After sitting out the entirety of the 2018-19 campaign due to a back injury, Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. is finally make his highly-anticipated debut this coming season. This has been one year in the making, and at this point, the anticipation is definitely high for the 14th overall pick of the 2018 Draft.
Denver did not exactly make a splash with their offseason signings, but with Porter finally expected to make his debut, it does feel like that they were able to sign a very promising prospect for the season ahead. There are some mixed expectations when it comes to Porter's rookie season, with some folks believing that the former McDonald's All-American MVP will prove to be a valuable member of the squad this coming season. However, the other end of the spectrum speculates that he will struggle in his rookie year, with his back issue still proving to be the biggest hindrance to his development.
Today, we will be taking sort of a best-case scenario approach with regards to Porter's debut campaign. Below, we will be presenting three bold predictions of what we can optimistically expect from Porter for the season ahead.
Health is Wealth
At a very young age, Porter has already undergone a series of major back surgeries that instantly put a question mark on his career moving forward. Prior to the injury — something he suffered very early in his college playing career — Porter was one of the most highly-recruited players coming out of high school. Unfortunately for him, this major setback ended his college career instantly, and certainly caused his draft stock to drop significantly.
Nevertheless, the Nuggets still took a risk on Porter in the 2018 Draft, suing their No. 14 pick on a player that had a clouded future ahead. Let's not forget, however, that prior to his injury, the 6-foot-10 forward had nothing short of an historic national championship-winning senior year in high school, putting up 36 points and 13 rebounds per ballgame, en route to bagging the National Player of the Year trophy.
This is the player that Denver is hoping for this coming season, but to state the obvious, the biggest thing that will stand in the way of Porter would be his health concerns. The good news here is that according to recent reports, the youngster is at full health entering the new campaign.
This being the case, we predict that Porter will be able to completely put his problematic past behind him, and move forward at full strength. Sure, some rust and a bit of growing pains is expected along the way, but we definitely see Porter successfully moving past his back injury in 2019-20.
A Healthy Amount of Minutes
As we all know, the Nuggets performed tremendously well last season despite missing out on the services of Porter. The team will also be entering the new campaign with pretty much the same lineup, so with this in mind, it is likely that at times, Porter might find it difficult to break through head coach Micheal Malone's rotation to make a significant impact.
However, coach Malone seems to be quite high on his promising rookie, and odds are, he will find ways to integrate Porter into his already formidable lineup. A starting gig might not be in the books for Porter this year, but we fully expect him to earn a healthy amount of minutes as the season moves forward. It would not be surprising if the Nuggets ease him into the rotation, but soon enough, Porter should be looking at around 20 minutes per ballgame. Given his potential, this might prove to be enough for the former Nathan Hale High School standout to make some noise as a rookie.
The X-Factor
While the Nuggets might have quite a competent lineup on paper, it is hard to deny that their lack of firepower off the bench was exposed in the postseason. The starters did their thing, but at times, the second unit struggled to get points on the board. This is exactly where Porter might be able to provide a boost for his team. He is a proven scorer, and he has shown how he can excel in the isolation game, so once he gets his bearings, there is no doubt that Porter should be able to create chances for himself. At this point, Porter's playmaking skills still needs improvement, but if he is able to tap into the offensive juggernaut he once was, then he will surely be able to provide some much needed points off the bench for the Nuggets.
According to Porter himself, the Rookie of the Year title is something that he will be gunning for this year. Quite frankly, this might not be in the books for the highly-promising forward, but if everything goes according to plan, then he might just be able to force his way into the conversation at the end of the season.
Nonetheless, the most important thing for Porter would be to prove his worth not only for his team, but for the rest of the league as well. He has a tremendous opportunity ahead of him, and at this point, all signs seem to be pointing to the fact that he should be able to live up to all the hype surrounding him.
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