Scoot Henderson, the third overall pick in the 2023 draft, had an inauspicious regular season debut in Wednesday’s loss at the Clippers, recording just two points and one assist until the fourth quarter, when the Trail Blazers were down 26 points to open the final frame.
As Bill Oram of The Oregonian writes, Henderson grew up emulating Russell Westbrook, who dominated the head-to-head matchup. The rookie point guard ultimately finished with 11 points (5-of-11 shooting), four assists and four turnovers after accumulating some garbage-time stats.
“There’s going to be some nights he’s going to look 19,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. “Tonight was one of those nights.”
Still, the Blazers know they’re going to take their lumps in 2023/24, and it will all be about how Henderson and the rest of the team develop and respond, according to Oram.
Despite his opening night struggles, teammates and coaches said Henderson remained unflappable throughout the game, a testament to to his mentality and maturity, per Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian (subscriber link).
“I didn’t see him get frustrated all,” center Deandre Ayton said. “He was pretty calm and collected. He was talking to me more than anything … Even though he knew he made a couple of mistakes, he just went on to the next play and played harder. He handled it well as a professional, for sure.”
Portland and Henderson will look to bounce back in tonight’s home opener vs. Orlando, though starting backcourt mate Anfernee Simons is out four-to-six weeks after tearing a ligament in his thumb. Second-year guard Shaedon Sharpe will start in Simons’ place, Billups told reporters, including Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report (Twitter link).
Here’s more from the Northwest:
- Thunder big man Chet Holmgren had to wait a year to make his regular season debut after missing all of last season with a foot injury. Was the second pick in 2022 nervous on Wednesday in Chicago? “More excitement, and I guess a little bit of (anxiety),” he said, per Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. “Just the waiting part, knowing that eventually the ball’s gonna tip up. All day you’re just waiting for that moment.” Holmgren finished with 11 points, four rebounds, three assists, a steal and was plus-14 in 25 minutes, Mussatto notes.
- Jazz head coach Will Hardy says Lauri Markkanen will have a difficult year, as the All-Star forward’s breakout season in 2022/23 has made him a “marked man” on opposing teams’ scouting reports, not to mention he’ll face increased scrutiny because of elevated expectations. However, Hardy is confident he’ll handle the extra attention well, writes Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. “Yeah, I mean, they started making changes obviously during the last year, too. And we kind of knew what was going to come, so no surprises there,” Markkanen said after Wednesday’s loss to Sacramento. “But I think that’s a good challenge for me. I’m not gonna put my head down if I make a mistake or whatever. I’m here to get better every day.”
- Kris Dunn recently had his contract for 2023/24 guaranteed by the Jazz, and he says he’s “super grateful for the opportunity” after dealing with injuries the past handful of seasons and working his way back to the NBA by playing in the G League for most of 2022/23, as Sarah Todd of The Deseret News details. “I fell in love with the game even more,” Dunn said of his time with the Capital City Go-Go. “When you’re down and out, you’ve got to find a way to really battle through and I just really, really worked on my fundamentals and tried to develop my game so that when the shot did come and present itself, I was ready.”
This has nothing to do with this thread, other than maybe there are a couple former Bulls in here…lol
Anyways, how about the Bulls tonight!! Caruso knocks the ball away from Siakam with the Raptors up two and time running low, then LaVine gets it, runs the length of the floor, and instead of going up for the tough contested layup he gets his ONLY assist of the night and kicks it to the corner back to a wide open Caruso for the game winning 3-ball!!!
They likely ain’t doing anything this season, but what a performance from DDR, Caruso, and the rest of the Bulls tonight!! They played tough and stayed in it throughout even with LaVine, Patrick Williams, Vucevic, and White not really having all that great of shooting nights…Honestly, not all that great would be a compliment for LaVine’s night..lol, but he made the play he had to when it counted the most..
