What to look for in Michael Porter Jr.’s NBA Summer League performance
Defensive rebound rate
Porter has the ball handling ability and skills to play small forward position as much as Mike Malone and co. require. But Porter’s height and 7-foot wingspan means it would be a waste if Malone didn’t explore using him at the power forward spot. MPJ’s defensive rebound rate will be his main vehicle to earning more minutes at the four.
At the 2017 U18 Americas Championship, Porter averaged 5.6 rebounds per game. He averaged 5 boards per game at the adidas Nations Counselors games in 2017. And during his brief three game, 53-minute stint with Missouri, Porter averaged 6.7 rebounds per game, with a ridiculously high (and unsustainable at the pro-level) 32.5 percent defensive rebound rate. Porter’s willingness to go after contested rebounds will be another great way for us to gage where he is health and confidence-wise.
He was never an extremely physical player to begin with, so it will be noticeable if Porter was to spend even more time than usual on the perimeter. Denver was the top team in the league in terms of rebound rate and Porter’s addition will make them even stronger in that facet of the game.
I chose to focus on defensive rebounding for two specific reasons. The first reason is that the Nuggets are the best offensive rebounding team in the league and don’t need help in this area. This is because their guards and wings range from decent-to-great on the offensive glass, and they possess two of the better offensive rebounding big men in the league in Paul Millsap and Nikola Jokic.
The second reason is that Porter will be spending some time spacing the floor around Jamal Murray-Jokic pick-and-rolls, and being an effective offensive rebounder will not be a necessity. But defensive rebounding will be crucial to Porter’s integration into the Nuggets rotation. His grab-and-go ability will help ignite a team that was 26th in pace and 17th in percentage of points via the fastbreak.
Denver won the battle of the boards in their Game 7 loss to the Trail Blazers, but were outrebounded on the defensive glass by five. On top of that, Portland got a combined six offensive rebounds from CJ McCollum, Maurice Harkless and Evan Turner. Even with the assumption that he isn’t ready for playoff basketball, Porter’s size certainly would’ve helped keep Portland off the offensive glass.
So when Porter takes the floor in summer league, look for him to hit the defensive glass and pull down at least four total rebounds per game. Anything less than four rebounds per game and it’s safe to assume that Porter is either is much less than 100 percent or that he matched up with some very physical players during his time in summer league.
Summer league will be the first extended look at Porter for Nuggets fans, and tracking his progress will be fun as he works his way back. With a good idea of what to specifically watch for when we have fresh Michael Porter Jr. game tape to breakdown, do yourself a favor, and enjoy some of his past work.