The Portland Trail Blazers kicked off preseason play with a road game against the Golden State Warriors, and rising star Shaedon Sharpe wasted no time making his impact felt. After just one half, Sharpe is already making a strong case to start over Blazers veteran Jerami Grant.
The Blazers, a defensive-minded team, had 73 (!) points at the end of the first half. That was largely due to the play of Sharpe, who finished the half with 20 points, three rebounds, and two assists on 8-of-13 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc.
Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups has said that he's going to experiment with different starting units for each of their preseason games. That decision aligns with what he expressed at media day, when he emphasized that it's ultimately going to be up to the players to determine who Portland's starting five is to open the season. Deni Avdija was the odd man out of this contest, leaving Portland with a unit consisting of Sharpe, Toumani Camara, Jerami Grant, Donovan Clingan, and Jrue Holiday.
Shaedon Sharpe is making his case to start over Jerami Grant
When fully healthy, the Blazers realistically have seven players who could make a strong case to start. Unfortunately, the hamstring injury suffered by point guard Scoot Henderson has narrowed Billups' options. Given the lack of backcourt depth, one would assume Holiday is all but confirmed to be the starting point guard with Henderson out for four to eight weeks. Deandre Ayton's departure also makes Donovan Clingan entrenched as Portland's starting center. Factoring in the two building blocks they have on the wings, Camara and Avdija, that likely means the final spot will come down to Sharpe or Grant.
Billups picked Grant over Sharpe last season, citing Sharpe's lack of defense as a key reason behind that decision. But this is a brand new season. Grant is coming off a down year with inefficient shooting and one-dimensional play, and didn't do much in terms of helping his case to keep the starting spot. While Sharpe immediately stood out with a 20-point half, Grant finished the first half with just eight points on 2-of-9 shooting from the field and 1-of-5 shooting from deep.
Sharpe recently received praise due to his play at training camp. He had a promising finish to the 2024-25 season, and that momentum seems to be carrying over into the preseason. If he keeps this up, Billups will have no choice but to start Sharpe over Grant, which is something the vast majority of Blazers fans have been dying to see.