On the Portland Trail Blazers‘ first day of training camp, coach Chauncey Billups took a moment to give the team’s rising star, Shaedon Sharpe, a bit of advice. While practice continued on the court in front of them, Billups draped his left arm around Sharpe’s neck and dropped the knowledge that only a former NBA Finals MVP and five-time All-Star can.
“You’re a great playmaker,” Billups told the 22-year-old Sharpe. “If I could have the ball in your hands, you coming downhill at somebody, see the whole floor, everything’s going to open up in a blender? I want that all the time.”
Billups and the Blazers are bullish on Sharpe this season, his fourth in the league. The 6-foot-5 guard has improved his scoring average each year, from 9.9 points in his rookie campaign to 15.9 and then to 18.5 last season.
And he’s set for an even bigger offensive role this year. With the team trading away Anfernee Simons, who led the team in scoring last season (19.3 points per game), Portland will need a go-to scorer, and the obvious candidate is Sharpe. In addition, Billups has stressed to the team all offseason about playing at a faster tempo to take advantage of the Blazers’ strengths: youth and athleticism. And that style of play only benefits the freakily talented Sharpe.
Those are just some of the reasons why SportsLine player prop expert Alex Selesnick is high on Sharpe this season. Selesnick, who is 1,008-799 and up $3,213 on all prop picks since joining CBS Sports in 2021, has made Sharpe to win Most Improved Player (+2000) one of his four best prop picks for the upcoming NBA season.
“Sharpe has always been long on talent and a natural scorer, however I like his chances of taking a major step forward as he is going to lead Portland in shot attempts,” Selesnick says. “And at just 22-years-old he is still developing. We caught a glimpse of what that might look like last season with Sharpe averaging over 25 points per game over the final three weeks.”
In the team’s first preseason game, Sharpe picked up where he left off last season, scoring 22 points in just 23 minutes on 9-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-8 on 3-pointers. Sharpe says he spent the offseason working on his 3-point shot while studying film on other players who play his position, including Anthony Edwards and Devin Booker.
“There’s always room for improvement,” Sharpe says. “So I’m [going to] keep building on what we have here, and what I’m trying to accomplish.”
Here are Selesnick’s top non-player futures for the upcoming NBA season.
Top non-player futures
Nuggets to win NBA Finals (+600)
This is a position I opened right at the start of NBA free agency after seeing some of the moves Denver made. First, I love the Nuggets trading Michael Porter Jr. for veteran Cameron Johnson, who will provide them with spacing. MPJ was such a liability both defensively and in the postseason, and Johnson, despite being a league-average defender, is a significant upgrade. Denver also swapped Dario Saric for Jonas Valanciunas, which I also like, and signed both Bruce Brown and Tim Hardaway Jr. I believe this might be the best roster Denver’s had during Nikola Jokic’s tenure. Jokic is still the best player in the world and at the peak of his powers. The West is top-heavy, but I’d make Denver the favorite.
Hawks to win Southeast Division (+150)
Hawks Over 47.5 wins
Hawks to win Eastern Conference (+1000): 0.25u
These were two spots I hammered when these lines originally populated, and the numbers have adjusted. No team in the East looks to have improved more on paper than Atlanta. The Hawks added a trio of proven veterans in Kristaps Porzingis, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard. All three are guys who can give you solid minutes in the playoffs. The combination of Alexander-Walker and Dyson Daniels is going to give opposing backcourts fits. Don’t forget Trae Young, Onyeka Okongwu, a healthy Jalen Johnson and last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Zaccharie Risacher. If this team stays relatively healthy I expect the Hawks to blow past 48 wins and if some of their younger talent develops, we’re looking at a darkhorse to win the East.
Mavericks to make playoffs (+115)
This is my largest position in the NBA futures market. Sure the Western Conference is loaded, but the Mavericks look extremely formidable, particularly defensively and I love their depth. No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg joins a veteran-laden roster led by a pair of top-20 players in Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving. The latter is still recovering from an ACL injury but is ahead of schedule and could return to the team by December. Dallas bolstered its backcourt by adding D’Angelo Russell and resigning Dante Exum, who has developed into a solid two-way player. The trio of Davis, Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II are going to provide the Mavericks with elite rim protection. Naji Marshall, Max Christie, P.J. Washington and Klay Thompson are all guys who are capable two-way players and can give you solid minutes in the playoffs. I believe this team has a ceiling of 55-58 wins, and while Dallas may be a tier below Oklahoma City, Houston and Denver, the Mavericks should make the playoffs barring significant injuries.
