Tag: Utah Jazz

Jazz rookie Taylor Hendricks pulled up to watch UCF host Cincinnati

Former UCF forward Taylor Hendricks returned to campus on Saturday to watch the Knights host the Cincinnati Bearcats.

Former UCF forward Taylor Hendricks returned to campus on Saturday to watch the Knights host the Cincinnati Bearcats at Addition Financial Arena in Orlando.

Hendricks played last season with the Knights, averaging 15.1 points, 7 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 1.4 assists on 39.4% shooting from 3-point range. He was named to the All-AAC second team and was one of three players in the country with at least 60 3-pointers and 55 blocks.

He wasn’t treated to a win by the home team, though. Cincinnati won 76-74. The Knights trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half, but tied it up in the final two minutes of play. They weren’t able to jump ahead and dropped to 13-11.

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Hendricks is averaging 4.6 points and 2.9 rebounds in 17 games with the Utah Jazz. He has spent the majority of the season in the G League, averaging 14.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.3 assists in 22 appearances with the Salt Lake City Stars.

The ninth pick was highly touted as a player who can affect games on both ends of the court. The organization was impressed with his size, at 6 feet, 9 inches, and his ability to shoot and defend at a high level with his 7-foot wingspan.

After making several moves at the trade deadline, the Jazz will integrate Hendricks more into the rotation over the remainder of the season. They will watch him and monitor how he handles himself on and off the court and if he is ready to contribute nightly in the NBA.

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NBA Rising Stars 2024: Bennedict Mathurin unanimously named MVP to lead Team Jalen to title

Pacers sophomore Bennedict Mathurin was unanimously named MVP of the 2024 NBA Rising Stars game to lead Team Jalen to the championship.

Indiana Pacers sophomore Bennedict Mathurin on Friday was unanimously named MVP of the 2024 NBA Rising Stars game to lead Team Jalen to the championship in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Mathurin produced 18 points in the opening game as Team Jalen defeated Team Tamika. He had four points, two assists and one steal in a 26-13 win in the final over Team Detlef, which consisted of seven of the top players in the G League.

While Mathurin did the bulk of the scoring in the semifinal round, Dereck Lively II had six points and Jordan Hawkins and Jalen Williams each chipped in five points in the final. Williams drained the game-winning 3-pointer to end it for Team Jalen.

The event featured four seven-player teams competing in a three-game tournament for the third straight year. The two semifinal games were played to a target score of 40, and the championship game was played to a target score of 25.

The pool of players for the game consisted of 11 rookies, 10 second-year players and seven players from the G League. The players from the NBA were selected by assistant coaches and the players from the G League were selected by the league office.

The four teams were coached by Hall of Famer Pau Gasol, Indiana Fever legend Tamika Catchings and former Pacers standouts Jalen Rose and Detlef Schrempf, who led the G League team.

Here is how the teams performed in the event.

Lakers player grades: L.A. puts the Jazz away in the second half

Without LeBron James, the Lakers had their way with the Jazz and got their sixth win in their last seven games.

The Los Angeles Lakers took the floor in Salt Lake City against the Utah Jazz looking to solidify their recent momentum heading into the All-Star break with another win. They had won five of their previous six games and 10 of their last 15. Their offense had been producing at an elite level during that stretch.

LeBron James sat out the contest, leaving one to wonder if the team would struggle without him.

The Lakers jumped to a 10-point lead in the first quarter and stretched it to 14 with 9:04 left in the second quarter. But they allowed Utah to claw back into the game by having trouble defending the paint and corralling defensive rebounds. Their lead shrunk to one, 70-69, at halftime. While they shot 56.5% from the field in the first two quarters, Utah outrebounded them 23-14.

Los Angeles reasserted itself late in the third quarter with 12 unanswered points to take a 108-92 lead going into the final frame. It increased its lead from there and ended with an impressive 138-122 victory to improve to 30-26.

