Rookie of the Week: Scoot Henderson, 6-3 PG, Portland (Note: This section won’t necessarily profile the best rookie of the week. Just the one I’ve been watching.)
Let’s not sugarcoat things: The third pick in the 2023 NBA Draft has had a rough go of it in his rookie season. Rookie point guards usually take their lumps in this league, and scouts I’ve talked to aren’t ready to use the “B” word yet. But Scoot Henderson’s first half-season has been concerning: a ghastly 7.1 PER on 36.4 percent shooting, a high turnover rate for a secondary player and a lot less heat on the rim than people expected when he was drafted.
Henderson has at least put up some moderately better performances of late, including a 33-point effort Sunday against Phoenix (although it took him 31 shots to get there). After a series of truly abysmal efforts to start the season, Henderson has splits that will tell you things are improving. He’s getting to the line more after generating just nine free-throw attempts in his first seven NBA games, he’s made a third of his 3s after a 2-of-24 start to his career and he’s posted several double-figure assist games.
The background stuff on him remains positive as well: He competes on defense, shares the ball and, from all reports, his work ethic is admirable. Obviously, Portland’s situation is less than ideal — Henderson has a 25.8 percent usage rate because there just isn’t enough other talent on the floor right now (see above). His splits as a bench player — when there is enough help around to put him in a more natural role, in other words — are quite a bit better.
However, two issues stand out that make you wonder about Henderson’s long-term ceiling. The first and most obvious one is his shooting.
Opponents still go a mile under any ball screen for Henderson, basically killing the play at the point of attack and forcing him to launch a jumper. While his accuracy is likely to improve, he still has a relatively flat shot with his elbow out. It’s not like he’s a victim of bad luck on misses that are just rimming out either; a lot of them barely kiss the rim during their irregular orbit. He seems to have trouble squaring up too — I can’t say I’ve seen every jump shot, but he sure seems to miss to the sides a lot.
The other, perhaps more troubling, worry is that Henderson might not be as athletic as scouts perceived a year ago, especially as it pertains to finishing at the rim. Through 30 games, Henderson only has nine dunks and nine and-1s; overall, he is shooting 48.6 percent in the basket area. His rates of rebounds and steals have been quite ordinary as well. There’s just nothing that jumps off the page in his clips.
Yes, it would help if his jump shot were more threatening and it opened more lanes to the rim, but he doesn’t have the kind of Ja Morant/Russell Westbrook jets that would allow him to beat a defender to the other side of the screen even if they go under. Instead, a lot of Henderson’s rim attempts look like this, where he ends up trying to sneak under or around a big man because he can’t finish over the top, all while broad jumping more than exploding upward.
The first two clips are against Phoenix’s 6-foot-10 Chimezie Metu, who isn’t even a real center. The next clip is against noted tower of might Mike Muscala. Again, Henderson can’t elevate for the finish.
Henderson is a 19-year-old rookie, and there’s a lot of water left to go under the bridge. I’ll add that the four teenagers picked immediately after Henderson haven’t exactly set the league afire either. But whatever the expectations might have been for immediate impact, it’s not happening. Henderson will have to make considerable progress in several areas to justify his No. 3 selection.
AmitN_Music
Anyone calling Scoot a bust hasn’t watched a single game. They’re just box score watching. He’s showing immense knowledge and skill for the game at such a young age playing the toughest position on the court. He’s gotten better every week. Scoot is gonna be a problem, and I don’t mean for the Blazers. He’s gonna beast for us. You can tell the game is slowing down for him. His shots at the rim aren’t as erratic as they were his first week. He seems to be buying into defense. I’m not worried about Scoot. He’s gonna continue growing.
ReflectionGloomy8851
Hasn’t this already been posted like twice?
KDsparky
I feel like Scoot is a great passer and would be averaging 10+ assists if his teammates hadn’t been missing wide open shots.
sharpeshooter32
Ngl he sucks right now and it’s concerning. I’m pretty sure we were all hoping he would at least be a decent player year 1. Not time to panic but if he doesn’t look a lot better next year then yeah I’d be pretty worried.
BrainsAre2Weird4Me
Harsh article, but this is fair:
> Through 30 games, Henderson only has nine dunks and nine and-1s; overall, he is shooting 48.6 percent in the basket area.
I’d feel a lot better about Scoot if he upped those numbers.
That being said, this season, and the last few seasons, have really shown how valuable PGs like CP3 and Mike Conley have been and the lack of true point guards like them around the league. Still excited for Scoot’s future but the instant gratification never appeared.
Droopy91
I know it’s been a decade but we went through this exact scenario with Dame and his finishing ability. Did people forget it took him until his 3rd year to really get his efficiency up and by that time he was 24-25 years old.
Great: He’s got a great attitude, isn’t selfish, works hard, very coachable
Not so great: pretty much everything else.
Nothing jumps off the screen at me, aside from him trying and putting in an effort on D. He seems like he could develop into a good distributor and facilitator, but everything else is a huge question mark.
Yes, I know he’s 19, but where are the qualities that prompted his draft position? There are more uncertainties than one normally has with a guard taken in a high lottery pick
9 Comments
Rookie of the Week: Scoot Henderson, 6-3 PG, Portland
(Note: This section won’t necessarily profile the best rookie of the week. Just the one I’ve been watching.)
