The Cleveland Cavaliers came away with a steal with the final pick of the first round in the 2019 NBA Draft when they grabbed USC guard Kevin Porter Jr., and his defensive potential shouldn’t go unnoticed.
The Cleveland Cavaliers selected University of Southern California guard Kevin Porter Jr. in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft, who came to USC as a highly touted recruit (as 247 Sports demonstrated) going into the 2018-19 collegiate season.
Needless to say, his lone season in L.A. was a bit of a bumpy one. He showed gobs of potential but also showed some maturity issues which reportedly led to a suspension, and he battled some nagging injuries, as KJG’s Robbie DiPaola noted.
Despite his high level of talent, Porter only played in 21 games and only started four of those contests (per Sports Reference).
In his 21 games, Porter averaged just 9.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game, though he sported a more than respectable effective field goal percentage of 56.1% (again, per Sports Reference).
In his limited action, Porter showed he can be a highly efficient and highly effective scorer at the collegiate level when dialed in. That is what experts seemed to focus on when evaluating him, however, he has the potential to be a defensive star for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Porter has many traits of that of a high-level NBA defender, it’s just a matter of him putting those traits to use with effort and showing the maturity to be a consistent competitor in the NBA.
The first way he can unlock his defensive capability is by having the right mindset every night, no matter if his shot is going down/he’s making plays on the offensive end.
Having the right mindset
Porter has the athleticism and length to be a fantastic defender against NBA guards and against many small forwards. He needs to show the desire to want to be a consistent defender, night-in and night-out, though.
Porter was widely considered by many draft experts as a top 10 natural talent in the 2019 NBA Draft, but, he slid to a near second-round pick due to all of the maturity questions.
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The maturity questions cannot linger over to on-court performance and effort.
Porter can be an elite-level on-ball defender if he simply puts the effort in on that end of the floor, and to be quite frank, based on last season’s defensive performance (of which KJG contributors have often mentioned was historically awful by Basketball Reference’s defensive rating metrics), the Cavs need Porter to grow into being elite on the defensive end in his career.
When Porter was locked in on the defensive end of the floor for the Trojans, he was outstanding.
He showed above-average ability in defending primary and secondary ball-handlers, and he had solid per 40 minute averages of 7.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals (per Sports Reference).
He also only allowed an impressive .409 points per possession in isolation situations which ranked in the 93rd percentile in the country (per NBA.com).
For Porter to unlock his defensive capability, though, he’ll need to be a willing defender every night, which is anything but easy for a 19-year-old, and one a rebuilding team, in particular.
With the right positioning, Porter can quickly become an impact defender
Porter’s mindset directly impacts his defensive positioning. If he is not going to be a willing defender, he will be consistently out of position, causing him to be a poor defender.
If his mindset is the right one, though, he needs to understand where he needs to be in terms of defensive positioning, in a number of different situations.
First of all, he needs to have the defensive rotations down. The Cavaliers struggled last season when needing to rotate on to open three-point shooters as they allowed opposing teams to knock in 38.0% of three-point attempts, which ranked last in the NBA (per NBA.com).
Porter can immediately improve the Cleveland Cavaliers’ team defense by being solid in closing out on three-point shooters, and when navigating through off-ball screens, though as draft pundits have noted, that is not a key strength of Porter’s at this time, but with quality coaching around him, there’s no reason that can’t improve.
Secondly, Porter needs to use great defensive positioning to continue to show good ability to get in passing lanes as a nearby rotator. If he can continuously be in the correct position on the defensive end of the floor, he can add that in with his natural instincts to get into passing lanes and cause turnovers.
The Cavaliers only forced 12.5 turnovers per game last season, according to NBA.com; only the San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers forced less.
Lastly, in regards to defensive positioning, Porter needs to be aware and be in the proper spot on the defensive end of the floor when he is a help-side defender when defending a pick-and-roll. Not only last season but over the course of the previous few seasons, the Cavaliers gave up way too many uncontested opportunities at the rim because of poor help-side rotations when defending a pick-and-roll, and hopefully mostly-new-look coaching staff can help him in that regard.
Eliminating a good amount of uncontested threes, being in sound position to force a couple of extra turnovers per game, and giving up a couple less uncontested buckets at the rim each game just by being in the proper defensive position would propel the Cleveland Cavaliers’ defense up the NBA pecking order, and Porter seems to have the ability to aid in doing so.
His athleticism and length make his defensive ceiling very high
If Porter can apply high-end effort and proper defensive positioning to his superb athleticism (to go with a listed 6-foot-5.5, and 213-pound frame) and good 6-foot-9 wingspan (courtesy of NBA.com), the Cavaliers could eventually have a high-end perimeter defender who has the ability to defend both guard positions and even NBA small forwards.
He has all of the tools to be an elite on-ball defender with the ability to sit and possesses the quick feet to slide with his man to prevent dribble penetration and separation.
Last season, the Cleveland Cavaliers showed a propensity for getting beaten consistently off the dribble, which allowed open, uncontested threes, and open, uncontested shots at the rim far too often.
Porter reaching his potential and developing into an elite level on-ball defender to where he can improve the aspect of the Cleveland Cavaliers allowing drives into the teeth of the defense will also propel their team defense up the NBA pecking order.
This won’t be an overnight process, but Porter reaching his defensive potential in the near future on the perimeter could allow Cleveland’s less capable defenders such as Collin Sexton and Darius Garland (when they’re on the floor with Porter) on the perimeter to defend more off the ball and not be as exposed, especially in pick-and-roll situations, quite as often.
If Porter can put all three of these traits/facets together, he can develop into an All-NBA Defensive team guard, but he has to show the willingness to defend and show the willingness to be coached so he can be in the proper defensive positioning, though.
If he can do those first two things, he should be able to use his length and athleticism to grow into an elite defender for a long time in the NBA, barring significant injuries. The physical attributes are there.