It's Now or Never for Blazers PG Scoot Henderson

It almost feels as if I'm the boy who cried wolf.

I've told every colleague and friend willing to listen for the past four seasons, “This is going to be Scoot Henderson's breakout year with the Portland Trail Blazers,” and I still have nothing to show for it.

Take the Blazers' best team win of the season so far—a road game against the L.A. Lakers—as the perfect example.

A Hollywood night on national television. It seemed the storyline was just waiting to be written.

I didn't care that the game tipped off after 11 p.m. on the East Coast, I texted my best friend that if the world didn't know about Henderson before, they certainly would after his performance against the Lakers.

After checking in at the 5:05 mark of the first quarter, it took all of 83 seconds for my credibility—as a basketball analyst and a trustworthy friend—to go out the window.

A play began where Henderson swiftly moved down the lane before decelerating and executing an outstanding pump fake to take his defender out of the picture. The only thing standing between him and an easy early field goal, or an assist to the waiting Robert Williams III, was Lakers big man Walker Kessler.

Scoot elected to do neither and find Toumani Camara in the corner. A good decision, considering how open the forward was and that he had just knocked down a three from the opposite corner on the previous offensive possession.

Henderson seemed to have put together a great play. Penetrating, collapsing the defense and finding an open shooter. Exactly the skills that made him such a polarizing prospect and the No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

But the ensuing kick-out pass missed Toumani Camara.

Not by a few inches or half a step, but almost by a full foot. A Shaquille O'Neal-sized foot.

As I kissed my teeth in disappointment, I looked down at my phone and saw a text from the same best friend I'd convinced to sacrifice his sleep schedule to watch the game.

“This guy still hasn't improved,” it read.

Henderson went on to have a forgettable night, posting just two points (0-for-3 FG, 2-for-2 FT), three assists and a game-high five turnovers in only 17 minutes.

A performance that sums up an underwhelming start to the NBA dream for the guard from Marietta, Georgia.

A player who seems to possess all the skills and intangibles to be not only a rotation player but a star in this league, yet when it comes down to it, still hasn't managed to put everything together.

However, his coach and star teammate remain convinced that we have yet to see the best of Scoot Henderson. And I absolutely believe them.

Keeping it Simple

Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson grabs a rebound during the first half against the Memphis Grizzlies at Moda Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After a stellar preseason that left a serious impression on his teammates and coaching staff, even being dubbed “training camp MVP” by veteran guard Jrue Holiday, Henderson has gotten off to a rather slow start out of the season's opening gates.

Through the first five regular-season games, Henderson has posted career lows in minutes (21.2), points (8.1), assists (1.4), rebounds (2.4), field goal percentage (34.9) and three-point percentage (14.3).

“I feel like [its been a] slow start, but I'm not gonna back down from the challenge,” Henderson said after a win against Utah. “Just [have to] continue to be the best version of myself every night.”

Five games is an awfully small sample size for any player, and it would feel unfair to judge anyone solely on those statistics, good, bad or indifferent.

However, the concern surrounding Henderson has always revolved around his consistency and ability to correct his previous mistakes.

Many of his errors this season can largely be attributed to playing too fast and, at times, out of control, which has been a point of weakness since his rookie season.

“Just don't overthink,” Micah Nori told reporters he said to Henderson before the Utah game. “Just keep things simple.”

A rather basic way to solve his struggles, but perhaps the fairest way to look at it.

The best moments we've seen from Henderson—particularly in the latter stages of last season and during the postseason series against San Antonio—have come when he operated more off the ball, in a simplistic role.

The turnovers, panic passes and sporadic shot selection have often stemmed from Henderson operating as the primary ball-handler, which is something Nori doesn't exactly need from him this year.

“We don't need him to orchestrate everything for everybody else,” Nori said. “He's out there with Deni [Avdija]. He's out there with Dame [Lillard]…Those guys know how to play, and we just want to keep things simple.”

Even if Henderson were given the benefit of the doubt, that perhaps he was misidentified as this futuristic Russell Westbrook with a jump shot archetype and this is his best role, the results on the floor still cannot be fully justified.

Those same results that occur on the hardwood are what front offices and coaching staffs must base their conclusions on. Hypotheticals and idealistic scenarios go out the window when it comes to the modern NBA salary cap.

Henderson was the only top-five pick in the 2023 NBA Draft class not to receive a rookie-scale extension. An extension that Scoot has shrugged off in the media but is likely weighing on the mind of the guard, who will enter restricted free agency next summer.

But Nori believes in his young point guard, especially in light of Ja Morant's recent injury.

“We're going to need him for the next 82 or 78, whatever we have left,” Nori added. “We're going to make sure that we continue to trust in him and keep putting him out there and he's going to win a lot of ball games for us.”

Veteran Advice

Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson and Damian Lillard react after a shot in a game against the LA Clippers. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

If there's anybody in the Portland locker room Henderson can learn from, it's his locker mate Damian Lillard.

Few guards in the NBA can relate to Henderson quite like Lillard can.

Drafted at the age of 22, Lillard faced scrutiny from the media before he even put on a Summer League jersey.

Too old. Small school. Skills won't translate. They said it all, only to be proven wrong when Lillard was unanimously named the 2013 NBA Rookie of the Year.

The difference between the two is that Henderson is now at that same age of 22, but four years into his NBA career, an advantage that Lillard himself highlights.

“Each year that you come back, the game slows down. The whole process slows down,” Lillard said from his locker after the Utah game. “You understand it better. You understand your place in it better. You see where you could improve…I think this year, especially in September training camp, he's figured that part out.”

Lillard also alluded to the human aspect of Henderson's development. With all the media attention and pressure placed on the young guard, Lillard believes no one is harder on Scoot than Scoot himself.

“I think that's something that shows care,” Lillard noted. “You have some young players that go the opposite way, they get real relaxed…it's better in the NBA to be aggressive and show care than to go the other way. And I think that's what Scoot is doing.”

Lillard was 25 in his fourth year in the league, a season in which he finished eighth in MVP voting and earned All-NBA Second Team honors. Yet even at that level of stardom, he still struggled with aspects of his offensive game, including ball security, averaging 3.2 turnovers per game.

He explained that for a player like Henderson—who has experienced similar struggles with ball security—improvement will come naturally with time and experience.

“Eventually he'll settle in and the pace will get better,” Lillard added. “He'll see ‘All right, I need to move, pass it here. I can slow down here,’ and that's the part that takes time.”

Very open and honest pieces of advice from a franchise icon who was once rumored to have parted ways with Portland because the front office elected not to trade away its 2023 first-round pick and instead drafted Henderson.

“I always liked Scoot. Even at that time, I made it clear,” Lillard concluded.

Time to Turn it Around

Portland Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson brings the ball up the court during the first quarter against the Utah Jazz | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

So early into this NBA season, it is quite easy to prematurely associate a bad stretch of games with total lack of growth.

Scoot Henderson is still so young and unpolished in this league, and at times, we can forget that aspect.

At the age of 22, I was in the midst of changing my university degree with no clue about anything in the real world. Henderson was dropping 31 points on the San Antonio Spurs in a playoff game.

Between injuries and a crowded backcourt rotation, Henderson has missed out on numerous opportunities crucial to his development.

As long as Henderson continues to develop the way Lillard has described and plays within his skill set in a simplified role that Nori mentioned, he can thrive in this new Portland system.

Henderson's success will not only help the Trail Blazers in their quest for a top postseason seed but also aid his personal pursuit of long-term stability with his next contract.

I thoroughly believe he's capable of taking the long-awaited leap. In due time, we'll find out whether my belief was justified or if I really am still the boy who cried wolf.

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