Let’s not sugarcoat things: The third pick in the 2023 NBA Draft has had a rough go of it in his rookie season. Rookie point guards usually take their lumps in this league, and scouts I’ve talked to aren’t ready to use the “B” word yet. But Scoot Henderson’s first half-season has been concerning: a ghastly 7.1 PER on 36.4 percent shooting, a high turnover rate for a secondary player and a lot less heat on the rim than people expected when he was drafted.
Henderson has at least put up some moderately better performances of late, including a 33-point effort Sunday against Phoenix (although it took him 31 shots to get there). After a series of truly abysmal efforts to start the season, Henderson has splits that will tell you things are improving. He’s getting to the line more after generating just nine free-throw attempts in his first seven NBA games, he’s made a third of his 3s after a 2-of-24 start to his career and he’s posted several double-figure assist games.
The background stuff on him remains positive as well: He competes on defense, shares the ball and, from all reports, his work ethic is admirable. Obviously, Portland’s situation is less than ideal — Henderson has a 25.8 percent usage rate because there just isn’t enough other talent on the floor right now (see above). His splits as a bench player — when there is enough help around to put him in a more natural role, in other words — are quite a bit better.
However, two issues stand out that make you wonder about Henderson’s long-term ceiling. The first and most obvious one is his shooting.
Opponents still go a mile under any ball screen for Henderson, basically killing the play at the point of attack and forcing him to launch a jumper. While his accuracy is likely to improve, he still has a relatively flat shot with his elbow out. It’s not like he’s a victim of bad luck on misses that are just rimming out either; a lot of them barely kiss the rim during their irregular orbit. He seems to have trouble squaring up too — I can’t say I’ve seen every jump shot, but he sure seems to miss to the sides a lot.
The other, perhaps more troubling, worry is that Henderson might not be as athletic as scouts perceived a year ago, especially as it pertains to finishing at the rim. Through 30 games, Henderson only has nine dunks and nine and-1s; overall, he is shooting 48.6 percent in the basket area. His rates of rebounds and steals have been quite ordinary as well. There’s just nothing that jumps off the page in his clips.
Yes, it would help if his jump shot were more threatening and it opened more lanes to the rim, but he doesn’t have the kind of Ja Morant/Russell Westbrook jets that would allow him to beat a defender to the other side of the screen even if they go under. Instead, a lot of Henderson’s rim attempts look like this, where he ends up trying to sneak under or around a big man because he can’t finish over the top, all while broad jumping more than exploding upward.
The first two clips are against Phoenix’s 6-foot-10 Chimezie Metu, who isn’t even a real center. The next clip is against noted tower of might Mike Muscala. Again, Henderson can’t elevate for the finish.
Henderson is a 19-year-old rookie, and there’s a lot of water left to go under the bridge. I’ll add that the four teenagers picked immediately after Henderson haven’t exactly set the league afire either. But whatever the expectations might have been for immediate impact, it’s not happening. Henderson will have to make considerable progress in several areas to justify his No. 3 selection.
Anyone calling Scoot a bust hasn’t watched a single game. They’re just box score watching. He’s showing immense knowledge and skill for the game at such a young age playing the toughest position on the court. He’s gotten better every week. Scoot is gonna be a problem, and I don’t mean for the Blazers. He’s gonna beast for us. You can tell the game is slowing down for him. His shots at the rim aren’t as erratic as they were his first week. He seems to be buying into defense. I’m not worried about Scoot. He’s gonna continue growing.
Hasn’t this already been posted like twice?
I feel like Scoot is a great passer and would be averaging 10+ assists if his teammates hadn’t been missing wide open shots.
Ngl he sucks right now and it’s concerning. I’m pretty sure we were all hoping he would at least be a decent player year 1. Not time to panic but if he doesn’t look a lot better next year then yeah I’d be pretty worried.
Harsh article, but this is fair:
> Through 30 games, Henderson only has nine dunks and nine and-1s; overall, he is shooting 48.6 percent in the basket area.
I’d feel a lot better about Scoot if he upped those numbers.
That being said, this season, and the last few seasons, have really shown how valuable PGs like CP3 and Mike Conley have been and the lack of true point guards like them around the league. Still excited for Scoot’s future but the instant gratification never appeared.
I know it’s been a decade but we went through this exact scenario with Dame and his finishing ability. Did people forget it took him until his 3rd year to really get his efficiency up and by that time he was 24-25 years old.
https://www.blazersedge.com/platform/amp/2015/4/13/8394245/portland-trail-blazers-damian-lillard-elite-finisher#top
Why has this been posted like 7 times lol
Great: He’s got a great attitude, isn’t selfish, works hard, very coachable
Not so great: pretty much everything else.
Nothing jumps off the screen at me, aside from him trying and putting in an effort on D. He seems like he could develop into a good distributor and facilitator, but everything else is a huge question mark.
Yes, I know he’s 19, but where are the qualities that prompted his draft position? There are more uncertainties than one normally has with a guard taken in a high lottery pick