Michael Porter Jr.’s run in the NBA Playoffs is at an end, with the Denver Nuggets eliminated.
Averaging 18.2 points with more than 50 percent efficiency this past regular season, Michael Porter Jr. was the Denver Nuggets’ third main star and top scorer just behind Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. But just when he was needed most, he simply disappeared.
As the Nuggets vied for a championship run under interim coach David Adelman, Porter Jr. was far below his best, averaging 7.4 points per game.
His awful postseason was a subject of discussion around Denver in which Jokic bluntly tackled his struggles and interim coach David Adelman tried to get more out of him.
Porter Jr.’s playoff hardships are deeply rooted in his health issues. He notably sustained a Grade 2 shoulder sprain on their previous first-round series against the LA Clippers.
This was when the downturn ultimately began for the Denver forward. But as much as he truly deserves to get a pass for bravely continuing his play despite shoulder complications that would require four to five weeks of recovery, it’s difficult not to consider Porter Jr. becoming more of a liability for the Nuggets this postseason.
Against the OKC Thunder in this Western Conference Semis, he averaged only 7.4 points per game on 32.2 percent shooting in seven games (25 percent from threes).
In Games 4 and 5 losses that severely blew the Nuggets’ chances from advancing, he confessed that he was the main reason for their collapse.
“I mean, I’m really devastated personally for just not being able to contribute how I wanted to and not being able to play the way I wanted to,” Porter Jr. said after the Nuggets’ playoff run ended with a 125-93 Game 7 loss against the Thunder.
“I felt a little helpless out there, like I’m trying, but I just can’t go rebound how I want to, I can’t box out how I want to.
“Even when I’m shooting, my shot has no real confidence in how my jumper’s feeling. Normally, it feels good every time it leaves my hand, and it wasn’t feeling that way. That’s hard because if you can’t do all the other little things and you also don’t feel comfortable shooting, it was tough for me mentally.
“But at the end of the day, I had a rough injury, that was kind of a longer injury, and I tried to play through it, but it is what it is.”
With the Nuggets slated to enter an important offseason, Porter Jr.’s name stands as one of the most highly anticipated to monitor.
The Denver star was the team’s top trade candidate this previous regular season, being tagged around the Nuggets’ rumored interest in Zach LaVine.
And in addressing the murmurs that they are hesitant to let him go, Nuggets president Josh Kroenke set the record straight about their potential trade stance regarding Porter Jr.
Regardless of what might happen next, Porter Jr. stands appreciative of the belief and commitment that the Denver organization gave to him for the past seven years.
“From the Kroenkes, to Tim Connelly who drafted me, to Calvin [Booth], to Coach [Michael] Malone, and now [David Adelman], I have a lot of appreciation for everybody in here,” Porter Jr. said, who still has two years left on the max rookie extension he signed in 2021.
“Everyone in this locker room means a lot to me. I’m not sure if it’ll be the same exact group next year, but whatever’s next for me, whatever’s next for this team, I know that the guys will be ready for it.”
