LOS ANGELES– Rookie Shaedon Sharpe, after an incredibly impressive start to his career, has had a lull in recent weeks. After scoring a current career-high 20 points in a last-second loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Nov. 17, the 6-6 guard had just 16 points on 7-of-32 shooting from the field and 1 of 11 shots from three combined in his next six appearances.
Whether it’s due to his presence in the scouting report of opposing teams, the grind of the NBA schedule catching up with a player who missed his only season in Kentucky or simply the ups and downs that come with having 19 years old. a former rookie, Sharpe had lost some of his early-season mojo.
He recovered part of it on Wednesday evening in Los Angeles.
There were less than 10 seconds left in the first half of Wednesday’s contest between the Trail Blazers and Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. As the team and the shot clock ended, Anfernee Simons, handling the ball at the three-point line, took his modified drop to pull a three-pointer over Austin Reaves. Simons’ attempt missed the target and took a short rebound off the front of the rim. With three Lakers players in the key, it seemed likely that one of them would grab the rebound, giving Los Angeles one last shot before intermission.
But Sharpe had noticed that the Lakers tended to follow the ball after shots rather than boxing, which gave him an idea.
“They were turning their heads every time the ball was going up,” Sharpe said, “so I thought I was going to go in and try to get two runs, little backhands.”
Although it turned out there was nothing short about what happened next.
Sharpe, who was on the opposite side of the field to Simons for spacing purposes, took a few steps inside the three-point line, elevated between Russell Westbrook and Thomas Byrant, collected the ball with his right hand and launched a powerful comeback. dunk that sent the bench (and play-by-play man Kevin Calabro) into hysterics, while surprising and delighting even the most ardent Lakers fan.
“So I looked at the clock and saw Ant dribbling, had a little iso,” Sharpe recounted. “I’m like, ‘Okay, this plane is going up’, so when it came up, I saw Russ and he turned his head so ‘Ok, I’ll go in and see if I can get over it. And when the ball came out, I just jumped up, grabbed it and dunked it.
After the match, which Portland would lose 128-109, Sharpe indicated his confidence had taken a hit lately after starting his pro career with a number of impressive performances and highlighting dunks that already have him as one of the favorites to enter his season’s dunk contest at All-Star Weekend. And in this way, the dunk provided him with more than two points.
“I needed it,” said Sharpe, who also showed a rare display of emotion after the finish. “Just to regain my confidence. I feel like the majority of the game is a mindset, so get your confidence back, get going, and look forward to playing the next game.
Sharpe finished Wednesday’s loss with 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and three rebounds in 28 minutes. And while the effort didn’t result in a win, it did give the London, Ont., rookie a boost of confidence, which may prove more valuable in the long run.
“I’m still learning the ins and outs of the game,” Sharpe said. “I think I played in the system, in the way we want to play. I think I attacked when we needed to attack and I just played defense, space. I think I did pretty well, but as a team we fought.
