Shaedon Sharpe largely fell out of Tiago Splitter's rotation in the playoffs, as the high-flyer averaged just 13.4 minutes per game in the Portland Trail Blazers ' first-round loss to the San Antonio Spurs. In his exit interview, Sharpe revealed he was fully healthy, adding that Splitter gave him the reason for the benching but declined to share exactly what it was.
If that decision wasn't related to Sharpe's calf injury, one would assume it was due to his lackluster defense. After all, that's the same reason that Chauncey Billups more explicitly stated led to Sharpe's benching last season.
Shaedon Sharpe's defense remains a problem in Portland
Billups' controversial decision seemed to pay off. The starting lineup switch coincided with Portland's end-of-season push to put itself firmly in the play-in conversation. Unsurprisingly, they ranked among the top ten defenses after the New Year last season. Sharpe responded relatively well to the benching, showing signs of becoming a more complete two-way player and ultimately winning his job back over Kris Murray.
But from the outside looking in, that motivation didn't seem sustainable. The only person standing in the way of Sharpe is himself. That's an issue that Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report recently discussed on the HoopsHype show "Around the Beat."
"He's the most talented player on the entire roster. The athleticism, the dunks, the highlights, he's gotten more efficient as a shooter year over year. He has the physical tools to be a really elite defender. But the issue has been a general effort and focus," Highkin said.
He also went on to say that, if Sharpe had Scoot Henderson's "attitude, mentality, and work ethic in his body, he would be Anthony Edwards."
Portland could really use an Anthony Edwards-level star to elevate its rebuilding ceiling, and Sharpe does still represent the best bet to reach that level out of everyone currently on their roster. But it's a tricky situation for the Blazers to navigate.
Blazers are running out of time for Sharpe to figure it out
On one hand, they should be giving Sharpe as much playoff experience as possible. The whole point of this transitional season was for their young core to gain that experience and become more battle-tested, preparing themselves to be better-positioned to make a deep playoff run when that time comes. Playing the highest upside player on the roster just 13.4 minutes per game largely defeats the purpose of the season.
On the other hand, Tiago Splitter is coaching for his job. Portland was literally exploring potential replacements while Splitter had this team back in the playoffs.
Sharpe may put up impressive numbers as a 20-point scorer, but he doesn't quite impact winning the way Portland would've hoped. Benching him was the right decision to give themselves the best opportunity to win.
Portland doubled down on its defensive identity in its roster construction, but has yet to become a truly elite defense. The individual weapons haven't translated to successful team defense, at least not to the extent they had hoped. Sharpe is a major part of that problem, as it's difficult to have a defensive liability out there that teams can frequently exploit with mismatches.
The most puzzling part of Sharpe's defense is that he should be an average-to-above-average defender. He has the physical tools with his top-tier athleticism and positional size. It's simply a matter of wanting to become that two-way player for Portland.
Maybe he's less incentivized after Portland inked him to a four-year, $90 million extension before the season started. Sharpe did voice his frustration at the exit interview, so hopefully this sent a message that he'll respond better next season. But the Blazers are running out of time to find out whether Sharpe will ever become the complete player they hope. If they do go star hunting this summer, it wouldn't be a bad idea to trade the high-upside young asset.
It's not like he's shown enough from an attitude, mentality, and work ethic standpoint to make them feel confident he'll ever reach that ceiling.
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