Three ways the Cavs can maximize Kevin Porter Jr.’s play next season
By Amadou Sow
The first way the Cleveland Cavaliers could maximize KPJ next season: More isolation attempts
Throughout the season, KPJ had shown an impressive handle that led to head coach J.B. Bickerstaff considering playing him at point guard at times, or was said to be the case before the season’s novel coronavirus-induced hiatus and soon after Bickerstaff took over as Cavs head coach.
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This handle that he possesses will help to improve his game and keep defenders honest against him. Combining that with his athleticism, if KPJ could add strength, his isolation game could take massive strides and having a better isolation game would help to improve the other facets of his play.
Looking at statistics, KPJ ran an iso play 13.6 percent of the time, which resulted in a score 35.5 percent of the time and a shooting foul 9.2 percent of the time, according to Synergy Sports. KPJ’s driving and finishing abilities will also help his iso abilities.
On a particularly impressive note, though, this past season, KPJ shot 68.7 percent in the restricted area, per NBA.com’s shooting data, which was a real bright spot with him only being a rookie perimeter player.
KPJ’s iso play from this past season is just the beginning.
Looking at it, you can see where the James Harden comparisons come from and with the proper training, we could see it reach new heights over the course of the next few years.
There are tons of ways the Cavs could look to improve his isolation game for next season, including doing something that I will discuss next.