Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks suffered a fractured right fibula and dislocated ankle in the second half of Utah’s game at Dallas on Monday night, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets.
Hendricks’ injury occurred on a non-contact play as he was running into the offensive lane. He took an awkward step and dropped to the floor with his lower leg bent in an unnatural position. He was removed on a stretcher.
Hendricks was quickly ruled out with a right ankle injury, the Jazz’s PR department tweets. He’ll return to Utah with the team for further testing, MacMahon adds.
Hendricks was making his third start of the season. He averaged six points and six rebounds in the first two games and was 0-for-5 from the field against the Mavs in 21 minutes.
The 20-year-old Hendricks was the ninth pick of last year’s draft. As a rookie, he appeared in 40 NBA games, making 23 starts. He averaged 7.3 points and 4.6 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game.
With Hendricks sidelined for an extended period, more minutes will open up for other players. John Collins, a starter the majority of his career, could return to the lineup. Brice Sensabaugh, Cody Williams and rookie Kyle Filipowski are among the other candidates for increased playing time.
That’s got to hurt!
Get well young fella ……. kinda reminds me of Shaun Livingston’s injury, years ago.
That’s rough, buddy. The stop-and-start at top speed is the biggest factor in why injuries are more common in today’s NBA. This is one of the worst examples in recent memory, but damn.
Still could have been worse, but that’s a cold comfort right now.
Exactly. Today’s game is much, much faster than the 80’s and 90’s ….. offensive sets, ball movement even the switching on defense, just much faster than before.
I’d even the add the pressure to win, the fight for spots, contracts makes for a much faster game now.
I’m not at all surprised by such injuries.
Looking at the bright side, he’s very young. Hope the kid makes a Shaun-like comeback.