I can’t wait to see Kevin Porter Jr. light it up for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Kevin Porter Jr. is a player that us Cleveland Cavaliers fans are pumped to see next season. Porter had a successful rookie season in my eyes, and left so much reason for optimism following his first campaign for the Wine and Gold.
Porter took some time to get going, but popped often throughout 2019-20, and had 10.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 0.9 steals per contest. Next season, with Dylan Windler seeming to be firmly in the fold, and with Cleveland potentially drafting a wing, I’d expect Porter to be mostly at guard, too, where he’s much more natural.
Last season, though, Porter still held his own a bunch in matchups against often bigger 3’s, and played with physicality, and on the offensive end, showed big-time finishing ability, too. Porter hitting 68.7 percent of his shot attempts in the restricted area in year 1, per NBA.com’s shooting data, jumps out to me.
How he changed speeds off-the-bounce, had terrific body control, finished with both hands and showed plenty of positive signs as a playmaker leads many to believe he could eventually be a star for Cleveland. Plus, him hitting 40.7 percent of his catch-and-shoot three-point attempts as a rookie, too, per NBA.com’s shot tracking data was another key positive from year 1 for him, from my perspective.
Clearly, Porter is one of the most promising players on Cleveland’s roster, if not the most promising. So looking at his second season, what’s maybe in store for KPJ?
We’ll suggest two realistic expectations for KPJ for the Cavs next season.
I’ll get rolling then with #1, and him being a key bench initiator.