Nuggets Film Room: Where Michael Porter Jr. excelled and struggled in his first two games

No matter who was on the floor in the Nuggets’ preseason opener, you couldn’t take your eyes off Michael Porter Jr.

Half of it was the storyline. Porter had of course missed his entire rookie season following two back surgeries that sent the once consensus top-2 recruit’s draft stock tumbling.

But Porter also captures your eye for other reasons. He’s an unmistakeable figure on the court. At 6-foot-10 with a prototypical NBA build, Porter looks and moves like a superstar, maybe because he was one while rising the high school recruiting ranks.

In two preseason games Porter has had both good and bad moments. Here’s where he’s excelled but also struggled in his first live action in nearly two years.

Mismatch potential

The first thing that jumps off the screen when watching Porter is his sheer size. At 6-foot-10 with long arms he’s a huge mismatch for many opposing forwards and it already seems like he’s figuring out how to use his size to his advantage.

Porter had a pair of offensive rebounds in the Nuggets’ second preseason matchup against the Clippers and was no match inside for Amir Coffey here, or any small forward L.A. matched up with him.

If he has a mismatch out on the perimeter or is guarded by slower-footed forwards, Porter can make a quick move and go by his defender.

Fitting into the offense

The Nuggets’ have forged their identity over the last several seasons with their play on the offensive end of the floor around Nikola Jokic. Denver’s attack is predicated on constant ball and player movement and passing up good shots for better ones. But all five players have to be operating as one in order for the Nuggets to operate at peak performance.

So how will Porter — someone who coming up through the AAU ranks was a gifted individual offensive player who excelled in isolation situations — fit into Denver’s read-and-react system?

He’s already executed a few smartly-timed cuts within the Nugget’s offense, even if Denver’s ball handlers haven’t been able to find him.

I’ve also liked how Porter has looked for opportunities to fill open spaces in half court and fast break sets.

Can Porter avoid being a defensive liability?

This is the very question that could determine if Michael Malone, who has never had much patience for players prone to defensive miscues, grants Porter consistent playing time over the early part of the season.

Historically, most rookies are poor defenders. NBA defense is so nuanced and takes so many reps and seasons to master, it’s expected that first-year players will struggle on that end of the floor too. The Nuggets have mentioned throughout the preseason that they’re challenging Porter to be a better defender and improve on what is right now the weakest part of his game.

He had some rough moments in Denver’s opener in Portland. Here, he triedd to execute a switch with Monte Morris when he should have stayed glued to his man in the corner. Morris’ reaction after Anfernee Simons’ 3 says it all.

This defensive sequence between Porter and Malik Beasley wasn’t the smoothest either.

He’ll have to make more of an effort to get back on defense too. Transition defense has always been a sticking point with Malone.

But there have been signs from Porter over his first two games that he can be a helpful defender, and most of them have to do with his length. His long arms should be useful coming over as a help side defender and can lead to steals or deflections that Denver can turn into transition opportunities.

He’s had some encouraging defensive possessions in the half court too.

What lineups should Porter be featured in?

Porter likely won’t spend much time with the Nuggets’ starting unit at least to begin the season with Will Barton looking like he’s entrenched as Denver’s starting small forward for now, which is too bad because his long frame would give Jokic a huge moving target to hit on direct cuts to the basket.

But with Denver’s second unit, Porter has logged most of his minutes at the three alongside Jerami Grant and Jarred Vanderbilt and looked comfortable. He’s also played some power forward next to Vanderbilt and spent time on the court with Mason Plumlee too. Lineups that feature a front court of Porter, Grant and Vanderbilt have been intriguing to watch.

All three forwards are at least 6-foot-9 with long arms and can all cover a ton of ground. Grant, who’s an instinctual and elite help-side defender, along with Vanderbilt who projects to be an above-average one, can clean up some of the inevitable mistakes Porter will make on that end of the floor too.

Just last year the Nuggets lacked length on their roster. But now it seems as if Denver has a surplus of it inside. Porter has potential as a rim protector, and he, Grant and Vanderbilt absolutely smothered Skal Labissiere here.

Porter has also logged minutes with Vanderbilt at center and Juancho Hernangomez at the opposite forward spot. Against Portland Denver successfully ran its “Elbow Get” action for Porter where he received the ball at the elbow and then was able to attack the basket downhill after Vanderbilt came over and set him a ball screen.

Porter and Vanderbilt have been friends going back to their days as top players in high school on the AAU circuit and seem to have good on-court chemistry together.

When on the floor together Hernangomez and Porter also act as two elite floor spacers at the three and four which can really open up the paint.

Shot selection

Porter was the quinniestial tough shot-maker in high school and it’s a reason why he established himself as a consensus top-2 recruit coming out of high school. He has the rare ability to rise over his defender, at times square-up to the basket in mid-air, and still see his shot find the bottom of the net.

Porter has attempted some TOUGH looks through two games though.

But those are the types of contested and difficult shots Porter has always taken. He’s knocked them down before too. He’s also always been comfortable getting up shots off the dribble so it wasn’t a surprise that with his first NBA touch Porter immediately put the ball on the floor, used a few rhythm dribbles to get a feel for the ball, and launched a long two over Zach Collins.

Nuggets coaches will surely teach and preach efficient shot selection to Porter throughout his rookie season. Still, Porter has shot it efficiently through two games going a clean 10 of 14 from the floor.

For someone who hasn’t played in a game in nearly two years, Porter looked incredibly poised in his first two preseason games. He didn’t look rattled and kept a calm and cool demeanor throughout both matchups.

It’s a promising beginning to what Porter and the Nuggets hope is a long and fruitful career.