Cavs: How Darius Garland, Kevin Porter Jr. should improve, based on reports

Porter’s pull-up shooting should improve for the Cleveland Cavaliers

Porter, from my perspective in a bench key scoring/playmaking role, could very well be poised for a big leap forward in year 2, and should end up playing a starting minutes-share either way.

Porter is a player that I’d imagine, and Fedor’s report also suggested it to an extent, should be a lead playmaker in stretches, realistically sans Garland. His assist rate of 14.7 percent was a big positive from his rookie season, and Porter had a 17.1 percent assist rate in his last 12 games of 2019-20.

Porter’s ability to generate space off-the-bounce consistently jumped out in the scoring sense, even more so, though, and his finishing package with both hands makes him so difficult to account for as a driver.

But as Fedor alluded to, Kevin Porter Jr. only hit 33.5 percent of his three-point attempts as a rookie, albeit his catch-and-shoot triple clip was a robust 40.7 percent, per NBA.com’s shot tracking data.

For Porter for next season, however, with a bit higher release on his shots/reportedly better mechanics, that should help him improve his pull-up shooting. On a high frequency of 37.0 percent, Porter only had an effective field goal shooting clip of 34.0 percent, and he hit only 25.7 percent of his pull-up three-point looks.

With the extended offseason and with how Porter’s shot/mechanics are looking better and more fluid, though, I expect us to see KPJ improve as a pull-up shooter next season. He should seemingly be able to capitalize more frequently on the space he can generate off-the-bounce with his ability to change speeds so effortlessly.

I can’t say that with certainty, but with his driving capability, passing willingness and seemingly being aided by more spacing often with a player such as Dylan Windler (whose now healthy) with him out there, KPJ should be better in the pull-up game.

Overall, it’s great to hear that the extended offseason is paying off for the Cleveland Cavaliers youngsters.