Nov 16, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe (17) shoots past Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively II (2) during the second half at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
Nov 16, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe (17) shoots past Dallas Mavericks center Dereck Lively II (2) during the second half at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
The week started with a shock for the Portland Trail Blazers, as Shaedon Sharpe suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee during a recent workout and is expected to miss around six months, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. That timeline would probably keep him out until somewhere around late February, so this isn’t just an early-season absence. The Blazers have to plan on playing most of the year without the guard who was supposed to take another big step in 2026-27.
That hurts even more because Sharpe was coming off the best season of his career, hoping to build a better year away from injuries after only 50 games in 2025-26. He still put up 20.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.4 steals while shooting 45.2% from the field and 33.7% from three, giving the Blazers a young scoring guard poised to take another leap in his game.
Still, if there is one position where this roster can survive an injury, it is probably guard. The Blazers traded for Ja Morant this summer, Damian Lillard is expected back after missing last season with his Achilles injury, Jrue Holiday is still around, and Scoot Henderson is entering a crucial year for his development.
So the problem now isn’t finding someone to replace Sharpe, because the Blazers already have enough guards. The bigger question is how they’ll divide those minutes, and whether this injury could eventually push them to move one of those guards in a trade.
Starting Backcourt
Point Guard: Ja Morant
Shooting Guard: Jrue Holiday
Ja Morant was the Blazers’ biggest swing of the offseason, and there is really no reason to bring him in and then treat him like anything other than the lead guard. His 2025-26 season was rough, as he played only 20 games and finished with 19.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 8.1 assists while shooting 41.0% from the field and 23.5% from three, but everyone already knows what the upside looks like if he gets healthy.
Before injuries and availability completely took over the story, Morant had back-to-back seasons at 27.4 and 26.2 points per game. He is still only 27 years old, so the Blazers clearly aren’t looking at him like some short-term piece. They traded for him because they still believe there is a high-level starting point guard in there.
There’s the obvious big question around this roster that must be answered rather sooner than later: Are the Blazers actually better off by bringing Damian Lillard off the bench? It may be unpopular, but defensively, it’s the right call.
Jrue Holiday finished last season with 16.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 6.1 assists while shooting 45.1% from the field and 37.8% from three, and his value here goes way beyond those numbers. He can defend the tougher guard matchup, play without dominating the ball, and keep the whole lineup from becoming way too offense-heavy.
Morant will have the ball, Deni Avdija is going to create plenty too, and eventually Sharpe will come back looking for his shots. Holiday doesn’t need 18 attempts, which makes him probably the easiest guard on the roster to fit next to basically anybody.
A Morant-Holiday starting backcourt also gives the Blazers a much better defensive balance than Morant-Lillard would. That might not be the flashy choice, but for opening night, it makes the most sense.
Main Bench Rotation
Point Guard: Damian Lillard
Shooting Guard: Scoot Henderson
Seeing Damian Lillard listed as a bench player still looks weird, but he is 36 years old and coming back from a torn Achilles after missing the entire 2025-26 season. The last time he was healthy, he was still putting up 24.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game, so nobody is saying he suddenly can’t play. The Blazers just don’t need to throw him straight into 34 minutes every night before the playoffs.
Using Lillard as a sixth man early in the season could actually make everything easier. He can run the second unit, keep his workload around 25 to 28 minutes, and still close games whenever he looks like the better option. Starting isn’t really the important part here, especially for a player coming back from that kind of injury.
It also lets the Blazers avoid playing Lillard and Morant together for huge stretches. Offensively, that pairing could be fun because both can create, and Lillard can stretch the floor way better than Morant, but defensively, it could get pretty ugly against bigger backcourts.
Scoot Henderson is probably the player with the most complicated role in all of this. He improved last season, finishing with 14.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists while shooting 41.8% from the field and 35.2% from three, but he only played 30 games and now suddenly has Morant and Lillard sitting ahead of him at point guard. That isn’t exactly the situation anyone pictured when the Blazers used the No. 3 pick on him.
