NBA Rookies: Scoot Henderson Using Strengths Despite Efficiency Issues

Scoot Henderson's first year in the NBA hasn't been most ideal for the 6-foot-3 guard, having to rough out many edges and still trying to become a fairly consistent scorer.

At 12.8 points per contest on the season, Henderson sits at No. 5 among all rookies in scoring, but is shooting just 37.3% from the field and 31.5% from three in 41 games this year.

His overall efficiency isn't much to look at necessarily, but it's been his lack of ability to string together several respectable stat lines night after night. He's certainly improved throughout his first four months as a professional, but multiple four-point outings on rough shooting in the month of January is not going to do the Trail Blazers any sorts of favors – especially on a team that is of the worst offenses in the association.

Though, even through those jaggy, character-building performances, Henderson's still been able to find some avenues to get his productivity rolling, not staying stagnant is just a downhill attacker and scorer.

All season, he's been able to occasionally have double-digit assist performances to get his teammates involved as a conscious playmaker. But more likely than not, he'll struggle with turnover woes in addition to that.

At 3.0 turnovers per game in his rookie season, Henderson is behind only Victor Wembanyama – who holds the highest usage percentage among all rookies – in total turnovers on the year, coughing the ball up 122 times this season compared to Wembanyama's 150.

It hasn't been the prettiest rookie campaign, but Henderson's still finding ways to score the ball while getting his teammates involved if he can't find the bottom of the net.

To kick off February, he dropped 30 points versus the Denver Nuggets, nearly breaking his career-high of 33. Henderson shot a relatively efficient 53.3% on 15 shots for those 30 points, shooting 11-for-12 from the free throw line – which he's been adept at thus far, shooting 81% on just over three free throw tries per game this season.

But the next game following the Trail Blazers' loss to the Nuggets, the two teams met yet again, and this time Henderson was bottled up as a scorer. Just 3-of-16 from the field – two of those 3-pointers – saw him shoot 18.8% from the field. 

He wouldn't let that restrict his entire game though, as Henderson's playmaking still generated nine assists with three turnovers alongside eight boards, but Portland would drop its second game in a row, both to Denver.

This season of ebbs and flows shouldn't diminish Henderson's projection to be a highly impactful player in the league – as he already is on some nights – but rather a season to build on and work to perfect his imperfections.

Some rookies have a longer leash, while top-three picks with high expectations can sometimes feel the weight of the pressure.