Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson ‘wasn’t satisfied’ with first-year development of key player

Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson admitted his faults with the development of Craig Porter Jr. last season. After Porter's “heroic” effort in the team's 130-116 victory over the Miami Heat on Wednesday, he opened up to reporters about Porter's work shining through after some straight-to-the-point discussions between the two this offseason.

“This is the culmination,” Atkinson said of Porter's milestone night. “Me and him had some tough conversations this summer, just man-to-man, coach to player. I told him the things we needed. He agreed. Just kind of had a pact, ‘We need you in here early. We need you to get your body comp to this marker.' We just had all these KPIs (key performance indicators) we needed to see.”

“I wasn't satisfied with myself, how he developed last year. I felt like I didn't do a good job. This summer, I said, ‘Man, we've got to turn this. We've got to have a different approach.' The credit is all him. He put in the work. He sacrificed a lot. Just awesome to see him have a game like [Wednesday].”

Porter wound up with a first-time Cavs franchise performance, scoring 19 points, dishing out nine assists, blocking four shots, and recording three steals. He also crashed the boards, pulling down four rebounds. The third-year floor general was a plus-21 and led the team in that category. He is also only the fourth point guard in NBA history to block four shots in a single contest.

“I think it definitely builds his confidence, but this ain't the first time he's had a good game,” De'Andre Hunter said postgame. “I'm confident in him. I know he's confident in himself, and I know after this game, he's gonna be even more confident in himself. I think that's a great thing for us.”

Hunter isn't wrong. This season, Porter has turned up his efforts to another level. He is a full-court pest defensively, constantly bothers inbounders under the basket, controls the offensive glass among the trees, and is as well-conditioned as Cleveland's seen him. The traditional statistics may look the same, but advanced stats illustrate Porter's critical impact.

According to Cleaning The Glass, 19.9% of Cleveland opponents' possessions are ending in a turnover with Porter on the floor. That ranks in the 99th percentile among all NBA players. The Cavs are also rebounding 31.0% of their own misses with him in the lineup.

Speaking with ClutchPoints before the season, Porter was direct in his messaging: he was there to take his spot on the Cavs and keep it.

The 6-foot-2, 186-pounder has popped in every game he's appeared in, making the most of the opportunity he's earned.

“I know there's so much more still bottled up, so honestly, the sky's the limit, I feel like,” Porter told ClutchPoints before training camp. “And it's all up to me, and that's the good thing to know.”