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The Houston Rockets defeated the Washington Wizards 125-119 in their preseason opener on a late fourth quarter surge, but the story Tuesday night was Kevin Porter Jr. In his first career preseason start at point guard, Porter Jr. poured in 25 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block on nearly 70% true shooting. Being his third year, this is a critical season for Porter Jr. and the Rockets have put a lot of investment in seeing what he can become. With the caveat of it being preseason, it's encouraging that he looked so comfortable being the lead ball handler for Houston.
“He is finding his way as far as making plays for others and making plays for himself,” said Rockets head coach Stephen Silas after the game. “And then at the end of the shot clock getting to his step back and that kind of thing was impressive. But again, it’s the first preseason game and we’re not going to make too much out of everything. But as far as his balance, his scoring, and organizing and making plays, he took a good step tonight.”
Porter could have approached this game with a gunner's mentality and forced a bunch of tough, contested jumpers, but he opted to let the game come to him. Nothing felt forced and his first basket was even a catch-and-shoot three-pointer. Indeed he did make a lot of tough, contested jumpers, but these were mostly in late shock clock situations or when the play broke down. After starting the game 1-of-3 from beyond the arc, Porter Jr. ended the game 5-of-10 from that distance and seemed to be gaining confidence with every make,
“For me, everything's been mental” said Rockets talent Kevin Porter Jr. “My confidence can be at an all time high sometimes. I have phases but now I practiced a lot on my shot this offseason and I just tell myself to trust my technique, my mechanics. I put so much work in, so it got to pay off at some point.”
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He's still has areas he needs to clean up, notably turnovers, of which he had four. However, if you're a Rockets fan, it's hard not be excited at the shotmaking and passing he displayed on Tuesday. Silas pointed it out at his post-game presser, but it almost seemed like Porter Jr was being too timid about scoring the basketball at the beginning, but he quickly turned it around and went for the jugular in the second half (13 points, 5-of-6 shooting from the field and 2-0f-3 from deep in just 10 minutes.
“My thing is just to get my guys going early because I know I can turn it on whenever,” said Porter Jr. “That's another confidence thing in myself. I feel like I can turn it on and get a bucket whenever I want. That just helps me balance everything out with my teammates. That goes back to staying aggressive, trying to score and open up the drive and kick and all the other things that come with being aggressive.”
It will certainly be fascinating to see Porter Jr. find this balance throughout the course of the season. Interestingly enough, when was asked after the game what his goals are, long or short-term, the Rockets talent didn't settle for anything small.
“My goal in Houston is to bring back a championship,” said Kevin Porter Jr. “That's everyone's goal. That's the ultimate goal.”
