It was one of those surreal moments for the Portland Trail Blazers rookie when he made his NBA debut against the Los Angeles Clippers. He was going against the likes of Kwahi Leonard, Paul George, and Russel Westbrook. And he could not help contain his grin, which revealed his fanboy moment. What would you do if you had to go against your role model?

Scoot Henderson was in a daze when he faced his idol, Russel Westbrook, in the season opener. Though his Blazers lost the game, he would cherish his debut day forever.

Rise like Russel

Not long ago, many in the media were talking about Russel Westbrook finding no-takers in the league. He had a disastrous stint with the Lakers and faced flak for his shortcomings, and also for his team’s failure. With that in hindsight, Westbrook still finds himself in Los Angeles, but not with the Lakers. He is with the Clippers team and has begun his new season with a banger. There was a witness to it; that was Scoot Henderson, who is touted to be the next Russell Westbrook of the league.

In a photo shared on X by NBA on ESPN, Henderson looks on in awe as Westbrook dunks the ball powerfully into the basket. Henderson’s expressions say it all – that even though he is on the opposing team, it is a sight for him, perhaps a fanboy moment, to see Westbrook in all his glory.

Russel Westbrook had a double-double with 11 points, 13 assists and 5 rebounds. If he could carry the Clippers with such performances, Kwahi Leonard and Paul George could be more conservative with their minutes. And the Clippers’ postseasons, which have been plagued by injuries to their superstars, can even see a turnaround.

For the Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers have a decent team, but not a contender. It will be too early to say that they are in tanking mode. If today’s game is the forbearer of the coming days, Portland has very little upside potential for scoring from their best 5. This is the rookie season for Scoot, so he would need time to develop. However, the rest of the starters should not be given an easy pass for their lack of effort. DeAndre Ayton scored 4 points with 12 rebounds, while Jerami Grant scored 13 points with 3 rebounds. If these two veterans of this team continue to give such shallow performances, automatically the Blazers will be tanking. And will set a terrible precedent for Scoot Henderson.

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There are a few things that Scoot should be vary of. First, he should not take on the bad qualities of his teammates. Second, he should only take the best attributes of his idols, like Russell Westbrook. Though Westbrook is an MVP and is a triple-double machine, he has not won it in the bigger stages of the sport because of his do-it-all style. Thus Scoot has to be very careful. However, by the look of things, he would have to play like Russel to have an impact on this Blazers’ season.

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