The Portland Trail Blazers were given a lot of time to rest this week, playing only the New Orleans Pelicans and Golden State Warriors. They lost to the Pelicans and beat the Warriors, going 1-1 on the week.
Through those two games, the Blazer of the Week is Shaedon Sharpe.
Sharpe averaged 28.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists this week. But the most impressive part of that scoring display is that he did it while shooting 62.5% from the field and 69.2% from beyond the arc. His struggles with efficiency
this year have been well-documented, but if this is the start of a major upswing in that department, his scoring will only become more dynamic.
Of course those splits are the result of a small sample size and not sustainable over any stretch of games. However, his 35-point game against Golden State was enough to push Portland to a win. Take a couple of those games over the course of the season and that’s a major impact on a Blazers team that might find themselves in the Play-In conversation late in the year.
Sharpe also managed to grab four steals against Golden State. He was aggressive on defense in the game and it led to opportunities to take the ball away. His feel for defense is still not always there in man-to-man defense, but if he can be a disruptor at times, it can help to hide that weakness slightly.
This week’s honorable mentions are Jerami Grant and Sidy Cissoko.
Grant and Cissoko each earned an honorable mention for one great performance despite a slightly lackluster second game.
Grant had 35 points on 12-22 shooting from the field and 7-13 from three in the win over Golden State. He scored 19 of those points in the fourth quarter and was going shot for shot with Stephen Curry for stretches of the period. His late game heroics pushed the Blazers over the finish line in the win.
Cissoko scored a career-high 20 points in the loss to the Pelicans. He also grabbed 4 rebounds and 2 assists while shooting 8/12 from the field and 3/6 from three. Of course that game ended in a blowout loss, but without Cissoko’s performance, that 23-point loss could have easily been 35 points or more.
Which Blazer impressed you the most this week? Let us know in the comments below!
