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Breaking: Nuggets Coach Drops Bombshell on Star Player’s Future After Playoff Disasters
Michael Porter Jr. is the definition of an X-factor for the Denver Nuggets. He can be the reason why the team either wins or loses a series, which was perfectly illustrated in this year’s playoffs. While his shooting is fantastic, he needs to have more.
During the Denver Nuggets’ exit interview, head coach Michael Malone gave a passionate answer about Michael Porter Jr.’s production during the playoffs.
“When people think about the Lakers’ series they’re going to talk about Jamal’s two game-winners, Michael Porter was incredible in the Lakers’ series,” Malone said. “Just look at the stats, the efficiency, the productivity was outstanding. We talked earlier about obviously, the Minnesota series was a tough series for him.”
Against the Lakers, MPJ averaged 22.8 points and 8.4 rebounds on 55/49/77 shooting. Against the Timberwolves, he averaged 10.7 points and 5.7 rebounds on 37/33/77 shooting. It was a level of production dropoff that was hard to ignore.
“He hates coming out at the end of games,” Malone said about Porter Jr. “Hates it. He doesn’t want to be the guy that teams target. He wants to be a guy that I can trust defensively. So, can he defensively continue to grow and mature team defense, as well as individual defense. He is an elite shooter. He is a very, very good rebounder, one of the best rebounders on our team.”
The biggest thing Michael Porter Jr. needs to work on is his ability to produce when he’s not shooting well from the field. When the shots aren’t falling, suddenly MPJ doesn’t rebound as well or play as good defense – something that can’t happen again.
