“That was a weird couple of days,” Portland Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson told reporters after Tuesday’s practice in Tualatin. “I was like ‘damn.’ It’s not like I could get mad. It was just a series of events. Life be lifein’.”
The second-year guard was referring to a strange two-day stretch last month. On Nov. 20, Henderson sustained a left quad contusion that forced him to exit early in the Blazers’ 109-99 road loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Then on Nov. 21, as the team was in Houston to face the Rockets, Henderson suffered a back strain while riding in an Uber that was involved in a minor car accident.
Henderson recounted the accident Tuesday, telling reporters he was on the way to the mall to meet up with teammates when the crash happened.
“The person behind us hit us, and my back and hip kinda flared up,” Henderson said. “ ... It wasn’t a crazy car accident. It was pretty weird because I hadn’t been in that situation, especially in an Uber.”
I asked Henderson if the Uber driver realized he had an NBA player in his backseat at the time of the accident. Henderson didn’t think so. He said he was wearing his “regular drip” of a sweatpants and hoodie. Plus, he doesn’t use his real name when ordering Ubers — a necessary tactic for camouflage in the NBA lifestyle.
“He was more worried about the accident,” Henderson said. “ ... So I don’t think he realized [who I was].”
The quad contusion and the back strain combined to initially keep Henderson out for three games. He returned for Portland’s 121-114 road loss on Nov. 27 and played one of his best games, producing 17 point and nine assists on good efficiency. Then he immediately went back to the injury report because the quad contusion continued to bother him.
After missing an additional four games, Henderson returned Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers, finally seeming to break free from those bizarre two days in November.
“First game back, it felt good. Got some good bump,” he said. “Just trying to get back in my groove.”
Navigating Highs and Lows
The 82-game NBA regular season is a long rollercoaster ride of ups and downs. It’s a function of the NBA slate that this rookie beat reporter is getting a first-hand look at this season, emphasized by how the 8-16 Blazers seem to have more varied extremes than most teams.
It feels like just yesterday the reporting scrum was asking Billups about a surprise three-game winning streak and great vibes on Nov. 18. Just over three weeks later, following some injuries and bad losses, Billups fielded questions Tuesday as the Blazers try to bounce back from a four-game losing streak.
I asked Billups how he and the team are attempting to navigate these ups and downs and stay grounded through it all.
“We live in reality but also a positive world here,” Billups said. “I’m always trying to be positive with our guys while also being honest with them. The season is very, very long. It really is. There are a lot of ups and downs and ebbs and flows that go into a season. You can’t get too low, you can’t get too high. You just gotta kinda stay in the middle and keep preaching and teaching. That’s the best way that I do it.”
I extended the same question to Henderson:
“I think right now, we’re just focusing on staying together,” Henderson said. “There’s been times in the game where we kinda drift away from each other, and those moments are where we come back in the locker room, like, ‘All right, let’s talk it out and lets bring that togetherness back like we had in the preseason and the first couple games.’ ... We’re noticing sometimes we might drift away when things start to get hard. But Chauncey and the rest of the team, we’re all trying to make it a big thing for us to just stay together when things come to try and tear us down.”
Clingan Update
The big news on Tuesday was rookie center Donovan Clingan’s injury update. The Blazers announced Clingan was cleared for on-court activity as he continues to recover from a grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee.
Billups, Henderson and Clingan discussed the update with media. You can find our coverage of that story here.
The Blazers still have two more days of rest before they play the San Antonio Spurs at the Moda Center on Friday.