What If Scoot Henderson Came Off The Bench?

ThePortland Trail Blazerslanded themselves a point guard of the future with the third overall pick in the 2023NBA Draft去年6月。轻便摩托车亨德森,19岁,appears to be specially designed for the NBA, already possessing elite vision, passing and athleticism. Those skills have prompted many to suggest the G-League Ignite star would have gone number one this year, if not for the French phenom that is Victor Wembanyama.

Henderson joins a Blazers roster that skewed young the second Adam Silver read his name out at the draft, as it prompted the eventual departure of franchise cornerstone Damian Lillard. But even with the recent roster overhaul, the Blazers currently employ two young incumbent guards in Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe as well as veteran Malcolm Brogdon.

Simons is about to enter his sixth season, his first as the Blazers’ offensive leader. Free of Lillard’s shadow, Simons will be given ample opportunity to explore his ability as the first option with his combo guard gifts allowing him to play both backcourt positions.

Sharpe comes into his sophomore season a little more acclimated to the speed of the NBA game, particularly after forgoing college basketball. Sharpe is a wing and, at the moment, is probably more suited to the shooting guard slot. Brogdon, brought back in the Jrue Holiday deal, probably doesn’t see the season out as a Blazer with the reigning Sixth Man of the Year more suited to a spot on a contender.

Earlier this week, theJacked Ramsays’Danny Marang and Brandon Sprague discussed Henderson coming off the bench, despite the fanfare that preceded his arrival in Portland.

“If you were to put Scoot in the best possible position to succeed, I think you could argue him coming off the bench would be it — Marang.

But why might it be the best possible scenario for him to succeed?

Fit at the guard positions

As mentioned, Henderson is a point guard, not a combo or shooting guard. He’s most effective with the ball in his hands, either driving at the rim or using cerebral passing and vision to put teammates scoring positions. While not much can be taken from the franchise’s four preseason games, it was clear that Henderson looked a little lost when Simons and Brogdon ran the offense next to him.

亨德森是建立像跑步回来,吹嘘6’9 wingspan. Standing only 6’2 he’s probably not ready to guard some of the NBA’s bigger shooting guards. With a backcourt of Henderson and smallish combo guard Simons, the Blazers enter the season undersized. That’s a common story in Portland following a decade of Lillard and CJ McCollum, which was consistently a defensively deficient pairing.

Head Coach Chauncey Billups can buck this trend by playing Henderson as a sixth man. A Simons and Sharpe starting duo better resembles a more imposing defensive proposition. Sharpe stands somewhere between 6’5 and 6’6 with athletic gifts to match it with other shooting guards and some small forwards.

As far as the shooting guard position is concerned, Sharpe outperformed Simons in blocks, steals and both offensive and defensive rebounds per 36 minutes last season. These are facets that are more valuable to a player at the traditionally bigger guard position.

Simons, on the other hand, has improved his point guard skills every year over the past five seasons, putting up 4.1 assists during the 2022-23 campaign. He’s not elite at the one yet, predominantly due to Lillard’s previous presence but he's still managed to feature in the top 45 in assists among combo guards over the past two seasons.

One quibble with Henderson playing with the reserve unit is him sharing the floor with Brogdon. While both are technically point guards, Brogdon is a little bigger than Simons and can work with Henderson on the floor to help nurture his development.

Brogdon is also the best defender of the quartet, more than capable of putting up a fight on defense against shooting guards.

Maximizing Anfernee Simons

Simons has been given the reins this season. He is currently the best offensive player on this team and, as such, will, more often than not, have the ball in his hands when he’s on the floor. But if Henderson joins him in the backcourt, Simons will technically be doing it from the shooting guard position. He'll be working alongside another smallish guard who also needs the ball in his hands, eating into Simons’ usage.

If the Blazers plan to move Simons at the deadline or next offseason and want maximum value, they might want to showcase the 24-year-old as someone who can run his own team. Last week,I suggested a successful yearfor Simons would be him being mentioned in All Star conversations, but not necessarily being selected. Moving Henderson to the bench further clears Simons’ runway as the undisputed floor general of this young group and increases his exposure more widely.

Maximizing Scoot Henderson

Henderson is also freed up in this scenario. While he’s still playing alongside another point guard and likely mentor in Brogdon, the former Celtic combats this issue by being able to defend both guard positions competently.

To be clear, in this scenario, Henderson only comes off the bench for three to four months — either until he’s ready or the team has found the right deal for Simons. October-through-January would simply be an opportunity to help Henderson acclimate to the speed of the game and against lesser units.

Court time probably won’t dip for whoever of the three guards earns the sixth man role. If it’s Henderson, he’s likely to get north of 30 minutes a night and feature in finishing lineups, particularly if he can continue hitting the three ball on catch and shoot opportunities. This facet of his game has been pleasantly surprising through the preseason and has made the minutes he shares with other point guards more palatable.

Fast-tracking the development of Shaedon Sharpe

Sharpe will contribute to this team regardless of whether he starts or comes off the bench. But after a rookie season where he was largely protected from big minutes and starting opportunities, the 20-year-old might be ready to be thrown in the deep end.

He has a full NBA season under his belt and has the size to be more effective than Simons at the two, given his theoretical defensive supremacy. Sharpe also doesn’t need to have the ball in his hands to be effective, paving the way for Simons to run the show. If this team’s future backcourt is Henderson and Sharpe, why not give the young Canadian a chance to swim against starting level shooting guards?

Why it won’t happen

Henderson is this year’s third overall pick, someone the franchise quintessentially chose over seven-time All Star Damian Lillard. The Blazers have signaled their intentions for the Georgia product to lead this team long term.

As a result, it’s unlikely General Manager Joe Cronin and Billups are going to kickstart a new era of Blazers basketball by bringing the central figure off the bench.

Henderson’s talent and determination is unquestionable. While fit is always important, the Blazers made a statement by selecting him and the semiotics of said decision will no doubt dictate how they play the young guard over the next few seasons.

My last and maybe less consequential point concerns the impact the decision may have Henderson’s mind frame. How much would bringing him off the bench impact his own confidence? Honestly, this is less of an issue for me because Henderson appears mature enough not to have his self-esteem dented by a temporary bench role early in his career.

Conclusion

The subject will provoke strong feelings either way. Henderson is yet to play a regular season game but his persona already elicits fervent opinions, not only from Blazers fans but the wider NBA world eager to see him ply his trade.

There is definitely an argument for bringing the rookie off the bench behind Simons and Sharpe. The strategy addresses backcourt size, skill fit and increasing Simons’ trade value.

But the chances of it happening are slim to none. Not because it won’t work but because Henderson is the future of this franchise and is clearly an alpha-type player. I’m not suggesting the Blazers need to pander to Henderson, but he needs to be placed in the best position to succeed both now and when this team is ready to contend.