Utah Jazz's Will Hardy Gives Honest Take on Taylor Hendricks’ Return

In the beginning motions of the Utah Jazz's preseason and training camp action, third-year forward Taylor Hendricks is finally getting back into the mix after a full season and summer of recovery from his leg injury last October, suiting up for both of their preseason games for his first live-game action in just under a full calendar year.

And so far, Hendricks has performed notably well. He's had a pair of 15-point performances through two contests shooting just under 50% from the field, paired with an average of 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists as well.

It's a sample size that Jazz head coach Will Hardy is seemingly pleased with, who gave his thoughts on Hendricks' return from injury and what he's shown thus far.

"I think he's done great," Hardy said of Taylor Hendricks. "I think there's a lot to improve. I think it's all happening kind of fast, and that's to be expected."

Of course, for a young, developmental player like Hendricks who's catching up on what he's missed in terms of his experience and opportunities, there's bound to be some growing pains and areas to improve in. But considering the circumstances, Hardy's remained impressed.

"He hasn't seen live bodies in a year. He's gotten physicially stronger, and you can see that in certain plays– but when you look at his teammates for example, they have a year of processing and reading live bodies. And Taylor's just really getting back into that," Hardy continued.

"I think he's handled himself well. He played a lot in the San Antonio game. We tried to extend the minutes for a bunch of guys from a conditioning standpoint... But I think he's played well. He hasn't tried to do things he can't do. I think he's played really solid. His physicality, length, size, shows up defensively and on the glass."