Shaedon Sharpe has been playing substantially better as of late, providing reason for optimism despite the Portland Trail Blazers' 10-16 start to the season. That's crucial to Portland's entire rebuilding trajectory, as the former No. 7 overall pick could offer the most realistic pathway to a superstar among those currently on the roster.
Despite his recent play, Sharpe still has a long way to go before reaching that star ceiling. An improved three-point shot is the catalyst behind Sharpe's recent leap, but that's also bound to regress from the 48.4% he's been shooting in December. He must address other areas of his game to compensate for this inevitable regression, the easiest of which is his questionable shot selection.
Shaedon Sharpe's path to stardom lies in an improved shot selection
That's a glaring but fixable weakness in Sharpe's game that Zach Lowe and Michael Pina recently discussed on The Zach Lowe Show.
"I've been pretty down on him this year. I thought he's been pretty disappointing, given just his shot selection," Pina said. "But to be fair to him, I don't think that he's well-suited to be in an offense that does not have a point guard and someone to settle things down and organize sets... the outlines of a superstar are still there when you look at him play just given his athleticism and how dynamic he is, but i just wish the decision making was a little better. And that could come along, he's still very young."
"I agree with you on Shaedon Sharpe," Lowe added. "You just need to bag the off-the-dribble 18-footer with 15 or more on the shot clock. It doesn't go in enough, it comes at the expense of better stuff, and there are too many of them. There's like four or five of them per game, and it should be pretty close to zero."
Sharpe's questionable decision-making often bails out the defense. Just think about it from their perspective. He's an absolute matchup nightmare for opposing teams, given his positional size, top-tier athleticism, ball handling, and finishing ability. But when he's taking these ill-advised jumpers, he completely gives in to what the defense wants to have happen. The analytics show that these contested midrange jumpers are the worst shot in basketball.
Of course, there are times when Sharpe makes them, and it's impressive that he's even able to get that shot off with his underrated ability to create separation. But as Lowe notes, that should be used as a last resort when the shot clock is expiring, not as the primary option early on in a possession. Lowe offers an obvious alternative to play to Sharpe's strengths: driving to the basket more frequently.
"Instead of the 18-footer, he is so crafty off the dribble, and he's not a super physical player, but he's pretty big, and he can get where he wants to go. He can get to the basket more than he thinks he can."
Lowe buys into Sharpe's ceiling, but believes the pathway to becoming an All-Star is by playing to his strengths as a downhill force. He also thinks that's something the Blazers' coaching staff should be emphasizing.
"If I'm Tiago Splitter, I'm sitting him down, and I'm watching film of all of these plays and being like, 'You can play like an All-Star if your decision-making is like this.'"
At 22, Sharpe still has plenty of time to refine this aspect of his game, but it's essential that he eventually figures it out. This season, he's had the highest usage rate on Portland's entire roster, emerging as a key offensive initiator alongside Deni Avdija. With that increased offensive responsibility, the success of Portland's entire offense will be primarily tied to Sharpe and his decision-making.
The three-point improvement is a promising development, but it's the shot selection that will ultimately determine whether the Blazers have a genuine star at the shooting guard position. Shooting addresses a weakness, while shot selection unlocks the strengths that separate Sharpe from the rest of the league.