Blazers' Sidy Cissoko Just Gave Portland a Reason to Rethink Scoot Henderson

Scoot Henderson went third in the 2023 NBA Draft. Sidy Cissoko went 44th.

Three years later, Micah Nori decided the second-round pick deserved to start over the former No. 3 selection ... and the Portland Trail Blazers responded with consecutive victories over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Cissoko scored 17 points in Tuesday's 123-103 win before adding 19 in Wednesday's 118-108 victory, making seven three-pointers across the two games.

Not bad for someone who entered the week averaging 6.1 points.

But his scoring wasn't why Nori made the change.

Through nine appearances, Henderson was averaging 8.4 points and 1.2 assists while shooting 32.9% from the field. With Damian Lillard and Deni Avdija already handling much of Portland's playmaking, the young guard struggled to establish himself offensively.

Nori explained that moving Henderson to the second unit would give him more opportunities to initiate offense while allowing Lillard to play longer stretches.

Cissoko doesn't need nearly as many touches.

He's comfortable defending opposing wings, cutting without the basketball and capitalizing when opponents commit additional attention elsewhere. Portland already has several players capable of creating their own shots.

Back in August, we questioned whether Portland's crowded roster would leave Cissoko with much of a role. Ja Morant had joined a backcourt already featuring Lillard, Jrue Holiday, Shaedon Sharpe and Henderson, while Avdija and Toumani Camara occupied prominent roles on the wing.

Cissoko appeared destined for whatever minutes remained.

Portland had converted his two-way deal into a standard contract last February after he reached the 50-game active-roster limit.

The Blazers already knew what Cissoko could do defensively. His 30 offensive fouls drawn ranked tied for fourth in the NBA at the time, and his willingness to absorb contact helped him earn minutes despite his offensive limitations.

His shooting, however, remained a concern.

Cissoko shot just 29.8% from three last season, allowing opponents to devote more attention to Portland's established scorers.

Through 11 appearances this year, he's improved to 36.6%.

Eleven games aren't enough to settle whether he's become a reliable shooter. But seven threes in two starts will get opposing defenses' attention.

Tuesday, Cissoko helped Camara defend Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who finished with 26 points on 8-of-22 shooting.

Granted, Oklahoma City was missing Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams and several other rotation players. But that doesn't take away from what Cissoko contributed defensively.

He followed that performance with 19 points on nine field-goal attempts Wednesday, including four made threes.

Morant's eventual return will complicate Nori's rotation, and Henderson still deserves opportunities to develop with the ball in his hands. Cissoko's improved shooting will also need to hold up beyond two starts.

For now, Henderson can run the second unit while Cissoko handles defensive assignments alongside Camara and capitalizes on the opportunities created by Lillard and Avdija.

The arrangement has produced two victories over Oklahoma City, with the 44th pick starting and the third pick coming off the bench.

Three months ago, Portland's depth chart barely had room for Cissoko, but after this week, Nori is going to have a much harder time finding a reason to take him off it.