Scoot Henderson was expected to be the face of the Portland Trail Blazers’ rebuild. At one point, there was legitimate conversation about whether the Charlotte Hornets messed up when they decided to select Brandon Miller over Henderson with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. That debate has died down as expectations surrounding the Henderson’s role in the Blazers’ rebuilding plans has been significantly dampened.

With Shaedon Sharpe ruled out of the season opener (and likely at least the next six games) due to a labral tear in his left shoulder, the reaction after dealing with the unfortunate injury for a player who could still be on the cusp of a breakout season able to stand when he returned was that Henderson is now entrenched as the Blazers’ fifth starter.

The locks heading into the 2024-2025 season were Anfernee Simons, Deni Avdija, Jerami Grant and Deandre Ayton. The question mark during the offseason was largely which guard position Simons would play, barring a major trade that could still happen sometime before the February trade deadline. However, the debate was between Sharpe and Henderson as Portland’s fifth starter, not between Henderson and Toumani Camara.

Head coach Chauncey Billups opted to start Camara as the final starter, making Simons the point guard and primary offensive initiator and bringing Henderson off the bench into a sixth-man role. It remains to be seen if this was due to the game against the Golden State Warriors and Billups wanted Camara in the starting lineup to contain superstar Stephen Curry or if this is the starting five going forward, at least until Sharpe returns.

The starters largely held their own to start the season opener, as the Blazers finished the first quarter down 21-21. Everything fell apart in the second quarter and they were outscored 41-29, and it was all downhill from there. At halftime, it seemed inevitable that the Warriors would come away with this game as the more talented team, but the Blazers’ starting five provided optimism early.

It wasn’t until Henderson checked in for the first time that things seemed to be on a downward spiral. Scoot finished with 22 points to go along with four assists, four rebounds and two turnovers. But he also finished with the team’s worst plus-minus at -30, something Portland is unfortunately all too familiar with, as he finished his rookie season with the worst plus-minus in NBA history (-58).

Plus-minus is not a very telling statistic and can sometimes be misleading due to various factors, but there should be cause for concern at some point. Although Henderson was the Blazers’ leading scorer, he was inefficient from the field (7-18), missing all five of his three-point attempts and failing to record a steal or block.

It’s an unfair overreaction to just call out Scoot for a 35-point loss that multiple players are responsible for. We knew there would be more growing pains for Henderson after his up-and-down rookie season. He showed some encouraging signs, especially his ability to get to the rim and the free-throw line, where he made eight of his nine attempts.

The Blazers shouldn’t hit the panic button just yet with only one game left in the season, but it’s certainly something to keep an eye on as we move forward into 2024-25, especially considering his track record last year.

Henderson’s next chance to showcase his hopeful offseason improvements is Friday, Oct. 25, against the New Orleans Pelicans. Unfortunately, they will be leaving behind a key lockdown defenseman in newly acquired Dejounte Murray, who reportedly broke his left hand in his Pelicans debut, which is terrible news for both Murray and New Orleans.