LOS ANGELES -- It only took a few minutes into Scoot Henderson’s NBA debut for the 6-3 guard who was selected with the third overall pick of the 2023 Draft to learn a valuable lesson.
Less than three minutes had elapsed at Crypto.com Arena when Deandre Ayton, playing in his first game as a Trail Blazer after spending his first five seasons with the Phoenix Suns, poked away a pass intended for Clippers center Ivica Zubac. Matisse Thybulle managed to come up with the loose ball and, after a brief moment to survey the court, ignited a Portland transition opportunity.
Thybulle, having just crossed the timeline, found a streaking Henderson at the top of the three-point line and fed the rookie a pass that allowed him to continue to the rim without breaking stride. Henderson’s first NBA points seemed imminent.
But rather than going up strong, or at least as strong as he could have, Henderson tried to lay the ball up off the glass while using the rim to shield the ball from Zubac, who had already done an admirable job getting back in transition after the turnover.
But that approach didn’t work. Zubac was able to time Henderson’s attempt perfectly, erasing what looked like a sure-fire highlight and ensuring the rookie would have to wait a while longer to tally his first NBA points, though it did provide an early object lesson for the 19 year-old guard.
“Get to the basket, that’s what I was thinking,” recounted Henderson of the play. “There was a little contact but something I can finish through, something I should have dunked, knowing who I am. Definitely should have gotten on top of that one, for sure.”
Henderson would eventually go scoreless in the first half before finishing the game, a 123-111 loss in which Portland trailed by as much as 30, with 11 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field, four assists, four turnovers and three rebounds in just under 36 minutes. It probably wasn’t the debut he was hoping for, though it was hardly unexpected considering the circumstances.
“There’s going to be some nights that he looks 19, tonight was one of those nights,” said Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups. “I’m not surprised by it, we sit here and talked that I’d be interested to see at what point he calms down. It never really happened until the end of the game when the game was out of reach, but that’s just a part of it. That’s a part of where we’re at and when you’re developing a young player, particularly at that position, it’s not easy.”
And it will probably remain that way for a while, as the NBA is repleted with talented guards and Henderson, as a high-profile draft pick, will have the dubious honor of getting the best effort from his opponents while trying to both learn on the fly and help lead a roster featuring six first and second year players. He did settle in as the game went on, especially in the fourth quarter, in which both coaches turned the game over to their reserves, but he, and most of the roster, looked sped up for most of the evening.
“I thought (Henderson) was nervous, for one,” said Billups. “I think the main thing that happens in this position is you want to play good so bad, you know? And that can kind of overtake you, so it was a lot probably coming at him. Look at who we were playing against. That’s a good team, they’re out there to prove like ‘Nah, not against us. Not tonight.’ That’s another thing that you don’t even think about.”
But despite a rough start, Henderson never seemed to let his struggles get to him. That resiliency, and learning quickly that there are few free lunches at the rim in the NBA, will serve him well as he makes his way this season.
“Obviously just got to learn from this one, first one of the season, it’s a long season so just got to learn from it,” said Henderson. “I think I could be way more aggressive knowing that teams know that I can pass now, so just got to look for the attack, try to get in the paint a little bit more.”
As for the rest of the roster, Malcolm Brogdon came off the bench to finish with 20 points, five assists and two rebounds in his first game as a Trail Blazer. Anfernee Simons started at guard and went 6-of-14 for 18 points to go with four assists, two rebounds and two steals in 27 minutes.
Shaedon Sharpe played 29 minutes off the bench and contributed 14 points, six rebounds, three assists and a steal. Jerami Grant added 13 points and Robert Williams III broke double figures with 10 points to go with seven rebounds, three steals and a block in his first 23 minutes as a Blazer.
Paul George led all scorers with 27 points on 11-of-17 shooting. Zubac finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks.
The Blazers now return to Portland to host the Orlando Magic in their home opener Friday night at Moda Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.