Injuries to the Trail Blazers create new situations for Henderson and Clingan

But what about the clarity for this season for the Portland Trail Blazers?

The much-discussed dream of Media Day is in jeopardy after just one week, days before Portland's first preseason game even gets underway. Call it a curse. Call it bad luck. But let it be true: The Blazers are already dealing with injuries.

On Friday, Portland announced that oft-injured backup center Robert Williams III has suffered a left hamstring strain that will keep him out for at least two weeks. Then on Saturday, the team announced that key piece Shaedon Sharpe suffered a small posterior labrum tear in his left shoulder and is expected to miss four to six weeks. This came after Sharpe played just 32 games in his all-important second development season.

After Portland's player development was hampered by injuries last season, they're already threatening to do the same in another year of low expectations where player development is the only barometer. While the injuries to both players are no shock to the end of the season, it is a difficult week for the start of October.

Looking forward, these injuries open up the rotation to create sink-or-swim situations for Portland's two most recent lottery picks, rookie center Donovan Clingan and second-year guard Scoot Henderson. The luxury of making it easier for both players to start the year with comfortable, reduced roles has disappeared. The Blazers will be forced to lean on them more from the jump.

Let's start with Henderson.

Despite Henderson's positive finish to a difficult rookie year, he probably still would have come off the bench this season before the Sharpe injury happened. The Blazers likely planned to use Anfernee Simons at point and Sharpe at shooting guard, with Deni Avdija, Jerami Grant and Deandre Ayton filling out the frontcourt. That's the correct interpretation of the depth chart at this point and isn't the worst thing for Henderson's development, bringing him off the bench as a backup point guard even though there are still a ton of minutes left.

The plan would have allowed Henderson to largely compete against second units, which helped the young guard find his footing last season. Perhaps more importantly, this rotation would have left Henderson and Simons floundering. Staggering the two maximizes their strengths as lead guards, allowing Simons to play primarily on-ball with the starters and Henderson to do the same with the second unit.

Now, on opening night, Henderson will almost certainly start. He will compete against the first strikers and has to master this ponderous form alongside Simons. How much time will each player have on and off the ball? Can Henderson use his jump shot to effectively defend the ball for long periods of time? Does the backcourt defense have a crater? (Would it have even formed a crater?)

Obviously, Henderson won't be a total fish out of water in the starting lineup. He started 32 games last season, including the final 14 games where he finished strong. But Simons was only in the lineup for the first three of those final games, and Henderson was given the keys to lead Portland's tank squad late in the season with Deandre Ayton free. Can it achieve the same results under different conditions?

Henderson's solid finish to last season was great. He returned with still supreme confidence. His teammates and coach say all the right things about him being a much better player. But the jury will still have a long time to deliberate on where Henderson stands and where his career is headed. Because deficits are less easy to hide, the first few weeks with Henderson as the starter will be a good measure of the leap he has made heading into year two.

Now about Clingan.

Making the jump to NBA speed can be difficult for any rookie. That's especially true for a 7-foot-2, 280-pound, rim-protecting center like Clingan. Keeping up with the NBA speed will likely be one of the biggest challenges of Clingan's pro career, but especially this season. Last year at the University of Connecticut, he played just 22.5 minutes per game. Not only are NBA players more athletic and faster, but the games are longer and involve more possession – Clingan has to get up and down more often.

After the first official practice on Tuesday, Simons said the only thing holding Clingan back early was speed.

“It's a transition for him, and the game is a little faster than in college, so he has to catch up, but other than that he's been good,” Simons said.

With that in mind, the Blazers may have wanted to roll out Clingan slowly, even as a No. 7 pick. It was certainly an option. Head coach Chauncey Billups could have given the majority of those five backup minutes to Williams and kept Clingan on the fringes of the rotation early. Let the rookie improve his conditioning with the added benefit of increasing Williams' trade value.

This leisurely option of a slow rollout is likely due to Williams' injury, especially if health issues persist. Unless the Blazers crack down on Duop Reath, Williams' absence from the rotation will likely redirect the majority of those backup five minutes to Clingan, ready or not. If that's the case, the situation at the start will give a much better idea of ​​how big a jump to the NBA is for Clingan.

Maybe both Henderson and Clingan can make it. The problem is resolved and everyone in the organization is happy with the last two drafts and the team's direction. There's also a chance that both will have problems early on. If that happens while Sharpe's arm is still in the sling, the mood surrounding Portland's last three drafts won't feel great.

Clarity regarding Sharpe and Williams will remain unclear given these injuries. Henderson and Clingan's current assessments are likely to emerge more quickly.