keep this going," said Hendricks, who added a block and a steal against the Raptors.

While Hendricks was the headliner, rookies Kyle Filipwoski and Cody Williams both continued their strong showings in Las Vegas in the win.

Filipwoski had 20 points, seven rebounds and two assists as he continued to show off his versatility. The Jazz allowed the former Duke Blue Devil multiple chances to create for himself from the perimeter. Filipowski took full advantage, bullying his way to the hoop or splitting double teams on his way to dunks.

He was 9-of-16 from the field and 2-for-3 from 3-point range.

Williams, meanwhile, had 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting, finding ways to cut inside where he either showed off his advanced finishing game or got to the foul line. He was 6-of-7 from the stripe on Wednesday.

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