Scoot Henderson Expected to Miss 2-3 Weeks With Ankle Injury
The Trail Blazers will be without the No. 3 overall pick at least until Thanksgiving.
The injuries continue to pile up for the Trail Blazers. On the heels of losing Robert Williams III to season-ending knee surgery, the team announced that No. 3 overall pick Scoot Henderson will be sidelined for two to three as he continues to recover from the left ankle sprain and bone bruise he suffered in Detroit on Nov. 1.
In addition to taking away valuable development time from Henderson, this news comes at a particularly bad time for a Blazers team that’s suddenly very thin in the backcourt. They’re already without Anfernee Simons, who had surgery to repair the thumb ligament he tore during the season-opening loss to the Clippers and is expected to be out until mid-December. And Malcolm Brogdon exited Wednesday’s overtime loss in Sacramento with a left hamstring strain.
Brgodon’s status for Sunday’s game against the Lakers is yet to be determined. If he can’t go, Portland could be down to two healthy guards: Shaedon Sharpe and Skylar Mays. Mays was converted on Saturday from a two-way to a standard NBA contract. The team is also signing second-year guard Jamaree Bouyea, who played in five games last season with the Heat and Wizards, to fill the two-way spot that was opened up by converting Mays. It is yet to be determined whether Bouyea will be with the team in time to be available to play on Sunday.
The two-week timeline for Henderson’s return means he’ll miss the Blazers’ next seven games: two each against the Lakers and Jazz as well as matchups with the Cavs, Thunder and Suns. If he’s cleared to return after that, he could play on the team’s four-game post-Thanksgiving road trip, which includes stops in Milwaukee, Indiana, Cleveland and Utah.
The ankle injury is another setback in what has thus far been a tough start to Henderson’s NBA career. In five games at the start of the season, he was shooting 34.6 percent from the field and had more turnovers (20) than made baskets (18). At times, the court vision and finishing ability that made him such a highly coveted prospect have been on display, but that’s been offset by ill-advised off-the-dribble threes and turnovers that he’ll learn how to avoid as he gets more experience.
In the early going of the season, Henderson’s teammates and Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups have stressed patience as the 19-year-old adjusts to the NBA. He was beginning to look more comfortable in the wins over Toronto and Detroit, which were his two best games, but that progress has been halted by this injury, and it’s going to be at least another two weeks before he’s back on the floor.