It used to be this type of forgone conclusion that the Portland Trail Blazers would defeat Maccabi Ra’anana Thursday evening in a preseason sport at the Moda Center, they rested their six perfect avid gamers.
That left the maximum intriguing storyline all the way through the 138-85 victory to revolve round rookie Shaedon Sharpe.
The No. 7 select in the 2022 NBA Draft struggled all the way through his first two preseason outings. But on Thursday, he displayed the talents that Portland GM Joe Cronin and trainer Chauncey Billups fell in love with.
“I thought it was excellent,” Billups mentioned of Sharpe’s efficiency. “He took his time. He wasn’t rushed.”
Granted, the festival paled when compared to NBA groups, however Sharpe took complete good thing about the state of affairs. He entered the sport with 3:56 ultimate in the first quarter and proceeded to ranking 17 issues in his first 10 mins. By evening’s finish, Sharpe had completed with 27 issues on 10-of-13 capturing and left happy together with his efficiency.
“It did feel pretty good knowing that I hadn’t played a lot during the year,” mentioned Sharpe, who redshirted remaining season at Kentucky and performed most effective 5 mins all the way through summer time league as a result of a shoulder damage.
Sharpe, who scored simply seven issues on 2-of-11 capturing in the first two video games, understandably gave the impression to be way more relaxed in a matchup towards a qualified staff from Israel. So, possibly that contributed to his capturing accuracy. But what’s simple is Sharpe’s explosiveness.
That trait shined on two spectacular alley-oop dunks facilitated via Nassir Little and Keon Johnson.
Sharpe may nonetheless to find it tricky to crack the common lineup this season, given the intensity at capturing guard and small ahead. But, no less than for one evening, Sharpe gave Rip City a style of his attainable.
KEON JOHNSON
The Blazers on Thursday picked up the third-year choice (price $2.8 million) on Johnson’s contract. So some distance this preseason, the 2021 first-round select to the LA Clippers seems to have labored his means into Portland’s rotation.
Maccabi Ra’anana guard Rom Geffen, proper, and Portland Trail Blazers guard Keon Johnson succeed in for the ball all the way through the first part of an NBA preseason basketball sport in Portland, Ore., Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer) APAP
Johnson answered with an excellent efficiency, recording 18 issues and 11 assists. He made 7 of 13 pictures, together with 4 of five three-pointers.
“Keon has been so good,” Billups mentioned. “He’s taken his game and has been very intentional about all of the work that he’s put in this summer. Since camp has started, Keon has been a bright spot for us.”
TRENDON WATFORD RETURNS
Trendon Watford noticed his first motion of the preseason after lacking the first two video games with a hip flexor damage. Watford began, performed 20 mins, and recorded 10 issues, 3 assists and two rebounds, whilst making all 4 of his pictures from the box.
NIGHT OFF
Damian Lillard, Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant, Jusuf Nurkic, Josh Hart and Justise Winslow all rested Thursday evening. The Blazers began Brandon Williams, Johnson, Little, Watford and Drew Eubanks.
Billups mentioned a sport like Thursday’s has its advantages for the more youthful avid gamers whilst offering some leisure for the starters.
“It’s cool to have a game where you can just play all the young guys and let them do their thing and just kind of watching them and see if there’s carryover from the things we’ve been talking about,” Billups mentioned.
JEFFERSON HIGH’S TERRENCE JONES
Former Jefferson High School megastar Terrence Jones, who performed seven seasons in the NBA, performed 17 mins for Maccabi Ra’anana, completing with 4 issues and 9 rebounds.
NEXT UP
The Blazers play at 6 p.m. Sunday at Sacramento prior to concluding their preseason with a 7 p.m. matchup at the Golden State on Oct. 11. The sport towards the Kings might not be televised in the community. The Warriors sport, on the other hand, will air on Root Sports.
— Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook).
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