Instead of fighting only for point guard minutes, Henderson can spend more time at shooting guard next to both. He isn’t a natural off-ball guard, but the improved three-point shooting makes that experiment a little more realistic than it would’ve been two years ago.
And don’t sleep on a Lillard-Henderson bench pairing either. Lillard gives Scoot the spacing he needs, Scoot can attack downhill, and both can share the ball without gassing Lillard, throwing him a huge load. Defensively, yeah, that could be a problem. But with Sharpe out, the Blazers have enough minutes to try it without forcing anything.
Additional Guard Depth
Vít Krejci
John Tonje
Chris Youngblood
Vít Krejci probably becomes more important now than he would’ve been with Sharpe healthy. At 6-foot-8, he gives the Blazers some size on the perimeter, which is something they badly need with Morant, Lillard, and Henderson all being smaller guards. His ability to knock down open shots without needing a lot of touches is also a plus.
That kind of player becomes a good option when the main rotation is this guard-heavy. Krejci can also let Holiday slide at shooting guard and become a small forward to make the perimeter bigger, which gives the coaching staff a little more flexibility.
John Tonje is probably further down the rotation, and Chris Youngblood is in a similar spot. There just aren’t that many minutes left after Morant, Holiday, Lillard, and Henderson get theirs, but injuries and back-to-backs always create opportunities during an 82-game season.
How The Minutes Could Look
Ja Morant: 30-32 MPG
Jrue Holiday: 27-29 MPG
Damian Lillard: 25-28 MPG
Scoot Henderson: 20-23 MPG
Vít Krejci: 10-15 MPG
Morant should probably get the biggest role right away. The Blazers traded for him to be one of their main stars, so they need to see pretty quickly how much of his old level is still there. If he gets anywhere close to the 26-27 points per game version of himself, that makes everything much easier.
Holiday can stay around 28 minutes per game. He doesn’t need a huge workload anymore, and he fits next to basically every other guard on the roster, so the Blazers can move him around depending on the matchup.
Lillard should be handled a little more carefully. After missing a full season, there’s no reason to throw him straight into 30-plus minutes every night. If he looks good after the first couple of months, they can slowly give him more.
Scoot is probably the one who could lose the most minutes if everyone stays healthy. The Blazers went 42-40 last season, made the playoffs, and then added Morant, so they aren’t just developing players anymore. Henderson will still get chances, but he’ll have to play well to keep a big role.
Sharpe’s Injury Still Changes Everything
The Blazers have enough guards to cover Sharpe’s minutes, but replacing his actual production is much harder. He gave them something a little different from the rest of the backcourt, and that is where his absence is really going to hurt.
Morant is the better passer, Lillard is the better shooter, Holiday is the better defender, and Henderson can still attack the rim. But Sharpe was their 6-foot-5 scoring guard who could play above the rim, get downhill, and score at will when the game demanded it.
Sharpe put up 20.8 points in only 29.4 minutes last season, and he was finally starting to look like the scorer the Blazers hoped he could become when they drafted him seventh overall. Losing that for most of the season puts much more pressure on Morant, Lillard, and Henderson.
Morant simply has to be better than he was last season, especially after shooting 41.0% from the field and 23.5% from three. Lillard also has to show he can still score at a high level after missing a full year, while Henderson needs to prove that his improved shooting wasn’t just a small sample. If those things happen, the Blazers should be fine. If they don’t, this backcourt could get pretty complicated.
For now, Morant and Holiday probably make the most sense as the starters, Lillard can lead the second unit while slowly getting back into rhythm, and Henderson should get most of the extra minutes left by Sharpe.
Then, once Sharpe comes back, the Blazers will have another problem to solve. At that point, they could have five guards who all deserve minutes, and that could eventually force them to make a trade.