Forward Michael Porter Jr. was the Denver Nuggets‘ third-best player during the regular season, at least offensively.
He averaged 17.4 points a game while shooting 48.7 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from 3-point range during the regular season, and he is a very nice complementary player next to Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.
But ever since the Western Conference Finals versus the Los Angeles Lakers, Porter has struggled with his shooting.
The Nuggets lead the NBA Finals 2-1 over the Miami Heat with the crucial Game 4 coming up on Friday, and Zach Lowe feels head coach Michael Malone should continue to go to Porter even though he hasn’t played well.
.@ZachLowe_NBA thinks Michael Malone should stick with Michael Porter Jr. despite his shooting struggles 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/QMPg8pLEoW
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) June 9, 2023
In Denver’s Game 2 loss, Porter went just 2-of-8 for six points, and in Game 3, he was even worse, as he mustered just two points on 1-of-7 shooting.
Perhaps running a few set plays early in Game 4 for him will help get him going and rediscover the feel of the basketball going through the net.
A big part of Porter’s recent struggles has been his inability to hit from beyond the arc, as he’s a combined 3-of-19 from the distance so far in the championship series.
One must expect the ultra-resilient Heat to come out with extra gusto in Game 4 at home, knowing that a loss could mean instant death with the series moving back to Colorado for Game 5.
A Heat win, on the other hand, would make it a brand-new series.
The Nuggets may very well need Porter to return to form right away to put Miami on the doorstep of extinction on Friday.
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