Shaedon Sharpe's offensive game has taken a step up this month, and Portland Trail Blazers fans have taken notice. In six games since the start of December, Sharpe is shooting 48.4% from distance, while averaging 24.0 points per game. If he continues to shoot with anything resembling this level of precision from three-point range, he's going to quickly become a scorer without many flaws to his game.
The Trail Blazers have been trying to build around a balanced, unselfish offensive system. When Sharpe struggled from three earlier in the season, that system felt incomplete because teams could hedge off him, clog the paint, and dare other Blazers to make a play. But once his shot starts falling consistently, it breaks that model in the best possible way. Opponents have to respect him, and guards like Scoot Henderson suddenly find their own scoring lanes with far less resistance.
Portland’s recent offensive efficiency bump has shown this. In December games where Sharpe has shot the ball well, the Blazers have looked much more fluid in late shot clock situations and in transition. That’s not just a coincidence. When a team’s primary offensive weapon is a threat from distance, it allows secondary creators to operate with confidence, and forces defenses to make difficult choices.
Shaedon Sharpe continues to level up
Sharpe’s improved shot mechanics and confidence have been topics of discussion from analysts and Blazers fans alike. What was once seen as a promising but incomplete offensive game is rapidly shaping into a reliable scoring profile. He still drives hard and finishes aggressively, but adding this level of shooting changes the way defenses can guard him. Sharpe becomes a transition spacing force and someone defenses must respect without hesitation.
The Blazers' front office knew they were sitting on a dynamic scorer long ago, they were just staying patient and waiting for the pieces to fall into place. Now, that patience may be paying off in the form of a true star building out a complete offensive attack. Portland’s early success this season and their ability to compete with top Eastern and Western Conference teams have been tied directly to this development.
If Sharpe continues this three-point efficiency trend, it won’t just elevate his personal stock. Rather, it will elevate the entire organization’s direction. You build championship teams around players who force defenses to make impossible choices, and Shaedon is starting to put himself in that category. The Blazers may not be a finished product yet, but Sharpe is helping them become a lot more dangerous than most people expected.