Latest news with #ScootHenderson
Forbes
4 days ago
- Sport
- Forbes
How The Blazers Have Optimized Scoot Henderson's Development Path
As Scoot Henderson enters his third NBA season, he's got both experience to lean on, and a guy to fall back on in Deni Avdija. Help on both sides of the floor With the acquisitions of Jrue Holiday and Damian Lillard, Henderson now has quite possibly the best teachers to lean on in the coming season. Holiday, one of the best perimeter defenders in league over the past decade, has a unique understanding of playing angles, reading opposing offenses, and he's sublime in identifying patterns. Henderson stands to gain a significant bump in defensive knowledge by studying under Holiday, and peppering him with questions about - especially - pick and roll coverages. On the other side of the floor, Henderson can lean on Lillard, arguably the best player in Blazers history, who has now come back to the organization after two seasons in Milwaukee. Lillard, who won't play this season due to an Achilles tear, has always been a masterful offensive player, one especially potent at spacing the floor, and drawing fouls. Henderson shares a similar physical build as Lillard, and while the youngster is at least a few levels below the former All-Star in terms of shooting prowess, if there's anyone who can provide him with a sharper understanding of offensive execution, it's Lillard. The Deni Avdija security blanket It's no secret that Avdija had a tremendous finish to last season, averaging almost 20 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists over the last 20 games of the season. The 6'9 forward can consistently create his own shot, be that going to the rim, or from the outside, and his playmaking took a noticeable jump forward, allowing him to absorb plenty of on-ball possessions. This is a huge benefit to Henderson, who will have games where he still looks raw, young, and untested. In those situations, he can scale up his defense, and lean into being more of a playmaker, courtesy of Holiday and Lillard. Well, that's the idea anyway. The Blazers should be an interesting team to track this season, as they have a large portion of intriguing players that could turn them into a much-improved squad, should most of them begin to develop at a higher rate. Unless noted otherwise, all stats via PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Boston Celtics vs. Portland Trail Blazers: Stream, lineups, injury reports, broadcast (3/23)
The 51-19 Boston Celtics make the trip to Oregon's Moda Center to face the 32-39 Portland Trail Blazers for their second game of their longest and penultimate road trip of the NBA's 2024-25 regular season this coming Sunday (March 23) night. The Celtics look to extend their current win streak to 4 games while perhaps getting a few players some rest for the looming 2025 NBA Playoffs. The Blazers, on a 4-game win streak of their own, will likely continue to make a late push for a play-in spot after recent success hints it is on the table. Boston ought to win this tilt easily if they take Portland seriously, but the Trail Blazers have recently beaten teams as good as the Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies. Advertisement Let's take a look at player health for both teams, likely starters, and how to watch or stream the game. Mar 5, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) tries to fight off Portland Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson (00) during the first quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images Player injuries Jaylen Brown (knee), Kristaps Porzingis (illness reconditioning), Jrue Holiday (shoulder) and Xavier Tillman Sr. (knee) are out, but Jayson Tatum (knee) will play. Apr 7, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton (2) shoots the ball over Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports How to watch or stream the game Here's when you should tune in to see the game: Date: Sunday, March 23, 2025 Time: 6:00 p.m. ET TV Channel: NBC Sports Boston Live Stream: Fubo (watch for free) .oembed-frame {width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;border:0;} This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Celtics vs. Blazers: Stream, lineups, injury reports, broadcast (3/23)
New York Times
19-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Scoot Henderson quieted his mind, and Blazers guard's game got louder
PORTLAND, Ore. — Scoot Henderson has a mind that races. When it comes to basketball, he thinks. And then he rethinks. And then he thinks about how much he is thinking. So on the nights he leaves home to play for the Trail Blazers, the point guard has developed a routine of visiting the deck of his 22nd-story apartment in downtown Portland. Advertisement 'I sit down on my balcony and look out at the city,' Henderson said. 'It calms me down.' Below is the football field at Lincoln High, and to the north and east are the lofts and high rises of the Pearl District. As he sits on his balcony he wears a necklace device that delivers electrical impulses to the vagus nerve. The stimulation is designed to help with anxiety, sleep, pain and stress. 'It's for anxiety, but I don't really have that,' he said. 