Trail Blazers News: John Hollinger Unpacks Scoot Henderson's Late-Season Ascent

Alex Kirschenbaum | Apr 16, 2024

Apr 12, 2024; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson (00) reacts. / Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports

The Portland Trail Blazers finished their third season under the tutelage of head coach Chauncey Billups doomed for the NBA's draft lottery. The team's bright young hope, No. 3 overall draft pick Scoot Henderson, had a rough, injury-riddled start to the year (including some absolutely abysmal plus-minuses), but managed to make marked strides late into the season.

John Hollinger of The Athletic believes that Henderson did ultimately show plenty of promise that should give Portland management and fans alike hope for his future. His shooting and passing seemed to take big leaps towards the end of the season, Hollinger observes.

"The third pick in the 2023 draft — Victor Wembanyama he ain’t — finished his rookie year with a 9.5 PER [Player Efficiency Rating]," Hollinger writes. "On the other hand, an absolutely horrid start dragged down those numbers. That, and Portland’s quick descent from anything resembling contention, combined to bury the news of Henderson’s second-half revival."

Henderson has revealed he's open to playing in a second Las Vegas Summer League appearance this year.

“Handles, with contact, finishing, explosiveness, quick twitch, mind, body," Henderson said last week regarding what abilities he wanted to improve heading into the 2024-25 season. "Shooting, obviously. Really just all over. Watching film on how to attack certain situations throughout our system.”

Billups, meanwhile, pinpointed court sense as the top area of developmental need for the young would-be star.

“Just understanding two things,” Billups said. “Understanding the actual NBA game, and where he is going to get his opportunities, learning how to navigate pick-and-rolls, when people are going up under him.

All told, Henderson finished the season with overall respectable output. During his 62 healthy games this season, Henderson averaged 14 points on .385/.325/.819 shooting splits, 5.4 assists (against 3.4 turnovers), 3.1 rebounds and 0.8 steals a night.

In his last 15 games this year, he averaged 18.3 points on a .415/.386/.813 slash line, 7.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per bout.