9. Taylor Hendricks
As with Keyonte George, and Brice Sensabaugh, fellow rookie Taylor Hendricks is not going to be someone that you should expect to see much of to start the season. He, like Sensabaugh before him, missed a lot of time due to injury. He didn’t play in the Summer League and played limited minutes in the preseason.
Like with George, Hendricks has shown to be pretty inconsistent due to the combination of age, inexperience and just not being in a rhythm yet. And with all three, it’s super important that we all hear this; they’re going to get better (we hope). They’re going to improve and they’re going to find their space within the team to operate.
It’s just not going to be early, and it won’t be very often. Hendricks will likely be the first guy off the bench after the regulars, and when he gets in, will have opportunities to show off what he can do.
Still, with just John Collins, Walker Kessler, Lauri Markkanen, and Kelly Olynyk ahead of him, it’s very likely he will get some minutes faster than the rest of the rookies on the team. After all, having just four bigs ahead of him, foul trouble or injuries will launch Hendricks into playing time.