The Purple and Gold shot an outstanding 57.3% overall and 46.2% from 3-point range on the night. Even better, they committed a grand total of eight turnovers. They also had a sizable advantage at the free-throw line and held the Jazz to 13-of-39 shooting from downtown.

The Lakers are off until Feb. 22 when they visit the Golden State Warriors.

Rookie Wire Power Rankings: Victor Wembanyama maintains No. 1 spot after historic performance

Rookie Wire took a look at the top first-year players over the last two weeks of the 2023-24 season.

The regular season is past the trade deadline and approaching NBA All-Star Weekend, with the top players in the game set to compete in various events in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The crop of rookies continues to perform well this season, resulting in some remarkable performances of late. Led by Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren, Brandon Miller, Scoot Henderson and others, they have captured national attention and have been fascinating at times.

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The class will be represented in the Rising Stars game, as 11 first-year players will participate in the revamped exhibition. Including 10 sophomores, and seven players from the G League, the game will feature the top up-and-coming players.

To make sense of it all, we looked at the best recent performances of these first-year players and ranked them in the Rookie Wire Power Rankings. The rankings are not for Rookie of the Year purposes but to illustrate the best players week to week.

Lakers vs. Jazz: Lineups, injury reports and broadcast info for Wednesday

Here’s all you need to know ahead of Wednesday’s Lakers versus Jazz game.

The Los Angeles Lakers visit the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.

The Lakers (29-26) claimed their fifth victory in their last six games by defeating the Detroit Pistons, 125-111, on Tuesday. They did so with relative ease; they led by as many as 24 points before coasting to the win. Three players scored at least 20 points for L.A., and it held the Pistons to 41.7% overall field-goal shooting and 28.6% from 3-point range.

Utah was surging about a month ago, but has since regressed. The team has lost eight of its last 12 games and has fallen to a 26-28 mark, which puts it in 11th place in the Western Conference. While it has averaged 122.1 points in its last 14 games, it is last in defensive rating during that span.

These two teams are tied at 1 in their season series. The Lakers won the first matchup 131-99 on Nov. 21, while the Jazz answered with a 132-125 decision on Jan. 13.

LeBron James says he will not play in Wednesday’s Lakers vs. Jazz game

It looks like the Lakers will be without their best player when they play the Jazz on Wednesday in the second game of a back-to-back set.

The Los Angeles Lakers earned their fifth win in the last six games and seventh victory in their last 10 tries when they cruised past the Detroit Pistons, 125-111, on Tuesday.

It was their first game since they blew out the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, and they looked every bit as rested and energetic as one would’ve expected them to.

Los Angeles will be back at it again on Wednesday when it heads north to take on the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City.

A consistent issue this season has been LeBron James’ minutes and usage, and after playing 31 minutes on Tuesday, he said he will not play on Wednesday in Utah.

The Lakers played in Utah about a month ago, and James also sat that contest. Without him, they lost 132-125 to a Jazz squad that had won 10 of its previous 12 games.

This time around, the Jazz have lost five of their last seven games and eight of their last 12.

Jazz coach Will Hardy on Taylor Hendricks: ‘He is going to be playing every night’

Taylor Hendricks has played sporadically this season with the Jazz, but that figures to change after they made several recent moves.

Taylor Hendricks has played sporadically this season with the Utah Jazz, but that figures to change after the organization made several moves at the trade deadline.

The Jazz were very active ahead of the deadline on Thursday, moving Kelly Olynyk, Ochai Agbaji and Simone Fontecchio. Their departures project to open up significant minutes in the frontcourt, clearing the way for Hendricks to see a larger role.

Hendricks, the ninth pick, was highly touted out of UCF as a player who can affect games on both ends of the court. The organization was impressed with his size, at 6 feet, 9 inches, and his ability to shoot and defend at a high level with his 7-foot wingspan.

Jazz coach Will Hardy confirmed Hendricks will see a larger role.

Taylor’s life is very different now. Taylor is going to be a part of our rotation. He is going to be playing every night. How much he plays every night will be determined by how well he plays, but his responsibilities now are far different. He is being counted on every night. He is going to be held to a very high standard in terms of how he performs on both sides of the ball.

