Michael Porter Jr.’s defensive rebounding and shot-making ability could be exactly what the Denver Nuggets need to start.
The Denver Nuggets might be having plenty of defensive miscues but the reason that they find themselves down 3-1 to the Los Angeles Lakers is largely because they keep giving up offensive rebounds and second chance points to the Lakers. In actuality, poor off defensive rebounding is actually a defensive miscue because you’re failing to end a defensive possession.
The Lakers — who had 12 offensive rebounds and 25 second-chance points in Game 4 — are grabbing 9.8 offensive rebounds and 14.3 second-chance points per game in the Conference Finals.
For that reason, the Nuggets need to start Michael Porter Jr. in the Game 5 — and possibly beyond — in a move that will be a great counter to LA’s decision to start Dwight Howard over JaVale McGee at center and to overcome the offensive shortcomings of Gary Harris to boot.
In the Western Conference Finals, Porter is averaging a team-high 6.0 defensive rebounds per game and is tied with Paul Millsap for second on the team with 7.0 total rebounds per game. That makes Porter incredibly important to stopping their bleeding on the defensive glass.
I believe that Porter should start for Gary Harris, a player whose defensive prowess is a bit lost in this series with Millsap and Jerami Grant being the primary defenders for Davis and LeBron James.
Using Harris as a lockdown defender on Danny Green, who has shot just 28.6% from three this series, does have his benefits. However, it would be better suited for guarding Rajon Rondo, who has been efficient and effective playmaker.
If the Lakers want to run actions with Green screening for LeBron or AD in hopes of getting Porter switched onto them, the truth of the matter is that’s okay. Porter’s biggest issues defensively this series hasn’t been guarding players one-on-one, it’s in his recognition of rotations and the communication he has on switches.
In Game 3 and Game 4, many of the mistakes pinned on Porter appeared to be the result of both poor (or simply a lack of) communication from he and one of the more experienced players, like Grant. Sometimes, Porter is trying to make a defensive play from the weakside to help a teammate (like Morris or Jamal Murray) and simply failed to stop the shot from going in.
Of course, like most players, sometimes Porter simply gets beat but his length alone causes them to have to make tough shots over him.
That said, the picture isn’t as bleak as it’s been painted and if the veteran players around him remember to communicate (something they should always do anyways), his mistakes will be minimized. In addition, their collective length between Porter (7’0″ wingspan), Grant (7’3″ wingspan), Millsap (7’2″ wingspan) and Nikola Jokic (7’3″ wingspan) would be beneficial for them defensively as they attempt to pack the paint and close out on 3-point shooters.
Torrey Craig should still be the first sub off of the bench and Harris’ minutes should coincide with Rondo’s (and to a lesser extent, Alex Caruso’s). Mason Plumlee, a strong rebounder but was overthinking in Game 4, should still get his minutes. Monte Morris, whose defense against Rondo was problematic, should get his minutes as well.
Morris will have to be the team’s primary scorer off the bench with Porter starting but that shouldn’t be an issue, in part because he’s shown he can be an effective scorer and also because the Nuggets have often left Murray or Jokic in to play with the bench.
MPJ won’t be a popular choice for starting but when you consider their issues with defensive rebounds, when you consider that Harris and Millsap are shooting a combined 6-18 from three (13-45 from the field), then he’s the team’s best choice. If it doesn’t look like it’s working, then Denver could always go away from it early but it’s at least worth a try.