'But I be thinking a lot. So I put it in my head that the (device) pulls all my thoughts out and lets them go.' He started the balcony sessions in December after he received the device as a gift from his mom, and coincidentally, his season and career have taken on a new trajectory. In 27 games since Dec. 21, Henderson is averaging 13.7 points, 5.4 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 46.8 percent from the field and 41.5 percent from 3-point range. The whispers about him being a bust have quieted. And the urgency for the Blazers to find a point guard to lead their rebuild has eased. Some of Henderson's emergence is a credit to the Blazers' player development. John Townsend, a shooting consultant hired by the team, has changed Henderson's shot. Assistants Chris Fleming and Pooh Jeter have ongoing film sessions with Henderson to show what is a good shot and how to defend better, as well as drills to help him finish better at the rim. Meanwhile, coach Chauncey Billups has held him accountable, threatening during a December meeting to take away his playing time if he didn't defend better. 'It takes a village,' Jeter said. GO DEEPER With 4 meetings in 3 weeks, a Blazers season has changed But above all, Henderson's uptick in play can be traced to the slowing of his racing mind, and those anxious thoughts being released. Henderson has always had the power, speed and explosion. But since he has been in the NBA, he's never had this peace of mind. 'The thing I'm most proud about is me not thinking,' Henderson said. 'I feel like I was thinking I wasn't thinking, but I was thinking so much to where I was thinking. You can't hide the fact you were thinking.' Advertisement He thought about his rookie season, when he struggled with shooting and ball security. And he thought about the start of this season, when he had stretches of costly turnovers, poor decisions and shaky shots. It wasn't the trajectory anybody — especially Henderson — thought would unfold after he was drafted third in 2023. On draft night, general manager Joe Cronin said Henderson had the chance to be 'transcendent.' And after watching him in Summer League, Billups spoke of Henderson having 'super powers.' But as autumn turned to winter this season, whispers turned into winds: Was Henderson a bust? 'I mean, everybody … I think (bust) came across their mind at some point,' Billups said. 'Not me. Not our staff. Because we live with him. We see the inside. We see what's inside of him.' What made his struggles worse was how badly Henderson wanted to succeed. He worked so hard, cared so much and prepared so thoroughly that he couldn't understand why it all wasn't translating to the court. 'That's the thing, man, people don't know what I've really been thinking about,' Henderson said. 'I wanted to be great so fast and I wanted to make an impact so badly … but that can hurt you. It can make you force.' So he started taking refuge on his deck, letting all those bad thoughts, all those anxious desires flow through him and out into the Rose City. He does quick breaths on the deck and finds his center. 'I've realized, I just need to play,' Henderson said. 'Just hoop. Just do this. That's what I think when I sit and look down on the city: Just hoop. You've been doing this your whole life. This is nothing new. Stay confident.' He talks to himself regularly — be it on the court, on the bench or on the balcony — often referring to himself in the first person. They are bursts of criticism, reminders or pep talks. Advertisement His favorite reminder of late, one he used before a January home game as he overlooked the city from his balcony: 'I do this s—.' It was Sept. 14 when Trail Blazers veteran Jerami Grant texted Townsend, his shooting coach. 'I'm going to have Scoot work with you when you are out here,' Grant wrote Townsend. 'Is he a good kid?' Townsend asked. 'Yeah,' Grant responded. 'You will like him.' Townsend, who lives in Miami Beach, began studying Henderson's build and game film. By the time he was on his flight to Portland on Sept. 15, he had some ideas on how to better Henderson's shot. Much like Grant, the 6-foot-3 Henderson has an abnormally long wingspan at 6 feet 10 inches. Townsend said players with long wingspans often release their shot in front of their face, which restricts their follow through. He teaches players to position the ball to the side of their head, with their elbow and forearm at a 90-degree angle. 'He knows what he is doing,' said Grant, who first hired Townsend in 2020. Townsend has been working with professional players since 2002, when he spent five years as the shooting coach in the National Basketball Development League (now the G League). In 2007, he was hired by the Blazers, spending three seasons in Portland. Later he spent three seasons with Toronto, three with Memphis and three with Philadelphia. Since 2019, he has worked individually with Grant, Kyle Lowry, Cade Cunningham, Gary Harris, Jarred Vanderbilt and Precious Achiuwa. On Sept. 16, Henderson showed up to Grant's shooting session at Portland State University and watched his 90-minute workout. 'You know JG … he was hitting like 100 shots in a row, one after the other,' Henderson said. 'I was like, 'Damn, I gotta get like that.'' When Henderson's session started, he said Townsend immediately set himself apart by ignoring his feet and focusing solely on his right elbow. Similar to Grant, he wanted Henderson to move his shot to the side with the 90-degree form. To remember the form and the placement, Townsend used 'handshake to the side' of the head terminology. Advertisement 'Most trainers start with the feet, but JT was like, there's nothing wrong with your feet, you're balanced,' Henderson said. They worked on getting the elbow placement correct and on fully extending his reach during his follow through. Henderson started making shot after shot after shot. 'It felt like … different,' Henderson said. 