Blazers Pull the Plug on Scoot Henderson's Starting Stint Just in Time for the Thunder
Chris Haynes reported the lineup change, noting Henderson's move to the bench after a five-game starting streak.
The are pulling the plug on the starting experiment again, which is exactly the kind of news you want to hear right before playing the .
According to Chris Haynes, is moving back to a reserve role after a brief five-game starting stint. In his place, third-year forward gets the nod tonight against .
has already spent roughly a quarter of his young career in street clothes dealing with various minor injuries, and now he is getting demoted to the second unit. This is the kind of roster shuffling that screams a franchise is just throwing things at the wall to see what sticks.
actually makes some sense here if you look at the tape. The 22-year-old recently dropped 19 points in a 124-95 blowout loss to this exact same Thunder squad. If you are looking at player props tonight, Cissoko getting starter minutes against a team he already cooked once is the only interesting angle on the side.
The broader team context is grim. The Blazers are coming off back-to-back double-digit losses to the Los Angeles Lakers and . Meanwhile, the just obliterated the and by a combined 70 points. Putting a struggling former top pick on the bench to start a young wing is certainly a choice when a buzzsaw is rolling into your arena.
We will see if the second unit gives the breathing room he desperately needs to find his rhythm. If pops off again tonight, Scoot might be getting very comfortable in that reserve chair.