Scoot Henderson, who was picked third in the first round of the NBA draft, is currently a guard for the Portland Trail Blazers as a rookie. He was a five-star recruit at Carlton J. Kell High School in Marietta, Georgia. When he was a Junior, he averaged 32 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists per game to become Class 6A Player of the Year. After that, he spent two years playing for the G League Ignite, a developmental team of young prospects. With his defensive prowess, scoring ability, and playmaking
skills, he further gained more attention of NBA scouts by averaging 16.5 points per game on 42.9% from the field, creating 6.8 assists, and grabbing 5.3 rebounds.
Scoot Henderson is a pedal to the metal guard where he was frequently compared to Russel Westbrook, early Chicago Derek Rose, and John Wall with Washington. His style of play creates a tug-of-war
discussion with fans and gets them excited. On November 22nd after a nine-game absence he had a positive plus-minus in more than half of the games he’s appeared in. When he played for the Phoenix Suns on January 14, he scored a career-high of 33 points. His average stat for the season so far is 12.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and a 37.4 field goal percentage.
At the beginning of the season, Henderson was faced with an ankle injury, causing him to miss nine games. He later came back from his injury playing only his seventh game as a rookie against the Milwaukee Bucks, whom their former standout guard Damian Lillard now plays for. Henderson posted
13 points, 1 assist, and 4 rebounds in 27 minutes. He has a weakness in shooting threes, but he had hit three of his four three-point attempts and one of them was made over Damian Lillard. It was viewed as
a passing of the torch moment for Henderson and Lillard.
I’m Henderson recently has been dealing with a foot sprain, and he sat out for two basketball games before being declared healthy to play his game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on February 13.
Henderson played thirty-four minutes, contributing 14 points, 9 assists, and 1 rebound. However, the Trail Blazers fell short of victory, losing 109 to 121. The team has had a struggling season so far with a
record of fifteen wins and thirty-eight losses. Right now, the Trail Blazers sit fourteenth in the Western Conference of the NBA, just one spot ahead of the San Antonio Spurs with the worst record in the
conference.
Before Henderson was injured for a second time, the Trail Blazers played against the Denver Nuggets, who are the defending NBA Finals champions and are currently ranked fourth in the Western Conference. The Blazers lost 108 to 120 on February 13, but Henderson did not view the game as a loss. “Sometimes you don’t always win, but I think today effort-wise, I think we won,” said Henderson in his post-game interview. Henderson scored 30 points, had 2 assists, and grabbed 5 rebounds. He is well-
focused on continuing to stack the days and getting ready for the All-Star Game on February 18.
At one point during the game against the Nuggets, Henderson led the league in getting to the free-throw line, eclipsing even Stephen Curry. Henderson said his strategy is to get down the court fast because he knows he will get fouled. He believes the players can’t backpedal and guard him at the same time, which turns out to be evident. He does not always get the foul, but his opponents always reach while having difficulty trying to stay on him maximizing his speed dribbling down the court. “If I believe I’m not going to get a foul or no contact, I just punt fake and kick out. Just trying to make plays like that,” said Henderson.
When it comes to Scoot Henderson’s defense, he plays it well. However, he has struggled with foul trouble at times. “I thought most of his struggles came from him just wanting so badly to play well. So,
he could never slow down,” said Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups. Henderson excels at poking the ball loose from post players or jumping passing lanes and deflecting the ball away. He is often digging
into the ball handler, but just as importantly everyone around him plays effective defense, feeding off one another.
When it comes to Scoot Henderson’s style of play, many people compare him to former league MVP Russell Westbrook. His style of play involves great athleticism where he enjoys getting out on the run and forcing issues in the paint where he holds the advantage over opposing guards. It usually happens when Henderson gets a quick outlet on defense or grabs the board and within a moment is attacking the opposite rim. This does not only happen in his fast break because he is very decisive in the half-court offense. Henderson will get the ball at the top of the perimeter and create a one-dribble move and accelerate into his drive, forcing the defense to stop him until he gets to the rim.
Scoot Henderson has improved since being drafted from the G League Ignite. It appears that he knows when to use his speed and when not to during the game. Coming back from his foot sprain, he put on his basketball goggles and looked like a basketball player from the 90s era to put on an impressive show for his fans. He was one of the most criticized rookies at the start of his NBA career because after playing his first nine games, he averaged 8.3 points, 4 assists, 2.6 turnovers, and 40.1 shooting. At one point he was being called a bust, but he kept his head down, played ball, and improved. The Trail Blazers reap benefits from his gameplay now because he has a lightning-quick first step to explode into a drive past
his defenders when they lose focus for just a millisecond.
On December 29, the Trail Blazers beat the San Antonio Spurs 134 to 128. Henderson scored 22 points, created 11 assists, and had 7 rebounds while playing 37 minutes. Henderson said that every game he
tries to improve by watching his film and watching where he messes up so that he can improve those mistakes. He also watches what he is good at so that he can keep maximizing those skills and improvise.
He is not focused on getting comfortable with his shooting because he said he is completely focused on just working and his shooting will get better by working. He believes that working will showcase his
talents in the best possible way.
The Trail Blazers are one of the slowest teams in the NBA. When Scoot has the ball in his hands, he usually runs lots of pick-and-roll where if given any sort of space to turn the corner, he uses his burst to
explode towards the basket. When a big comes up to meet him, he’s still a nightmare to contain because they don’t want to be in front of the machine Henderson is. However, his shot-making could stand to see an uptick because he relies heavily on his athleticism and speed to cavort through the defense. He struggles at times to find consistency in his jump shot and three-point shooting.
Overall, Scoot Henderson has made some improvements to his basketball game since being drafted into the NBA. He knows his strengths and weaknesses, and his coach sees what he needs to improve on to
finish out the season strong and have even better success in the years to come. If he stays healthy his seasonal stats may improve. Right now, the Portland Trail Blazers are having a struggling season, but the rookie appears to be figuring himself out as he is adjusting to the highest level of basketball he has ever played. He has been looking forward to the NBA All-Star Game, and he kept that in the back of his head
when healing up from injuries and trying to keep healthy.
