Portland Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe is probably glad to have a day off today.

With the Blazers missing guards Anfernee Simons, Scoot Henderson, and Malcom Brogdon to various injuries, Sharpe has had to pick up the workload in the backcourt. And pick it up he has – Sharpe leads the NBA in minutes per game, averaging nearly 39 minutes.

Coming off of Portland's weeklong road trip, Blazers coach Chauncey Billups gave Sharpe a bit of a breather in Wednesday's 109-95 home loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers – the second game of a back-to-back. Sharpe played 27 minutes in the contest, and he looked tired. The Blazers guard scored only 11 points and was a team worst -27 in the game.

Sharpe's response

But while Sharpe might need a day off, he didn't seem to have strong feelings on the matter after the game, saying “I mean, for me it's been an experience, just playing the amount of minutes I've been playing.”

When asked if he feels those heavy minutes while he's out on the court, Sharpe elaborated, “Playing 40 minutes in an NBA game you get tired. I feel it does impact the way I play sometimes. For me it's the reason to get my body right off the court so I can play all those minutes.”

But the Blazers guard was blunt when asked whether there is anything different that he does to prepare for the heavy workload that he has had to endure.

“No it's the same.”

Going forward

The Trail Blazers have backcourt reinforcements returning soon. Malcolm Brogdon doesn't have an official timetable to come back, but his strained hamstring seems to be a day-to-day update. Soot Henderson's sprained ankle will keep him out just one to two more weeks. Anfernee Simons has had the cast removed from his hand and he's expected to return from his torn thumb ligament sometime in the middle of next month.

With respect to Skylar Mays and Jamaree Bouyea, the Blazers will be thrilled to get their backcourt talent back, so they don't have to rely on Sharpe as extensively. He has performed admirably – nearly doubling last season's scoring average at 19 points per game – but Billups won't want to wear Sharpe out too early in the season.

Speaking of Billups, he'll have a tricky situation to navigate once Simons and the others return. While there just aren't enough difference-making guards healthy on the team right now, it will be difficult to justify return Sharpe to a bench role. Shaedon started the season as a reserve before joining the starting lineup after Simons' injury in the Blazers season-opener.

Billups could look to start Sharpe at the 3, but the team would face significant defensive challenges. Toumani Camara and Matisse Thybulle have been the starters there and both specialize in defense – a necessity with the Blazers young backcourt still learning to play NBA-level defense consistently.

Despite some fans clamoring for it over the last two seasons, Simons will not likely be moved to a 6th-man role. With respect to Sharpe, he's the most offensively effective of the Blazers' guards, and wasn't given a 4 year/$100 million deal to be a reserve. It's possible that we see Simons start at point guard while Sharpe plays the 2, but Billups needs to be careful to ensure Henderson gets his developmental minutes as well.

One thing we do know, Sharpe is going to continue to play heavy minutes until reinforcements arrive.