Scoot Henderson

[JMAC3]

Not bad...

Watching most of his games, he has to dramatically improve his decision making. FAR too many "WTF" type plays.

Yeah, he was still at over 3 turnovers per game in that stretch. During the middle portion of the season when Portland had some of their other main ball handlers still playing he was starting to cut back on the turnovers, but later in the season when they were rolling with Delano Banton as the 2nd ball handler and Scoots responsibility drastically increased his turnovers trended back in the wrong direction.

What's funny is that the lap takers kept harping on Scoot's "lack of athleticism" which was never really the main issue. Or even his shooting which might end up being good enough. He needs to improve his decision-making. A lot of his plays just look like he isn't aware he's playing against NBA competition. I think he'll figure that out eventually though.

If you want to blame 100% of his inability to finish on "lack of touch" like he has never shot a layup before in his life then yeah... but it is pretty rare for guys with so called elite athleticism to struggle so much at the rim and he was down right awful there.

[EvanZ]

Yeah, he was still at over 3 turnovers per game in that stretch. During the middle portion of the season when Portland had some of their other main ball handlers still playing he was starting to cut back on the turnovers, but later in the season when they were rolling with Delano Banton as the 2nd ball handler and Scoots responsibility drastically increased his turnovers trended back in the wrong direction.

What's funny is that the lap takers kept harping on Scoot's "lack of athleticism" which was never really the main issue. Or even his shooting which might end up being good enough. He needs to improve his decision-making. A lot of his plays just look like he isn't aware he's playing against NBA competition. I think he'll figure that out eventually though.

If you want to blame 100% of his inability to finish on "lack of touch" like he has never shot a layup before in his life then yeah... but it is pretty rare for guys with so called elite athleticism to struggle so much at the rim and he was down right awful there.

JMAC still can't believe what he actually sees apparently.

[JMAC3]

What's funny is that the lap takers kept harping on Scoot's "lack of athleticism" which was never really the main issue. Or even his shooting which might end up being good enough. He needs to improve his decision-making. A lot of his plays just look like he isn't aware he's playing against NBA competition. I think he'll figure that out eventually though.

If you want to blame 100% of his inability to finish on "lack of touch" like he has never shot a layup before in his life then yeah... but it is pretty rare for guys with so called elite athleticism to struggle so much at the rim and he was down right awful there.

JMAC still can't believe what he actually sees apparently.

I am asking you, you 100% blame his poor finishing on lack of touch then? nothing to do with him not being as athletic as he sold as?
Interesting.

[JMAC3]

Finishing Numbers
0-3 feet
50.3%
Ranked 235th out of 240 players according to basketball ref

0-5 feet
45.1%
Ranked 383rd among 389 players according to Dunks and 3s EPM metrics

[Big J]

Not even 1st or 2nd team All Rookie... but I thought he was a can't miss prospect.

[JRoy]

Scoot is just awful.

He has a lot of work to do to be merely bad.

[Notanoob]

Yeah, he was still at over 3 turnovers per game in that stretch. During the middle portion of the season when Portland had some of their other main ball handlers still playing he was starting to cut back on the turnovers, but later in the season when they were rolling with Delano Banton as the 2nd ball handler and Scoots responsibility drastically increased his turnovers trended back in the wrong direction.

What's funny is that the lap takers kept harping on Scoot's "lack of athleticism" which was never really the main issue. Or even his shooting which might end up being good enough. He needs to improve his decision-making. A lot of his plays just look like he isn't aware he's playing against NBA competition. I think he'll figure that out eventually though.

If you want to blame 100% of his inability to finish on "lack of touch" like he has never shot a layup before in his life then yeah... but it is pretty rare for guys with so called elite athleticism to struggle so much at the rim and he was down right awful there.

I think he is a bit less athletic than he was sold, but there are definitely cases of good athletes with poor touch. I remember people ignored Stanley Johnson's terrible finishing because he was so strong and explosive, and it turned out he just had bad touch.

Touch is a separate quality from athleticism, and there are examples of guys who aren't exceptional athletes who have good touch and visa versa.

[Big J]

You guys think he’ll get a second contract?

[God Squad]

He's still not good, but I'll give him more time.

[JMAC3]

Finishing Numbers
0-3 feet
50.3%
Ranked 235th out of 240 players according to basketball ref

0-5 feet
45.1%
Ranked 383rd among 389 players according to Dunks and 3s EPM metrics

Basically, the same player as last year, statistically he is almost identical across the board through 9 games.