'I could always hit shots, but this just felt better. It felt like it fit me. It fit my archetype, fit how I play. So when I get a handshake to the side and go 90 degrees, it's easy for me to follow through. That's where I had a problem before — I would short-arm it.' By October, Cronin hired Townsend as a consultant. He now flies in from Florida and works with all the Blazers when they have an extended homestand. Townsend said his work with Henderson is now more support than technical adjustments. 'Of all the hundreds of NBA players I've worked with, Scoot has shown me the best ability to coach himself of any player I've had,' Townsend said. It's why Henderson can often be seen talking to himself and mimicking the 'handshake to the side' during his pregame warmups. 'If you see me doing this (he brings his hand up toward his ear) in pregame warm-up, that's what I'm doing,' Henderson said. 'It's really helped. Now, I don't even have to see the ball go through the rim, I can just feel it. If I'm 90 and handshake to the side, I know it's got a good chance of going in.' Since Dec. 21, Henderson has made 51 of 123 from 3-point range (41.5 percent), tied for the 11th-best percentage in the NBA during that span (120 attempts or more). For the season, Henderson is shooting 36.5 percent from 3, up 4 percent from his rookie season. While Townsend adjusted Henderson's shot, the Blazers' assistants have worked with his approach. Fleming, who joined Billups' staff this season after the past four seasons with Chicago, has been working with Henderson on shot selection — in particular, eliminating the stepback 3. Fleming said most teams are starting to go 'under' the pick when guarding Henderson to protect against his explosive drives. That leaves Henderson space to shoot. 'On the unders, when he comes into the shot, he shoots it at 39 percent, which is a really high rate,' Fleming said. 'So we are trying to get him to stay away from the step-back and when teams do go under, having him step into those in rhythm.' GO DEEPER Two cornerstones of the Blazers' rebuild are dreaming big: 'We are going to figure it out' Jeter, who has been with Henderson the past four years, including two as a teammate with the G League Ignite, has been his closest confidant. They decompress after every game, talking about what went right, where things got sideways. It's Henderson's chance to vent and release the thoughts in his racing mind. Advertisement The most notable session came after the Jan. 11 home game against Miami. Henderson in 21 minutes had three points and three assists and shot 1 of 6. On the bench during the game, Henderson was talking aloud to himself. And it was R-rated. 'I didn't like my role in that game, but it was more of a self thing,' Henderson said. 'I was not being aggressive enough on offense, I was coasting, and that's never been a part of me.' Jeter had witnessed Henderson's angry outbursts before. But nothing was like this. 'He gets upset at himself, but I've never seen that part of him,' Jeter said. 'He was cussing himself out on the bench, and I was like 'Ooooooh-weee!'' In their postgame meeting, Jeter told Henderson that in order to gain wisdom, he had to go through tough experiences. Jeter said after that night, something clicked. 'He got sick of that feeling he had in the Miami game,' Jeter said. 'He has this confidence in himself, and he puts in the reps, so I think it's just everything coming together at the same time. He's really believing and trusting in the work he's put in.' None of the assistants nor Billups tried to take credit for Henderson's emergence. They all said he has always had the ability, he has always had the work ethic and he has always been a sponge to coaching. It was just a matter of time before the game — and his mind — slowed down. 'If a player is good, it's because they are really good,' Townsend said. 'As coaches, we can just nudge them.' Added Fleming: 'His obsession with getting better has been pretty impressive. His improvement is every bit driven by him. He had a lot of negativity surrounding his rookie season, and the start of this season wasn't super easy for him, but he has never wavered in terms of his approach. He never got down on himself and he has always believed in himself.' On Feb. 3, Henderson turned 21, and he celebrated by amassing 15 points and six assists in an overtime win over Phoenix. The performance came on the heels of an impressive January, which included a career-high 39 points against Brooklyn, when he made 8 of 10 3-pointers. He also had notable games of 21 points and 11 assists against Houston and 25 points, eight assists and seven rebounds against Chicago. Advertisement When he arrived in Portland as a 19-year-old, he was aglow with confidence and swagger. It wasn't long into his rookie season, however, when his smile had faded and his moxy became muted. 'It was a humbling year for him,' Billups said. 'He didn't realize how hard it is to be good in the NBA and to do it every night. He'd have a good game, but then, dang, here comes DeAaron Fox tomorrow. Here comes Steph Curry on Thursday, then on to Trae Young. That's one of the big surprises for a young guy.' Henderson said never in his rookie season did he question whether he could succeed in the NBA. He was just frustrated with why it wasn't happening quickly. 'I'm blessed with the talent, and I did all the work, but I didn't have anything to show for it,' Henderson said. 'That's where I was disappointed.' The coaches could see a talented kid who cared, but who also was thinking too hard. 'He's a cerebral kid,' Fleming said. 'And when you watch film with him, you can see it — he's got great ideas, so you know he's been thinking about stuff as we rewatch games. And at times, he was wearing that.' It showed with impatience on the court — forcing a pass, rushing a shot, letting a mistake carry over to the defensive end. But Billups said he never saw Henderson defeated. 