Scoot Henderson Shakes Off Ankle Injury, Cleared for Tuesday

Portland Trail Blazers point guard Scoot Henderson is officially lacing them up for Tuesday's slate. According to Underdog NBA, the explosive guard has shaken off an ankle issue and is cleared for action.

For a Portland team trying to figure out its long-term identity, getting their backcourt cornerstone on the floor is the only thing that actually matters. You can only watch so many developmental minutes from end-of-bench guys before your eyes glaze over.

Henderson had been dealing with the ankle tweak, which is always a massive red flag for a guy whose entire game is built on zero-to-sixty acceleration. When your primary weapon is attacking the rim like it owes you money, you need your lower body operating at full capacity.

His return immediately shifts the math for Tuesday night. Bettors looking at Portland's game lines or Henderson's individual props now have a green light, though you always have to wonder if a guy coming off an ankle issue is going to see his usual workload or get hit with the dreaded minutes restriction.

Fantasy managers can also breathe a sigh of relief. If you drafted the No. 0 guard hoping for a massive leap, you need him actually logging heavy minutes, not sitting on the injury report in designer street clothes.

Now the question is how he looks out of the gates. If Henderson comes out attacking the paint on Tuesday, we can officially file this ankle scare in the rearview mirror. If he settles for passive jumpers, we might be doing this injury-report dance again later this week.