NBA: 5 players set up for success in 2021-22

NBA players set up for success in 2021-22: Michael Porter Jr., Denver Nuggets 

As mentioned before, Jamal Murray is set to miss some time this year due to tearing his ACL in a late regular season matchup against the Golden State Warrios last season. It’s unsure when Murray will be back on the court – the Nuggets haven’t provided a definitive timetable yet – but it can be assumed based on the injury he is sure to miss a decent chunk of the year.

The one big beneficiary of Muuray’s absence will be Porter Jr. According to statmuse, Michael Porter Jr. averaged 21.3 points, eight rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game in 35 games without Jamal Murray in his career. It can’t be understated how important Porter’s development will be playing alongside Nikola Jokic who’s the best passing big man in the league and maybe just the best flat-out passer period.

Porter Jr. is the most un-complete player on this list. He has shown flashes of superstardom, but hasn’t been able to do it consistently. He has a lot of areas where he can improve, but the biggest area for improvement the needs to make for this season is his ability to get to the rim and his playmaking.

Similar to Jayson Tatum, but even more so, Porter Jr. struggles in getting to the basket. As a result, he barely makes it to the charity stripe. According to basketball-reference, MPJ averaged 2.2 free throw attempts per game last season. Not only does he need to become more aggressive and look to drive to the basket more to improve his game, but his team needs him to do it too.

As great of a playmaker that Nikola Jokic is, he can’t do it all. The loss of Jamal Murray will seriously hurt the Nuggets in that area. Porter needs to step up and take a more ball-dominant role in Denver’s offense. He needs to be able to take pressure off of Jokic by being able to get to the bucket and find an open teammate or by just finishing himself. Too many times in the Nuggets playoff series against the Blazers and Suns last season, MPJ settled for contested three-point and mid-range jumpers.

For someone who is only 23 years old and has missed his fair share of time due to injury, I don’t expect Porter to figure it all out anytime soon. It’ll take some time for him to become the best version of himself, as it does everyone. However, I can see a world in which Michael Porter Jr. is in the All-Star conversation this year.

I don’t think he’ll make it just based on how stacked the Western Conference is, but I definitely think he’ll have the numbers to make it if he were in the East. If he improves his playmaking abilities and steps up as the Nuggets number two option behind Jokic, then the Nuggets are going to be one scary team. Especially, if Muray can get back to where he was before tearing his ACL.