Denver Nuggets small forward Michael Porter Jr. made the first start of his NBA career this past Sunday against the Sacramento Kings and played really well.
Porter finished with 19 points and six rebounds while shooting 8-of-10 from the field to help the Nuggets defeat the Kings by five points.
Scoring has never been an issue for Porter. Many Nuggets fans were wondering why it took so long for head coach Michael Malone to insert Porter in the starting lineup since he can score the ball with ease.
The 21-year-old knows why.
Porter says his defense had to improve in practice and games for Malone to trust him with the Nuggets' starting group:
“I took my mindset away from just scoring,” Porter told Nuggets.com. “Because that isn’t going to get me more minutes. I’ve got to get in there, try to be locked in defensively, know my rotations, know personnel.
“I think that I’m getting better. My rotations are getting better. I’m starting to learn where to be at the right time; things like that. But it’s still going to be a process. But that’s really what I’ve got to pick up. That’s what’s going to keep me on the floor.”
Before the season started, Nuggets big man Paul Millsap said he believed Porter “can be a terror on the defensive end” for the team this season. All anyone talks about is Porter’s offensive skills since he’s a gifted scorer. Millsap, a defensive-minded guy, knew back in training camp the youngster was going to make the Nuggets’ defense even more lethal this season.
The Nuggets are 23-9 on the season, good for second place in the Western Conference standings. Porter is averaging 5.2 points and 2.8 rebounds in 23 games while shooting 49.0 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from beyond the arc. His numbers should steadily rise now that he's in the starting lineup.
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