There won’t be all that many exciting wins or wins period probably, so I’m just enjoying each one as it comes..lol
Bulls lucked out big time with LaVine listening to the voice in his head for once. If the Bulls want to rid themselves of that devastating contract they can’t have that LaVine on the floor
Noooo, he played like dog almost the entire game, BUT he made one great play when it counted the most. NFL Tim Tebow -esque, but at least he did make that one play, and Caruso nailed it like the clutch stud competitor he is!! lol
Honestly, I don’t know what the best thing for the Bulls is moving forward.
I dont think they should resign DDR, but should they trade him at the deadline if they’re doing really well (which I highly doubt).
Then, after they trade DDR, should they take a couple years to use those savings and add to their current core, OR should they completely blow it up and trade LaVine and Vucevic as well. Then, just focus on rebuilding through the draft and by adding a few key free agents here and there.
Idk that Donovan would stick around for that. Not to mention, at this point, I’m not entirely confident the Bulls could even pull off a successful, full rebuild.
If LaVine can prove his slow start is just a fluke, and he’s healthy and ready to go, I think their best course of action is likely just trading away DDR at the deadline.
Then, they should target either a young PG with upside, or a young 3&D wing, and the hit free agency and the draft to reassess their new roster needs.
They really need a pass-first, play-making PG thats capable of hitting threes something awful to fit their current roster the best. Those guys don’t just grow in trees though, and especially not ones that are quality perimeter defenders as well.
I think a starting five of Quickley, LaVine, Patrick Williams, Caruso, and Vucevic would be a good starting off point, and then with White, Carter, Dosunmu, Craig, and Drummond coming off the bench along with whatever the rest of their salary fillers they get from the DDR trade would do well.
Hopefully, if they can add a guy like Quickley, then they can use the rest of the season to see if he’s capable of being their starting PG moving forward.
Then, they can get alot of DDRs salary off the books with the expiring deals, so they can attack the draft and free agency to TRY and fill the rest of their potential needs.
I honestly think they’d just function better as a group moving on from DDR, even though he’s an excellent offensive player. Which is also ironic, because him and Caruso basically won the game for the Bulls by themselves tonight…lol
Honestly, like I said, I don’t really know what their best plan would be moving forward. Most teams I’d just say blow it up, see what you can acquire, and move on and start over, but yeah, I don’t trust their ownership to not somehow ruin it and it’ll just be another extended period of misery, except then without even having any kind of decent core…
Chet not going to win ROY but OKC will be a top 4 seed. I am looking forward to him developing and staying healthy.
Markkanen looked unfazed, putting up 35 PTS and 12 REB in last night’s win over the Clippers. As he said himself, opponents began to adjust during last season already and he handled it well. Furthermore the good old ‘hack a big man’ strategy doesn’t work either. Foul the guy and he’ll kill you from the FT line.
I’m glad to hear Markkanen is taking up the challenge thrown down by other teams’ defenses.
He has the talent and the mindset to do great things. Last night showed what happens when he’s aggressive.
When you’re that big and tall you don’t necessarily have to let the defense dictate what you can do.
The greats, in fact, would impose their will onto the other team. That just means you don’t back down and instead challenge the other team to stop you. Dare them to and be bold!
When you’ve been in the league long enough then you’ll know how to impose your will. When in doubt then study the greats. Try moving and talking like they do to see how it feels.
Tony Robbins, one of the great motivational speakers, talks about being able to put yourself in a peak mindset whenever you want. It starts with remembering a time when you felt unstoppable. Imagine what you were thinking, feeling, how you were moving, breathing, and what triggered it.
You can put yourself back in the zone whenever you want. Just have to know what triggers it for you. Then all you need is to assign a trigger word or move a certain way or even just flip a switch in your mind. Whatever works for you consistently.
I know Karl Malone used to flip a switch whenever he got mad. It usually was from a bad call from a referee. But he’d then go on an unstoppable tear.
Maybe getting mad is something Lauri can use? Or at least allow himself to be selfish for the good of the team. Some guys are too nice and so they’re hesitant to take over games.
Perhaps he could think of it as playing for the honor of his homeland and for Utah. Both peoples have embraced him as someone they can cheer for.
Whatever way Lauri does it, he definitely has it within him.