Trail Blazers' 3 Biggest disappointments, 3 Most pleasant surprises of 2023-24 season

It was a down season, but Portland had a few ups, too.
Shaedon Sharpe, Portland Trail Blazers
Shaedon Sharpe, Portland Trail Blazers / Alika Jenner/GettyImages
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(Most of) Scoot Henderson's rookie season

Yes, Henderson gradually improved. Yes, he finished the season strong. But as a whole, Scoot's rookie campaign didn't go as planned.

He was a wildly inefficient shooter, as evidenced by his 38.5 percent shooting from the field. Even more concerning is his two-point field-goal percentage: He finished fifth-worst in the entire NBA of any player who logged at least 1,000 minutes. That's extra worrisome given his ability to use his strength and explosiveness to get to the rim. If he gets there but can't finish, then what's the point?

Even his late-season surge mentioned above came with its drawbacks. In those final 15 games, he averaged nearly 5 turnovers and had a plus/minus of -12.9.

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Entering the NBA at the most difficult position in basketball at just 19 years old was always going to lead to some struggles, and Henderson got better as the season went on. But in general, it was a disappointing season for who Portland hopes will be its franchise point guard.