For all the talk about Michael Porter Jr. and his ever-changing role with the Nuggets, it seems he has mostly stagnated as a player. Before the season started, the prevailing sentiment was that MPJ could be used as a trade chip and that the team had to move his contract and improve on his roster spot.
Then, as the season started, the Nuggets faced a number of different injuries, and Jamal Murray struggled. MPJ seemed to be taking on a bigger role and was arguably the second-best and most important player on the team - especially on offense.
He had become one of the team’s most reliable and durable players, but as the season went on and other players stepped up, MPJ’s game has waned. He has fallen back into being an unreliable defender and a streaky shooter, and little more.
With his rare combination of size and skill, Porter Jr. still spends far too much of his time spotting up in the corner. There was hope that he could take a leap as a playmaker and more of a movement shooter, even being directly involved in actions on offense, but that really ahsn’t been the case.
Nuggets need to get MPJ going early and often
Recnetly, Porter Jr. has been tasked with playing a lot of power forward, especially in the absence of Aaron Gordon, and the team has suffered as a result. He has been targeted constantly on the defensive end, and when his shot isn’t falling, he has been a huge net negative for the team.
That was the case on Wednesday night as MPJ scored just 10 points on 3/10 shooting. He didn’t make a single three and was a team-worst -31 for the game. This has been a constant theme recently and it’s killing the Nuggets.
While it may take more of a concerted effort, the Nuggets need to get Michael going. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray are great players, but they can’t do it all alone - especially not against elite playoff defenses. They need a legitimate third option on offense, and given the team’s personnel and payroll, it has to be MPJ.
The Nuggets would do well to design some set plays early in the game. If they can get him in a good rhythm and play through him in stretches, it will go a long to diversify the offense and make the team tougher to guard. It will open up things for Jokic and Murray as well and should provide a big boost.
The idea was to have a sort of “big 3” on offense, but this season it has been more like a big one and a half. If they can get MPJ going early, get his confidence, and involve him more, it will go a long way toward making the Nuggets a much better team in the playoffs.