His coach was convinced that he would, one time or another, bounce back during these Finals. Michael Malone was not wrong since Michael Porter Jr. had his best game of the series in this Game 5, with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
The young winger was finally active in attack by moving a lot in the first half, which allowed him to offer small one-handed shots two or three meters from the circle. With his 7/17 to shoot and 1/6 to 3-pts, he still hasn’t set his sights.
“My outside shot was broken in this series, I don’t know why. Regardless, I’ll fix that in the offseason. I was not good offensively, not up to my abilities,” does he assume press conference. “My teammates know what I’m capable of, they see me in training, they give me confidence every day. I continued on this path. Even in this match, I was not skillful, but I insisted, I gave it my all. It feels good to see a few shots drop in. I could have finished with no points scored, I don’t care: we won the title. You can’t tell me anything anymore. »
“You should not judge Michael Porter Jr. only on his address in the Finals”
With 9.6 points and 8.4 rebounds on average, as well as low shooting success percentages (32% overall and 14% at 3-pts), the Nuggets winger has disappointed in this series. But Malone does not want to reduce the impact of his player in these Finals, admittedly a little missed.
“We all know Michael didn’t shoot well, and that happens sometimes,” reminds the technician. “It’s an excellent experience for him and, as I said, we don’t want specialists on this team. If the shots don’t come in, you have to do something else to help your teammates. More importantly, Porter Jr. shouldn’t be judged solely on his Finals skill. Watch his performances in the playoffs, during the season. He will continue to progress. »
With this title won, Michael Porter Jr., who will soon be 25 (June 29), can put his clumsiness aside and above all put behind him his health problems (back), which have slowed his progress and weighed down his career so far.
“To tell the truth, I’m not even supposed to be here. After everything I’ve been through, I’m not even supposed to be an NBA champion. To do it with this band and its guys, after all that, it’s indescribable. I look back at how hard I worked and it seems impossible to believe. »
| Michael Porter, Jr. | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2019-20 | DEN | 55 | 16 | 50.9 | 42.2 | 83.3 | 1.2 | 3.5 | 4.7 | 0.8 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 9.3 |
| 2020-21 | DEN | 61 | 31 | 54.2 | 44.5 | 79.1 | 1.5 | 5.8 | 7.3 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 19.1 |
| 2021-22 | DEN | 9 | 30 | 35.9 | 20.8 | 55.6 | 1.0 | 5.6 | 6.6 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 9.9 |
| 2022-23 | DEN | 62 | 29 | 48.7 | 41.4 | 80.0 | 1.0 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 17.4 |
| Total | 187 | 26 | 50.6 | 41.7 | 79.7 | 1.2 | 4.7 | 5.9 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 15.2 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def= defensive rebound; Tot = Total bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; Points = Points.
