No real Trail Blazer fan is enjoying posting in the asinine "Scoot a bust" thread so I created this one for appreciation, commentary and constructive criticism of Scoot Henderson. If you are a troll/hater keep your posts in that thread please. It was created with you in mind! In the 6 games in which Scoot played in November and December, he shot 8 of 23 on his 3-point attempts. That's 34.8% on 3.8 attempts per game. This is a trend in the right direction. Of course, this is a small sample size. Looking at the rookie seasons of Paolo Banchero and Jabari Smith Jr, who both finished at around 30% on their 3-point averages, they were wildly inconsistent. Smith Jr. shot 17% on 3-pointers in January, then 35% on threes in March. Banchero shot 3% (yes 3%) on threes in February, then 37% on threes in March. I expect a similar roller coaster for Scoot with his 3-point shooting.
In the last game in Utah, Scoot displayed an array of different types of shots which I think are advanced for a 19-year-old whose shooting/scoring has been a weak point so far. Fast-break c0ast-to-coast layup where he blew by fellow 2023 lottery pick Taylor Hendricks: Mid-range jump shot (with a lot of jump in it): 3-point shot from the top of the three-point line: Floater over the outstretched arms of Walker Kessler. Impressive, to me at least. Corner 3 on the fantastic fast-break assist from Matisse Thybulle:
yeah, I think you can expect some pretty wild variance in his 3 point shooting if you're tracking in 5-6 game stretches. Clearly he's playing better all around since he came back and is coming off the bench. He was pretty overwhelmed in those games when he started. I'd like to see a reduction in his 3ptFG rate. Over 40% of his shots have been three's so far and I think that's too high for him. More than that though is his average shot distance is too far out, IMO. His average shot distance is 14.9'. Ja Morant's average distance has been 10.4'; Derreck Rose 11.8'; Westbrook 11.3'; SGA 11.2'. Scoot needs to pattern his game, at this point in his career, on a lot more penetration and PnR and a lot less spot-up
I agree. The problem though is they leave him wide open from out there and they are sooooo tempting. But yeah he has a good mid-range pull-up in the key that he needs to shoot more of. Baby steps. Maybe two 3s a game from his favorite side of the court? Keep shooting the floater as well. The thing he looks the worst at is attacking the basket in traffic. I am confident that he will eventually make the needed adjustments. He just needs to stop trying to force those. He did have that nice-looking layup that he borrowed from Curry that would be helpful to perfect. (First, highlight below)
Yes, I should have highlighted the unusual degree of difficulty on the layup. It took me a moment to see why he did it - he had two shot blockers approaching, Walker Kessler, and Taylor Hendricks, whom he had just dribbled past.
Yes the shots at the basket look worse than any of his other shots. I was surprised at first at that, but it's in line with all of his other struggles. I saw some very nice finishes at the hoop in summer league, including a reverse layup coming from behind the backboard where he was fouled/contacted by Amen Thompson and Tari Eason at the moment he was about to let go of the ball. I think it's just a matter of time before his finishing is at least average.
I've said this before, but I'm just astonished how kind Casey's questions are. Highkin's too for that matter. Both very nice. Especially compared to the typical questions from Quick and Frentress.
What do you mean? I think they both ask the right questions. The questions that bother me are the "aren't you disappointed in yourself," "you've been struggling, lately it seems" variety.
I cringe at those "questions" too. I was wondering if you had any questions you'd ask that haven't been. I think they did a good job finding out how Scoot felt about coming off the bench. He gave some encouraging and educating answers. How it's tougher and easier coming off the bench.
I don't know if it's been asked before, but since Scoot mentioned the travel they have to do, I'd like to know how the rookies are coping with that. Are they getting enough sleep? Are they eating good food? Jet-lagged? Both Poalo Banchero and Jabari Smith Jr. had their worst shooting months at about the same time in their rookie seasons, February for Banchero, and January and February for Smith Jr. (They both bounced back from those months). I haven't looked any more into it, but I wonder if fatigue catches up with some rookies and makes a noticeable difference in their performance on the court.
The way I see it, things are happening as they are to our benefit. Does is suck that Scoot hasn’t been as good off the bat as anyone had hoped? Of course. But does it help that we already have a guard in Ant who a lot of us (hopefully most of us) still believe in? Yes. Is Scoot going to have a worse time developing off the bench than starting? This is probably the most important question, and I’m going to argue no, if we construct the team right. I see Scoot coming off the bench as a bad thing only if he is playing with scrubs off the bench. A team like Washington should not be benching Coulibaly, that entire team is garbage. On the Blazers, Scoot is already playing with a couple decent players. 1) Thybulle is amazing off the bench, and I always thought his style of play is great off the bench against players who are rookies, young players, not in their prime, any players not skill enough to start on their team. 2) Walker is averaging 14.5/10/1.3/1.6/0.9 per 36min. He’s inconsistent on his 3 for sure, but it will get better. 3) Brogdon is a vet. And even if you feel like his pairing with Scoot is a bit odd, you can sub Scoot in for Ant, and like Ant get some run against the second unit. As long as coming off the bench has the same benefits as starting, Scoot as a sixth man for now is just fine. Our quality of player is better in our starting lineup than our bench, but that can change. 2 possible lotto picks, and the Hornets’ early 2nd. Scoot, Thybulle, and Walker are all energizers, which work well together. If Schmitz keeps finding guys that compete and shoot, Scoot will have just as much opportunity to develop his playmaking with the shooters off the bench as he will in the starting lineup. Then we can judge to see if Ant will continue to have a future here.
As a journalist myself, I sometimes struggle to ask tough questions to genuinely nice guys. And Scoot seems like a really nice guy.
