Let’s Talk About Craig Porter – NBA Summer League Preview – Cleveland Cavaliers, Cavs News

Let’s Talk About Craig Porter – NBA Summer League Preview – Cleveland Cavaliers, Cavs News

we are just days away from the Cavs playing their first Summer League game in Las Vegas this year and before it all starts I thought it would be good to check in on Craig Porter Jr and just give a quick recap of how his rookie season unfolded as well as what to expect moving forward just a year ago Porter went undrafted before signing a two-way contract with the Cavs and he did so much to impress that he earned a standard NBA contract before we even reached the All-Star break it was a massively successful season from a guy who showed all sorts of promise from the moment he stepped on to the court Porter notched 22 points in his debuted Summer League game last year and he went on to play a pivotal role in the Cavs winning the summer league championship and then when they dealt with a wave of injuries during the regular season it was Porter who stepped up to deliver timely performances and keep things afloat he shined as non-ball Creator setting up teammates and using his athleticism to attack the rim Porter has fantastic body control hanging in the air to absorb and finish through contact this downhill burst was a bit of a surprise as I’m not sure many people thought Porter would look this Dynamic against NBA level competition he was great at attacking Closeouts especially when driving from the Baseline he converted over 60% of his attempts in the restricted area getting to the rim did become more of a challenge for him as the season waned on as opponents realized his limitations as a three-point shooter Porter began to deal with more drop coverage and teams would just sit on his drives allowing their rim protector to hang in the paint and deter him from being a scoring threat the back half of the season was a turning point for Porter we can see his impact clearly drop off following the All-Star break and I do think it’s fair to mention that the Cavs as a unit really fell off in the second half of the season and Porter was just one part of this but it is important to note that Porter had a rough time adjusting two adjustments once opposing defens has learned how to take him out of his comfort zones it became a lot more difficult for Porter to make an impact his plus minus changed drastically after the All-Star break with Porter going from a plus 2.8 per 100 possessions to a glaring minus 14 in the second half of the year and while this might seem super concerning the rookie wall is nothing to panic about and it’s important to remember that Porter was an undrafted rookie and we need to keep this all in perspective he showed tangible NBA level skills during his first season and I hope to see Porter build on this during his second go in summer league he’s an incredibly crafty player with subtle movements and changing speeds with ease he’s really good at using different angles to his benefit and just just his overall feel for the game is what sets him apart as a prospect I love this subtle hesitation move and how he uses his body to free up space and right here we see his quick instincts to dribble the ball low and avoid a swipe from Anthony and then he stops on a dime to use his Defender momentum against them for a crafty little jump hook Porter excels at this push shot and the mid-range is probably the Zone he feels most comfortable scoring from he shot above 46% on these attempts which would Place him firmly in the upper half of the NBA all be it on relatively low volume he almost reminds me of Shawn Livingston on these attempts due to his footwork and that Smooth release and while the mid-range is something teams are trying to stay away from it’s a genuine strength reporter and I think he should continue building on this as a go-to weapon another clear strength for Porter is his court Vision he has an undeniable knack for setting up teammates and understanding the flow of a game on this play he reads the weak side Defender and then snaps a skip pass to Dean Wade and we see him do it again right here this time to Merill this might not be the most impressive thing in the world but keep in mind again this is an undrafted rookie making these heads up plays Porter is a traditional point guard through and through and this is both a benefit and a hindrance to his game he isn’t super aggressive seeking his own shot and he can fall victim to running through the motions the Casual needs to do more to empower Porter as an advantage Creator so that he doesn’t simply disappear for long stretches like we saw at the end of his rookie season and some of this does come down to expanding his range as a three-point shooter Porter attempted just 34 three-pointers in 51 games this season he didn’t appear very comfortable stepping outside of the Ark and again team started to punish him for this and this is important because Porter is so good at attacking Closeouts and manipulating Heth Defenders that he has to demand some attention from above the break or he simply won’t be able to play to this strength very often this is a good example where he has Maxi completely lost on this play and then he just toys with the help defense with a sick wraparound pass but he won’t get many opportunities to do stuff like this if he can’t knock down three-pointers with any sort of volume and pull the defense out so to package this all together Porter is a superb athlete with a lot of promising skills he’s a high IQ player and he’s at his best when he’s picking apart a scrambling defense his finishing at the rim and smooth mid-range jumper are his calling cards as a scorer and Porter has Elite Court Vision that should only get better as he gains more experience in the NBA his defense held up although he did get picked on especially in the latter half of the season and his overall impact was blunted by his inability to space the floor or properly play without the ball Porter attempted just nine field goals off of cuts All Season while he is a traditional point guard the NBA has moved past that archetype and he will have to carve out more of an offall game in order to really break a consistent rotation so I would say off ball movement and three-point shooting are the things I’ll be watching for in the summer league I feel conf confident his playmaking and explosiveness are enough to keep him in the NBA for a long time but he has a few more steps to take before being a legit contributor and I hope to see him flash some more improvements during the games in Vegas [Music]

Craig Porter Jr. is headed back to Las Vegas for NBA Summer League!

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