Sebastian Telfair seems to have a problem in Portland. The youngster is learning how to be an NBA point guard on the fly, having been inserted into the Portland Trailblazers’ lineup. But now that he’s injured, his backup, Steve Blake of Maryland, has the team scoring 7 points more, shooting 5 percentage points higher, and with 5 more assists/ game, with the same turnover average.

No indication on the number of possessions the team has had, or the quality of the opponent, or whether Blake can get the Blazers into the same hot clubs on road trips, but it’s enough to make Portland Coach Nate McMillan not commit to having Telfair as the starter when he returns.

A couple of notes:

Steve Blake has always been under appreciated—even though he doesn’t fill out his jersey very well, and he’s a testament to white-guy basketball stereotypes, the kid can shoot well enough to command attention, and he sees the court very well. In fact, he’s a little aggressive with the long passes.

And with Juan Dixon, who he paired with in college at Maryland and as a pro with the Washington Wizards (do these guys move together to save on rental truck/ mover costs?), he’s very effective. As the article indicates, they play well off of each other, and can take on the other’s roles—aggressively looking for the shot on one possession, looking to get the ball in a sweet spot for a post player in another. Neither player thinks he’s so much better than his team, and while they can be shoved out of the way on defense, they make a solid effort to stay in front of their man.

As for Telfair, the kid is a lot of hype, but not yet the preternaturally talented passer he was made out to be. In part, of course, it’s because he’s only 20. He should have the opportunity to play behind someone for two or three years while he realizes his potential. Instead, he starts because of the investment the Trailblazers have in Sebastian. He can do the job, of course, and playing is better training than watching, but still…