The Nuggets have to find ways to keep Michael Porter Jr. involved

Michael Porter Jr. was sitting on 15 points and had made 5-of-8 field goal attempts and 3-of-5 3-pointers entering Monday’s fourth quarter in Minnesota. On a night where the Nuggets had uncharacteristically struggled to make shots — Denver was shooting 45% from the floor and 33.3% from distance entering the fourth — Porter was a source of efficient offense.

But Porter was pretty much invisible in a fourth quarter that saw the Timberwolves outscore the Nuggets 34-26 to seal a 124-111 win. Porter checked in with 7:58 remaining in regulation and played seven straight fourth-quarter minutes but only attempted one shot during that stretch. It was a catch-and-shoot 3 that touched nothing but net.

Porter didn’t just fade to the background in the fourth quarter. He was invisible. The Nuggets had 13 offensive possessions during the seven-minute stretch that Porter played in the fourth. Porter touched the ball a grand total of three times. That’s it.

1st touch: Catch-and-shoot 3 at 5:44 left in regulation

2nd touch: Turnover at 3:21

3rd touch: Pass to Kentavious Calwell-Pope at 2:47

Defense, not offense, was the No. 1 reason why the Nuggets fell to the Timberwolves on the second night of their back-to-back. Minnesota shot 52% from the field and scored 58 points in Denver’s paint. On the season, the Nuggets are giving up an average of 51.5 paint points per game. It’s a bottom-10 mark. Denver also looked tired coming off an emotional, hard-fought win over the Eastern Conference-leading Celtics 24 hours earlier in Denver. There wasn’t any spring in their step. From that angle, it felt like a predictable let-down game.

Porter’s disappearing act felt odd when it was happening in real-time, and even odder when you watched it again. It’s not like the Nuggets were awful on offense in the fourth. Denver scored on seven of its 13 offensive possessions with Porter on the floor in the fourth quarter. Looking back on it, I’m sure the Nuggets would have liked to have found more looks for Porter within their offense to keep pace. Porter’s fourth-quarter defense was solid too. His mistakes were minimal, even though Minnesota scored on Denver with ease.

This wasn’t just a one-game flair-up either. It’s not the first time where Porter has been absent from the Nuggets’ offense for a prolonged stretch even when he’s been cooking. It often happens after he goes for a “Porter Quarter,” a term coined by DNVR for Porter’s propensity to catch fire out of nowhere and fill up the box score in a short amount of time. Porter could hit three or four 3-pointers during one of his stretches of playing time, then sub out of the game, and then disappear from the offense when he returns.

It’s a problem that falls on both Porter and the Nuggets. Denver has to find ways to get the ball to Porter throughout the entirety of the game. Porter has to find better ways to make himself available and always be a threat within the Nuggets’ attack.

Keeping Porter involved is an ultimate first-world problem for Denver’s offense. The Nuggets are at the top of the Western Conference with the second-best offense in the league with arguably the most unstoppable offensive player of his generation. Life is good.

But Porter is such a dynamic weapon. He has an unblockable 3-point shot. He’s a dead-eye shooter from everywhere on the floor. Porter going silent like he did in Minnesota lets the defense off the hook. Both the Nuggets and Porter can’t let that happen.