Michael Porter Jr. is the perfect complement to Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets
Michael Porter Jr is proving himself to be a future star in this league. Monday night against Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks, Porter gave the Denver Nuggets 30 points and eight rebounds on 56 percent shooting from the field off the bench. Normally a starter, Porter is still getting his legs under him after missing two weeks due to safety and health protocol measures.
On the season, Porter is averaging 16.5 points and 7.3 rebounds on 55 percent shooting from the field. Considering the talent the Nuggets have on offense with Nikola Jokic having the ball majority of the time, and Jamal Murray as another ball-dominant score-first point guard, those numbers are very good for Porter.
As a third option, Porter gets most of his points off the catch or crashing the boards. With his style and size, he is a perfect fit for the way the Nuggets play in their halfcourt offense. It’s Jokic drawing a double team and kicking it out, or Murray off the pick-and-roll which leads to catch and shoot situations for Porter Jr who not only has a reliable shot but has “Kevin Durant” like size and release that makes just about every shot an open shot.
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If you watch Porter’s shot, he has a high release, a ton of lift, plus his natural size. If you’re a defender it’s almost impossible to contest his jumper.
Jokic and Murray set the table for everyone on Denver to get their shots; I bring this up to point out the ball movement and the way the ball does not stick. When Porter doesn’t get a shot, he doesn’t jog back slowly or stand in the corner with his hands on his hips, he crashes the offensive glass for putbacks, which is a big factor in his very efficient field goal percentage.
Against Dallas, he grabbed eight rebounds, three of them being offensive rebounds.
The fact that he’s not exactly a ball-handler makes him a great fit as there are already two ball-dominant players in the lineup. His skill-set fits the Nuggets style perfectly. He’s got the talent, he’s got great length and attributes, along with great effort. If you mix that together with the rest of the talent on that team, you have a recipe for success.
Thirty points for Porter won’t be a regularity; the points were a little inflated as Jamal Murray was ejected in the second half which allowed more minutes and shots for Porter. That being said, I’d argue his average of 16.5 points a game seems low after seeing a performance like the one he had against Dallas.
Porter was responsible for closing the door on the Mavericks late run to pull out the win on the road. He hit 6-10 3’s which all seemed to come at the end of the shot clock or a situation in which the Mavs absolutely needed a stop. In other words, his 3-point makes were timely for Denver and demoralizing for Dallas.
Denver has won their last four games, Porter has been back for three of those wins and is currently the 4th seed in the West at 10-7. The Nuggets have a tough matchup on the road against Miami on Wednesday.
Despite their slow start, Denver is only 3.5 games out of the 1-seed and if the Nuggets can keep grinding out wins, there is a world in which they can slide even higher in the standings. Fully healthy for probably the first time since the start of the season, things are finally beginning to look up for the Denver Nuggets.