More on Scoot Henderson’s Early-Season Issues

Portland Trail Blazersfans had high expectations for point guard Scoot Henderson heading into the 2023-24 NBA season. Selected third overall in the 2023NBA Draft, Henderson brings strength and athleticism to the position not seen in Portland in nearly forever.

Even though most people understood that Henderson would need time to adjust to his new home, few were expecting a two-game start that included 34.8% shooting from the floor, a dismal 12.5% from the three-point arc, and 4.5 turnovers per game against only 3.0 assists.

Earlier this week,we wrote about some of the organic and systemic issuesthat will plague Henderson as he grows into full NBA form. Doing so, we left out one aspect of the game that showed up in spades against the Orlando Magic in Henderson’s second game.

The old saw—completely true—reads like this: the biggest adjustment for rookies is how fast the professional game moves. Nothing compares to the speed of NBA basketball. Many 6’10 forwards and some 7’0 centers are as fast as your average 6’4 shooting guard on the college level. Defensive schemes get more complex even as, functionally, the court gets “smaller” because opponents can close on ball-handlers so quickly. There’s little time to get off shots, no time to hesitate on the move. Defenders get paid millions of dollars to be where you are before you even get there.

Some of this mental/muscle memory adjustment applies to Scoot too, particularly with his passes. He sees passing lanes that just aren’t there, practically speaking. By the time he’s thrown the ball, they’re closed.

But with the rest of his portfolio, the inverse is true. Scoot is going too fast for the game. He drives full-bore, passes too hard, commits to his move too quickly. It’s the equivalent of throwing a 100-mph fastball every pitch. Being able to do that is impressive. After about four pitches, batters have a read on it. You’d blow away players at lower levels with that arm, but in the pros, they’re going to crank it out of the park.

Blazers fans can take similar comfort with Henderson as they would from a young prospect with a flaming arm. He doesn’t look good right now, but most NBA rookies struggle because they can’t get to spots, don’t make reads fast enough, get their passes smothered before the ball leaves their hands. Scoot has none of those issues. He’s a barely-controlled torpedo in an aquarium. The firepower is there; the application is just misplaced.

As time goes on, Henderson will learn to swim like a fish. If all goes well, he’ll become a shark. That’s not going to happen in two games. It may not happen completely in two years. Either way, there’s a huge difference between a live torpedo and a dud, even if the stat lines look similar sometimes.

So take heart, Blazers fans. There’s no guarantee Henderson will become a multi-time All-Star, but the raw material is still there and his whole career lies ahead of him. Celebrate the lack of a ceiling on his game more than you criticize the lack of a ground floor after 61 minutes of play.