Blazers’ Jerami Grant Praises Scoot Henderson After First NBA Test vs. Suns

Things were certainly weird for thePortland Trail Blazersin their first game against an NBA team in the preseason.

Not only did former Blazers Jusuf Nurkic, Nassir Little and Keon Johnson suit up for the opponent after being traded to the Suns late last month, but the team ran without Damian Lillard, who was dealt in the same deal to theMilwaukee Bucks.

Instead, the starting point guard responsibilities landed on Scoot Henderson’s shoulders, and the No. 3 overall pick impressed his veteran teammate Jerami Grant.

“He did well,”Grant said of the rookie. “Showed a lot of good things tonight, looking forward to him growing, just learning from the the good, the positives and the negatives and getting better.”

Henderson finished with 22 points on an efficient 8 of 14 from the field while dishing out four assists and grabbing four rebounds.

Henderson is unquestionably the new face of the franchise and he certainly has some growing to do, but considering he is already showing small signs of greatness this early in his career and impressing his teammate should make Blazers fans comfortable.

Henderson and the Blazers are back in action tomorrow night when they take on theUtah Jazzin Salt Lake City. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. PST.