The Utah Jazz’s rookies proved they shouldn’t be in the rotation to start the season.
While trying to figure out what the Utah Jazz’s rotation should look like during the preseason, many saw what it shouldn’t look like. Fans and pundits alike have a fairly good idea of who should be in the starting lineup and who shouldn’t be, and while everyone may have their own fair share of differences, the one thing that everyone should agree upon is that the rookies aren’t ready.
In the final game of the preseason, Keyonte George, Taylor Hendricks, and Brice Sensabaugh went a combined 4-21 from the floor, 2-12 from three, and 2-5 from the free throw line. Now, Sensabaugh didn’t play, but it’s fair to say that even if he did, those numbers wouldn’t have been much better regardless.
Hendricks went 2-9, while playing pretty subpar defense, closing out his preseason shooting at 31% from the floor, 25% from three, and a respectable 80% from the free throw line. George shot even worse, at 30% from the floor, and shot a bit better than Hendricks from three (but still bad) at 28%, while hitting just 77% from the free-throw line.
Neither rookie has proven that they should be in the rotation, let alone the starting lineup and their preseason has proved that. And while you can argue that Hendricks hasn’t played a lot, which would be fair, George has. George has proven to be wildly inconsistent from the start of the Utah Summer League.
So we know George needs more seasoning. As for Hendricks, and to a lesser extent Sensabaugh, their lack of availability isn’t going to help them; on the contrary. Neither man has shown that they should be seen as a huge piece for the team to start the season. They don’t have enough good performances on tape, and it’s likely that both men need weeks to get to where they should be when it comes to consistency.
None of the rookies should be seen as busts lackluster, or any other type of negatives. They’re young. They’re inexperienced and they need time. The best for all three is to start them on the bench and get some work in via practice, or even in the G-League.
Reps need to be had, and with the Jazz hoping to be a playoff team, that means the team can’t afford to let them get their reps with the main squad.