Craig Porter Jr. has flown under the radar for essentially his entire tenure with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He has shown flashes of potential, but has never been able to put his full game together, especially offensively.
Porter Jr. does the little things very well. He is a strong rebounder, which led to head coach Kenny Atkinson calling him a de facto power forward last season. He is a strong defender, often creating chaos with deflections and blocks.
Offensively, he has flashed as a playmaker and slasher, but Porter Jr.’s aggression is not always consistent. He has the skillset to be a great rotation role player, but consistency when it comes to his on ball skills hasn’t been there. He mentioned it during media day, but he has to put it into practice.
The Cavs need Craig Porter Jr. to be aggressive at all times this season
Porter Jr. said at media day that he wants to do more scoring this year and he has worked on it throughout the summer. Atkinson also mentioned that he was pleased with Porter Jr. taking care of his body the way that he has as well.
Cleveland has an open spot at backup point guard and that position has been a bit of a revolving door for the Cavs over the last couple seasons. From Ty Jerome to Lonzo Ball to Dennis Schroder, Cleveland has yet to find consistency with their second unit floor generals.
Porter Jr. will likely battle Tyrese Proctor and Meleek Thomas for that spot, but he has the slight upperhand heading into camp since he has been with the team the longest. He also profiles as the best defender of that group, but Proctor and Thomas have a fearlessness offensively that Porter Jr. has not shown.
It’s not that he doesn’t have the scoring ability either. He has the athletic profile to finish strong at the rim and is very crafty in the paint as well. His shooting has gotten better since his rookie year, but the volume hasn’t been there.
This is going to be year four for Porter Jr. and it is a critical one. If he wants to earn a second contract from the Cavs or another team, he has to show that he has made progress offensively. He can be the reserve point guard that Cleveland has been looking for if he taps into his offense. He says he’s worked on it. Now, it’s time to deliver.
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