Shooting 50% inside of 3 feet again, so doesn't look like his finishing has improved at all.

[babyjax13]

Yah, at this point it is clear Miller is the better pro and the concerns people had about Scoot were accurate. I still have hope that he'll improve and be a good player, often guard prospects make big leaps in their third year, and it does seem there are some marginal improvements this year. Maybe earning playing time will help, too. I am surprised his three point shooting isn't better considering that his FT% is good and the form doesn't look broken.

[SeattleJazzFan]

i'd brag about being right about scoot, but predicting that a short guard who can shoot will struggle in the league is like 2rd grade level draft prospect evaluation. it isn't rocket science. this a hard league for short guards - if they can't shoot it's damn near impossible.

it's one thing to take a flyer on a guy like that later in the draft, but 2nd or 3rd overall? eek. he could be great, but it's just not a great bet.

also, he's still young. maybe he figures it out. i hope he does.

[azcatz11]

i'd brag about being right about scoot, but predicting that a short guard who can shoot will struggle in the league is like 2rd grade level draft prospect evaluation. it isn't rocket science. this a hard league for short guards - if they can't shoot it's damn near impossible.

it's one thing to take a flyer on a guy like that later in the draft, but 2nd or 3rd overall? eek. he could be great, but it's just not a great bet.

also, he's still young. maybe he figures it out. i hope he does.

Why was he taken so high if the man can't shoot?

[Big J]

i'd brag about being right about scoot, but predicting that a short guard who can shoot will struggle in the league is like 2rd grade level draft prospect evaluation. it isn't rocket science. this a hard league for short guards - if they can't shoot it's damn near impossible.

it's one thing to take a flyer on a guy like that later in the draft, but 2nd or 3rd overall? eek. he could be great, but it's just not a great bet.

also, he's still young. maybe he figures it out. i hope he does.

Why was he taken so high if the man can't shoot?

He had a cool name.

[SeattleJazzFan]

i'd brag about being right about scoot, but predicting that a short guard who can shoot will struggle in the league is like 2rd grade level draft prospect evaluation. it isn't rocket science. this a hard league for short guards - if they can't shoot it's damn near impossible.

it's one thing to take a flyer on a guy like that later in the draft, but 2nd or 3rd overall? eek. he could be great, but it's just not a great bet.

also, he's still young. maybe he figures it out. i hope he does.

Why was he taken so high if the man can't shoot?

my theory is that he was hyped as a 17 year old who played pretty well for his age that first year in the g league, people decided at that point that he was a top pick and he rode that hype/momentum the rest of the way - guys ignored what was actually happening on the court.

and it was never "if" the man can't shoot. he can't shoot - period.

[KembaWalker]

its really mindblowing that guys like Bill Simmons said Scoot was better than LaMelo with such authority. makes you realize that most guys you talk to about basketball are generally clueless, even when its their job and passion.

Scoot was simply a case of great branding and a nice game at the right time against Wemby

[Special_Puppy]

its really mindblowing that guys like Bill Simmons said Scoot was better than LaMelo with such authority. makes you realize that most guys you talk to about basketball are generally clueless, even when its their job and passion.

Scoot was simply a case of great branding and a nice game at the right time against Wemby

I think people were just betting on potential with Scoot. In fairness he's so young that he might get there eventually

[EvanZ]

You don't have to be a good shooter if you can get to the rim and he can. Shai isn't a good shooter but he makes up for it by getting to the rim and finishing. Scoot's biggest issue is he finishes around the basket maybe worse than Andrew Wiggins. I thought he'd get better at that, but maybe it just is what it is. Some guys just have bad touch. The weird thing is he's eerily consistent shooting 82% from the free throw lines both seasons.

[The-Power]

You don't have to be a good shooter if you can get to the rim and he can. Shai isn't a good shooter but he makes up for it by getting to the rim and finishing.

Also by being able to draw fouls at an elite rate and being an elite midrange scorer.

[JMAC3]

I will circle back to one of the main issues I had him since the very beginning. He was oversold as an athlete; through 73 career games he has 15 dunks. 36 yr old Russell Westbrook has 40 dunks over his last 78 games.

People scoffed at you if you compared him to Dennis Smith Jr.

Meanwhile the real elite athlete in the draft class Amen Thompson has 100 dunks through 73 games played.