Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. could get his first taste of the playoffs soon.
Due to his immense talent on the offensive end of the floor, it might be fair to say that Michael Porter Jr. is one of the Denver Nuggets’ more popular players despite what could be equated to the medical redshirt the Nuggets gave him in his rookie season.
It makes sense then why many were frustrated to see Porter receiving inconsistent minutes and wondering if Malone would actually play the Seattle native in the postseason, considering that the young forward suffered an ankle injury that threw him off his game from February to the start of the NBA’s hiatus.
However, per The Denver Post’s Mark Kizla, Malone says there’s a “good chance” that he’ll play in the playoffs.
“I’ll look forward to see how he handles that, being his first time going through it,” Malone adds.
A pure scorer who can get it done in many ways, Porter had a serious back injury that kept him out for the majority of his lone college season. However, Denver still saw fit to gamble on Porter, selecting him with the 14th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.
Coming into his own
Finally seeing minutes with the Nuggets in the 2019-20 season, Porter showed off his pure shooting stroke and knack for offensive putbacks, averaging 7.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while shooting 49.5% from the field and 42.2% from three. Porter would suit up for 48 of Denver’s 65 games but only have 28 games where he played at least 10 minutes.
In his lone start for the Nuggets, a December game against the Sacramento Kings, Porter scored what was then a career-high 19 points on 8-10 shooting from the field and pulled down six rebounds. Two games later, Porter set a new career-high 25 points on 11-12 shooting from the field and pulled down five rebounds.
From January 12 to January 31, Porter scored at least 10 points in nine of the ten games he played in. He averaged 14.7 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game in that stretch, shooting 48.2% from the field and 51.2% from 3-point range.
When healthy, that’s the type of player that Porter can be. Like many young players, particularly rookies, Porter’s defense is a work in progress. However, it can’t be denied that he’s an exceptional offensive talent and for a team that ranks 20th in points per game (110.4), the Nuggets could certainly use a player with Porter’s offensive prowess.
Especially in an era where a team’s offensive capabilities set a team apart more than what they do defensively.