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SALT LAKE CITY — Taylor Hendricks lived through it just last week and he saw it on clip after clip, but when Luka Doncic is ball faking it's hard not to jump.
"You literally have to think about it every second," Hendricks said following Utah's 115-105 loss to the Dallas Mavericks Monday.
The rookie forward has received a crash course on how to defend maybe the league's most dynamic offensive weapon over the last week. Twice in the last three games, Hendricks has had to try and check Doncic.
There have been successes, like helping hold Doncic to 3-of-12 shooting in the first half of Monday's game. And there's been plenty of times that Doncic made Hendricks look like the rookie he is. Doncic scored 20 points in the second half on Monday on his way to his standard triple-double.
Jazz coach Will Hardy said it's good for Hendricks to be able to see that type of player so close in succession. It allowed Hendricks to lock in on some of Doncic's tendencies and try to build habits when it comes to scouting personnel.
"I think this gives Taylor in particular a good opportunity to try to build on some things that he learned last time we played," Hardy said.
So what were Hendricks's takeaways from the second matchup?
"Just how smart he is," Hendricks said. "He's gonna try and use his body. I don't feel like he's more athletic than me or faster than me but right now I feel like he's smarter than me."
That knowledge will grow in time.
The Jazz rookie has only been receiving rotation minutes for just over six weeks. In that span, he's become a regular starter and often draws the opposing team's top offensive weapon. With each small victory — there admittedly haven't been many team ones — his confidence grows. His teammates are seeing that.
"He's just getting comfortable play, starting to see stuff in the game, and people are starting to talk to him, let him know like game flow," said Jordan Clarkson, who returned Monday from a groin injury. "Him being up here with us has been a good little process of learning and trying to figure things out."
Hardy joked last week that Hendricks has said more words in the last five days than he had in the previous five months. Hendricks, himself, said he feels himself coming more out of his shell. He said that's because he's growing more confident in his game and in his ability to help the team.
Confidence that seems to be growing with each game. Something maybe he even wouldn't have believed would happen a few months ago. Hendricks admitted that playing in the G League was tough mentally for him.
He didn't know when or even if he would get an opportunity with the Jazz.
"There was a lot of uncertainty. So it's easy to get down," Hendricks said.
Enter Jason Preston. In early January, the Jazz signed Preston to a two-way deal and assigned him to the Salt Lake City Stars.
"He kind of gave me a second breath," Hendricks said. "I guess he saw the potential I had."
Over long talks on travel days and dinners, Preston helped Hendricks see past the current situation and give him a more long-term view.
Preston told him to try and cross off one of three boxes: two blocks, 10 rebounds, or make sure the opposing best scorer has a bad game. Hendricks said that game within the game helped motivate and inspire him — and he's still tracking that with the Jazz.
He said he gets to check off one more often than not.
Did he get to Monday? He had six rebounds, a block and Doncic had 29 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds.
"You have to be perfect when you guard Luka," Hardy said.
He wasn't that Monday, but Hendricks saw it as a step in the right direction.
"That's something I definitely gotta get used to because that's a player I want to be — someone who's guarding the best players every night and taking on that challenge."
