Stephen Silas highly praised Kevin Porter Jr., who is expected to continue as the starting point guard next season.
Last season, Houston Rockets third-year guard Kevin Porter Jr. transitioned to full-time point guard for the first time. The Rockets have spent the entire season paying for the mistakes of young players because the team wants to learn from those mistakes.
Overall, the results of a season have been mixed. On the one hand, Porter Jr. did improve his three-point shooting percentage, from 31.1 percent in 2020-21 to 37.5 percent in 2021-22. He showed a brilliant glow, with Porter Jr. averaging 28.7 points per game (48.0 percent from the field and 40.3 percent from three-point range), 7.4 assists and 7.3 rebounds.
On the other hand, between 2021 and 2022, Porter Jr. also had some mistakes. Not only did he make too many mistakes in the game, but he often made serious mistakes in decision-making that led to the loss of the game. For example, during the once-infamous New Year's Day incident, he rushed out of the Toyota Center in the middle of the game, resulting in the team's suspension.
In an interview with SportsTalk 790, head coach Stephen Silas, in an interview with resident radio station Matt Thomas, said Porter Jr.'s performance was largely expected.
Speaking about Porter Jr.'s performance, Silas believes the team allowed him to make mistakes and learn from them. Silas wants Porter Jr. to be aggressive in his play and be able to withstand the pressure on the defensive end and use all his talents to help the team win.
Silas also believes that Porter Jr. can learn from his failures and can control the ball better. Although he would sometimes rush into the crowd causing him to concede a goal and then accidentally make a mistake. But he's also good at playing fast, and he needs to do better with that and really play team basketball.
Silas endorsed Porter Jr.'s performance in training in the 2022 offseason, adding that the Rockets hope he will soon return to Houston to train with teammates. Porter Jr. played for the Cavaliers and also played in the Development League for a while.
The Rockets changed his position, and after a season of ups and downs, Porter Jr.'s situation seemed to stabilize somewhat at the end of last year. He's done well this summer. He spent most of his time training in Houston. Now that he's training in New York, he's expected to return later this week or next week.
What Little Potter saw was a more stable performance. He used the training palm more to grasp the skills of a point guard and used his talent. Because he has a strong athletic ability, he is very fast and can change direction at both ends of the court. Not just on the offensive end, he's also a good defender on the defensive end, with good guarding skills.
Porter Jr.'s decision-making ability needs to be better than last year, because helping his teammates play well is an important part of that. Porter Jr. doesn't just have the ability to score 50 points, he also needs to help other youngsters like Shin Kyung and Jaylen Green play well.
It's worth noting that Porter Jr. is eligible to renew a big contract early in the offseason, but most reports suggest that the Rockets may only offer a contract that doesn't exceed tens of millions of dollars in annual salary. Because the Rockets are financially cautious about any long-term contract proposals.
For now, Porter Jr. is expected to be the Houston Rockets' starting lineup for the 2022-23 season alongside Green, Alperen Shinkin, top rookie Jabari Smith Jr., and Jeshaun Tate or Eric Gordon. What do you think?
