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Denver Nuggets rookie Michael Porter Jr. was clearly unhappy about the manner by which his team lost to the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 4 of their second-round playoffs series on Wednesday. According to Porter, he believes that the Nuggets are relying too heavily on Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.
Porter went on a bit of a post-game tirade, pretty much criticizing Nuggets head coach Mike Malone for not involving him in the offense enough.
Michael Porter Jr. on why he did not get shots in the second half:"That's really up to the play call and the coaches. We kept going to Jokic and Jamal. They are amazing players but we need to find ways to get others involved."
— Duvalier Johnson (@DuvalierJohnson) September 10, 2020
MPJ on his quiet second half: "I didn't touch the ball. They didn't do anything [different]."
— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) September 10, 2020
MPJ: "If I'm gonna be out there on the floor playing a lot of minutes, I think I should voice that (opinion)."
Said a lot of the calls were for Jokic/Murray and understood why, but said he felt other guys need to be included.
Said he'd probably talk with coaches after tonight.
— Mike Singer (@msinger) September 10, 2020
By other guys, Michael Porter Jr. is clearly referring to himself. To be fair to him, he did have a hot start on Wednesday, scoring all 15 of his points in the first half. He was pretty much invisible in the second half, however.
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Malone was prompted to comment on this issue, and according to the coach, it was just a matter of LA clamping down on Porter in the second half.
Asked Michael Malone why MPJ only was able to get two shots off in the second half after he had 15 points in the first. He pretty much said the Clippers keyed in on him more, were physical and that the ball didn't find him within Denver's offense.
— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) September 10, 2020
That's not exactly a good look for Porter. We understand the frustration on his end both from a personal level and for his team, but criticizing your coach after a tough loss is never a good move. Then again, this could bear some fruit for Porter, and if Malone heeds his call, then he might just see an increase in his usage rate moving forward.
Porter was outstanding for the Nuggets in Game 3 on Monday, finishing with an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double. He seemed to have been en route to yet another impressive performance in Game 4, but as he said above, Denver just didn't go to him in the second half.
Game 5 is scheduled for Friday and it will be interesting to see the role Porter will be given with Denver's season on the line.
