We all heard Michael Porter Jr.'s comments after the Denver Nuggets lost in Game 4 on Wednesday. At least, all NBA Twitter sites have done. Depending on where you stand, either he was within his rights as a talented star in the making, or completely off the line as a rookie, or maybe it was something in between when he was 22 years old.
After a quiet three quarters, Porter rose in a big way, scoring probably the biggest shot of his youth career to clinch a Denver 111-105 win. It's definitely the kind of shot the coach would classify as no, no, no ... bucket yes.
Porter's defense was larger than the shot in the fourth inning, which is unexpected given that his defense had placed him in Mike Malone's Kennel Club throughout the season.
With five falls with a let down of 8:15, Porter fired from the paint to approach Lou Williams and force him to take a third side step that he does not drop before the shot clock expires.
This time, with Nuggets still at 8:30 end of the match, Porter helps stop Kawhi Leonard driving in paint and then closes to Marcus Morris Sr. At the three-point line and forces him to enter a difficult shot.
Then with Denver five and 37 seconds left, Ivica ZiwiPeak has a deep lag against Porter, but when he gets into his move, Porter comes with a huge shock.
Porter's only field goal sealed the match in favor of the Nuggets, but his fourth defense was an important part of what kept them in that position.
Porter is such a good cutter and an out-of-the-ball driver that he's a valuable goal for Jukic when Murray is on the bench. Malone can also use Porter as a partner in choosing Murray with his ability to mix pop and roll to the edge. He's a good enough shooter that he can straighten the floor when he's on the field with both players. He can also attack any sideways movement with his handling skills.
Taking him off the bench in the series also lets him find the rhythm of the match against the Clippers' Unit Two. This meant that he didn't have to start the match against Kawhi Leonard or Paul George at either end of the field.
If we learn one thing, it is that nuggets will not come out quietly. They did not participate in the first round when they came back from 3-1 behind, and on Friday night they were not knocked out again, returning from the Clippers lead by 15 points in the second half.
This happened due to a collective effort on both sides of the court. In the second half of the fifth game against the Clippers, the Nuggets earned 15 assists and nine different goals. In the second half of Game 4, they only had six passes and six different goals.
Playing Porter in the bubble to the league showed that his future is so bright and that he is only scratching the surface of his game. If the Nuggets were to graduate from semi-contenders to true contenders, it would be due to Porter's evolution into their third star.
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