The sky is the limit: Blazers rookie Shaedon Sharpe making strides

Since the Portland Trail Blazers waved the white flag andshut down Damian Lillard for theremainder of the season, they have shifted their focus todeveloping rookie Shaedon Sharpe and the rest of the young playerson their roster.

Lately, Sharpe has been playing significantly more minutes andhandling way more responsibilities than at any other point thisseason. The 19-year-old still has a lot to learn, but he's makingthe most of this opportunity.

On Wednesday, the Blazers had just seven players available asthey faced the Sacramento Kings, and Sharpe responded with his bestgame of the season. With a chance to carry the scoring load, Sharpefinished with 30 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 6 threes whileshooting 46.2% from three-point range in the losing effort.

"We take it personal," Sharpe said. "Us young dudes don't reallyget the playing time that we want, so when we get an opportunity,we go take it."

Over the last five games, Sharpe is averaging 23.8 points, 6.6rebounds, 3.6 threes, 3.2 assists and a steal, while shooting 45.7%from the field, 45.0% from three and 81.0% from the free-throwline. This stretch is huge for Sharpe's confidence, and it giveshim something to build off of entering next season.

"Just getting more comfortable (in the NBA) and getting used tothe play style and how dudes like to play,” Sharpe said. “But Ifeel like it all comes down to film. We do a lot of film (study)behind the scenes, so I feel like it comes down to the film andknowing what guys like to do and how they like to play.”

On the season, Sharpe has appeared in 75 games and has averaged8.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.2 threes and 0.9 assists on.474/.369/.707 shooting splits.

"He's seeing so many new things every single night,” Blazershead coach Chauncey Billups said. “He's going to be fine. He learnsthings so quickly. We'll go over (things) and watch film and talkabout what we need and, boom, right away he knows how to do it.He's doing good."