Hendricks has spent the majority of the season in the G League with the Salt Lake City Stars. He has logged 14 appearances with the Jazz and has only played three times since the start of the new year, including a three-point, eight-rebound effort on Thursday.

The 20-year-old is averaging 14.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.3 assists on 35.6% shooting from 3-point range in 22 games with the Stars. He has scored in double figures 19 times, including a career-high 26 points on Nov. 29.

The team believes Hendricks has shown significant improvement throughout the year with the Stars and Jazz. He was known as a tremendous 1-on-1 defender with the Knights and is learning how to defend in a team concept.

Hendricks says that has been the biggest adjustment this year.

It is really just being in a whole different role. In college, I really wasn’t chasing guys off screens or forcing anybody to the screen and things like that. That is probably the biggest thing I’ve learned: Learning defense in a whole new aspect.

The team will integrate Hendricks more into the rotation over the course of the rest of the season. They will watch him and monitor how he handles himself on and off the court and if he is ready to contribute nightly in the NBA.

He is ready for the opportunity.

“We traded a few guys around my position, so my role is probably going to increase,” Hendricks said. “Whatever they ask me to do, I’m willing to do it regardless.”

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Utah Jazz trading for former Alabama PG Kira Lewis Jr.

Former Alabama PG Kira Lewis traded from New Orleans to Utah

Former Alabama point guard [autotag]Kira Lewis Jr.[/autotag] is on the move to Salt Lake City as part of a trade between the Utah Jazz and Toronto Raptors. The Jazz traded away C Kelly Olynyk and G Ochai Agbaji to the Raptors in exchange for Lewis, F Otto Porter and a 2024 first-round pick.

Alabama fans may as well go ahead and buy their Jazz jerseys now as Lewis will get to share a backcourt with Collin Sexton. The former 2020 first-round draft started the year with the New Orleans Pelicans but was traded to Toronto on Jan. 17. Lewis only appeared in one game with the Raptors.

Lewis has averaged just under ten minutes a game and 2.8 ppg, 1.1 apg and 0.9 rpg. The Jazz are currently the 10-seed in the Western conference and will have no aspirations of a title in 2024. So, hopefully, they use this time to develop their young assets.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Kelly Olynyk trade grades: Who won the trade between the Jazz and Raptors?

Kelly Olynyk, you’re a Toronto Raptor.

Aaaand we’re off, folks! The NBA trade deadline is underway. Nothing big has happened yet, but the Jazz and Raptors have given us a bit of action.

Toronto just traded a bunch of stuff for Kelly Olynyk, who is certainly a solid player in today’s NBA. He fell out of a starting position in Utah when the Jazz traded for John Collins over the summer, but he’s still very good.

It’s just kind of hard to pinpoint exactly what the Raptors are trying to do with the roster here.

We’re going to make our best effort here as we grade the trade. Let’s dive in.

RELATED: Check out our NBA trade tracker to see the other deals that have gone down today

Trade rumors: Warriors show interest in Jazz center Kelly Olynyk

The Warriors are reportedly showing interest in a veteran big man from the Utah Jazz.

As the trade deadline creeps up, different names and rumors are starting to be connected to the Golden State Warriors.

In an appearance on “SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski mentioned Utah Jazz center Kelly Olynyk as a player the Warriors could pursue.

Via @wojespn on X:

Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports also mentioned Olynyk as a player the Warriors have shown interest in. The Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers have also shown interest in the former Gonzaga big man, per Fischer.

In his 10th season, the former first-round pick out of Gonzaga is averaging 8.1 points on 56.2% from the field and 42.9% from beyond the arc. Olynyk is adding 5.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 20.4 minutes off the bench.

The Canadian big man would provide the Warriors with some much-needed size and floor spacing in a frontcourt that features Kevon Looney, Dario Saric and rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis.

The trade deadline is Thursday, Feb. 9, at noon PT.

This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and X! 

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