It only took one game for Scoot Henderson to revive the Blazers' woes

Scoot Henderson was supposed to be the face of the Portland Trail Blazers rebuild. At some point, there was a legitimate debate about whether the Charlotte Hornets made mistakes when they decided to select Brandon Miller instead of Henderson with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. That debate has died down as expectations for Henderson's role in the Blazers' rebuilding plans have diminished significantly.

With Shaedon Sharpe out of the season opener (and likely the next six games) due to a torn labrum in his left shoulder, this is the reaction after dealing with the unfortunate injury for a player who could still be on the verge of a breakout season When he returned, Henderson was now established as the Blazers' fifth starter.

The locks for the 2024-25 season were Anfernee Simons, Deni Avdija, Jerami Grant and Deandre Ayton. The main question throughout the offseason was which guard position Simons would play unless there was a major trade that could take place sometime before the February trade deadline. However, the debate was between Sharpe and Henderson as Portland's fifth starter, not between Henderson and Toumani Camara.

Head coach Chauncey Billups decided to use Camara as the final starter, making Simons the point guard and primary offensive initiator and Henderson coming off the bench as the sixth man. It remains to be seen whether this is due to the matchup against the Golden State Warriors and Billups wanting Camara in the starting lineup to keep superstar Stephen Curry in check, or whether this will be the starting five going forward, at least until Sharpe returns .

The starters largely held their own at the start of the season opener, as the Blazers ended the first quarter tied at 21-21. It all fell apart in the second quarter, a 41-29 win, and it all went downhill from there. At halftime it seemed inevitable that the Warriors would emerge from this game as a more talented team, but the Blazers' starting five gave cause for optimism early on.

It wasn't until Henderson first came around that it seemed like things were on a downward spiral. Scoot finished the game with 22 points to go along with four assists, four rebounds and two turnovers. But he also finished with the worst plus-minus on the team at -30, something Portland unfortunately knows all too well as he finished his rookie season with the worst plus-minus in NBA history (-58).

Plus-minus is not a very meaningful statistic and can sometimes be misleading due to various factors, but at a certain point it has to be a cause for concern. Despite being the Blazers' leading scorer, Henderson was inefficient from the field (7-18), missed all five of his three-point attempts and failed to record a steal or a block.

It's an unfair overreaction to denounce Scoot only in a 35-point loss for which multiple players are responsible. We knew there would be more growing pains for Henderson after his up-and-down rookie season. He showed some encouraging signs, particularly his ability to get to the rim and the free throw line, where he made eight of his nine attempts.

The Blazers shouldn't hit the panic button yet with only one game left in the season, but it's definitely something to keep an eye on as the 2024-25 season progresses, especially given their track record from last year.

Henderson's next opportunity to showcase his hopeful offseason improvements will be on Friday, October 25th against the New Orleans Pelicans. Unfortunately, they will be without a key lockdown defender in newly signed Dejounte Murray, who reportedly broke his left hand in his debut with the Pelicans, which is terrible news for both Murray and New Orleans.