'He had some tough times last year, and his confidence would go up and down, but his spirit never did,' Billups said. 'And one thing, he was a constant team guy. Whether he was playing good or bad, he was always happy and pulling for whoever was out there balling. That's not always the case in our league. It's that spirit … it's why he's going to be a great leader.' On the night of his birthday, which resulted in the Blazers' fourth straight win during a stretch when they would win 10 of 11, Henderson was the last player to leave the Moda Center. He stopped by the family room and mingled with Billups' family and other staffers, then walked down the hallway to the parking garage, alone. Advertisement There was less than an hour left in his first day as a 21-year-old, and he headed back to his 22nd-floor apartment, where he could overlook the city. Day by day, game by game, his outlook is getting better. Calmer. 'I get grounded, and feel my feet all the way up to the top of my head,' Henderson said. Of late, Portland has been dusted with snow and frigid temperatures — way too cold for his Marietta, Ga., blood — so the balcony sessions have been limited. But the winter chill won't stop his dreams or his drive. 'I owe this city,' Henderson said. 'They show so much love. So I owe it to them to try my hardest to be great. I know it has been tough for them, especially last year when we were losing games. But they don't understand what is going on in the back. We are working. I am working. And I want to be one of the most entertaining players to watch, and our group to be one of the most entertaining to watch. Portland seems like a great city to do it in.' (Top photo of Scoot Henderson: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
Associated Press
07-02-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Young Trail Blazers ride a wave of 6 straight wins and defying expectations
The sullen faces that were so common after losses earlier this season have given way to chest-bumps and high fives as the Portland Trail Blazers ride a sustained — and somewhat surprising — winning streak. The Blazers have won six straight and 10 of their last 11 games, prompting perhaps too-soon speculation about a playoff berth. While postseason dreams may be premature, Portland certainly is having fun. The young team that went into the season looking at another rebuilding year is now 23-29, exceeding its win total from last season (21). While still sitting at 13th in the Western Conference, they are edging closer to those play-in spots with 30 games remaining. 'I think it's fun, not only with the wins and losses, but the way we're playing,' guard Scoot Henderson said. 'That's really fun, the way we're playing together and sticking together.' Portland is four games back of the eighth-place Dallas Mavericks in a cluster of teams — the Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs — all jostling for the advantage. The Blazers' latest win came on Thursday night at home against Sacramento. Anfernee Simons had 30 points, including eight 3-pointers, and Portland hung together in the final quarter for a 108-102 victory. Turning up the pressure and maintaining focus in the waning minutes is new for Portland — as is the growth of the team's defense, which has ranked atop the league over the last 11 games. 'We know that that's the way that we're going to be able to compete with all of these teams,' coach Chauncey Billups said. 'We got to be flying around.' The last time the Blazers won as many games in a stretch was in the 2017-18 season, when they won 13 straight. Ahead of the 2023-24 season, star Damian Lillard was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks and the Blazers went all-in on a rebuilding project, committed to developing young players, including Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe. Ahead of this season, they made a couple of key additions in Deni Avdija and draft pick Donovan Clingan, joining existing veterans Jerami Grant and DeAndre Ayton. Billups, in his third season with the team, has been tasked with developing the youngsters — and getting them to play together. 'We've got so many guys contributing and playing well, no longer do guys think about who is getting it done, it's `Let's make sure it gets done.' Nobody's really caring about who's scoring the most, who's closing the game, who's starting. Nobody's worried about that. Whatever we say we're trying to do, let's just try our best to do it.' The turning point was a meeting in late December. 'Coach asked us, one by one, if each of us is able to be held accountable. And we all said yes, and from then on, it's been like that, we've been playing together, playing well, and sharing the ball,' Henderson said. There's still a good chunk of the season left, and Portland's current surge in all probability won't continue. But that hasn't dampened guarded hopes that the Blazers could end a three-season playoff drought. Last year, Portland lost 15 of their last 17 games and turned toward the NBA draft lottery. General manager Joe Cronin didn't make any moves at the trade deadline Thursday, but he said the winning streak had nothing to do with it. He said no potential trades made sense in the big picture. Cronin was also asked if it would be fair to the team to set a goal of making the playoffs. 'I think it'd be unfair to take it away from them,' he said. 'I'm so proud and so excited about these guys that the sky's the limit, like `Go guys, go win. Let's see what you can do.' And I'm here to support it.' ___
