Proclamations of being a bust have already started surfacing for Scoot Henderson. The Portland Trail Blazers rookie missed a significant amount of games due to injuries. A new look was awaiting him during his return. He became an elite facilitator and is currently poised to fulfill some expectations. Now, a challenge lies ahead of him when they face the Luka Doncic-led Dallas Mavericks. Before any action went down on the court, Mavs head coach Jason Kidd had to compare himself to the young gun, via Grant Afseth of DallasBasketball.com.
“He has a high basketball IQ. He's one to set the table. … He can score a little bit better than I could and is more athletic. … He puts a lot of pressure on the defense,” were the points of comparison that Jason Kidd had between him and the Blazers rookie.
Prior to coaching, the Mavs coach was exceptionally good at controlling a team's tempo. He was often seen as the one to initiate plays and salvage broken ones when time winds down. Scoot Henderson is starting to do the same at a slow but steady pace. His dime-dropping chops have been on display recently.
Prior to facing off against the Mavs, the Blazers got mopped by the Phoenix Suns. However, this does not take away Henderson's elite passing that was on show. He notched a game-leading six assists in this loss which was a good silver lining. There are still a lot of steps to take if he wants to surpass Kidd or even Luka Doncic but he is getting nearer as time passes.