3 impressive things Craig Porter Jr. has shown in Cavs Summer League

1. He’s an “impact player”

Porter is good at most things in basketball. He can score, rebound, assist, and even block shots. This is what he did at Wichita State and he’s picked up right where he left off in Las Vegas. Last season with the Shockers he averaged 13.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5 assists, and had 46 blocked shots which all led the team.

Keep in mind, this is the summer league and some Cavs players have referred to this tourney as a glorified professional AAU tourney like middle and high school kids play in. There is a lot of simply “scoring buckets” and the defense can be lackadaisical but it’s still against tougher competition than in college.

In the semifinal game against the Brooklyn Nets, Porter finished with 12 points, seven assists, seven boards, and two blocked shots. In his previous start earlier in the week, he went for 22 points, eight rebounds, six assists, three steals, and one block. He scored seven of the final nine points in that close win against the Chicago Bulls.

In the semifinal game, he scored on a couple of fadeaway jumpers from the top of the key and at the baseline. His defense has been solid as well and many of his blocks are from behind when the bigger player thinks he has a step on him.

Porter has been an unselfish player and seems to have a very good eye on the court. Feeding a pass ahead in a transition has been common to see so far. He also has led some great passes inside on the block to his big men like Isaiah Mobley.