As we all know, in this offseason, many young people in the class of 2018 have received big contracts, 8 of the 14 lotto shows have completed early contract renewals with the team, and of these 8, 4 have signed a maximum salary contract, these 4 people are Doncic, Trae Young, Alexander and Michael Potter Jr.
After the start of the new season, Doncic and Trae Young were affected by the new regulations, and the data and performance decreased compared with the previous year, but at least it was the level of 22+ per game, Alexander also performed well, and currently averaged 22+, however, Porter Jr. is a bit bleak, and it can even be said that an avalanche decline.
So far, the Nuggets have played a total of 6 games, and Porter Jr. has started every game, but in these 6 games, Porter Jr. has not scored more than 15 points, and 2 games have not scored in double figures, and in the past 5 games, he has not shot more than 50% of the shots.
After 6 games, Porter Jr.'s average data is only 10.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, shooting as low as 33.3%, three-point shooting as low as 25.0%, and the true shooting rate is only 40.7% - it can be said to be miserable.
For comparison, porter Jr. averaged 19.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game last season, shooting 54.2 percent from the field, 44.5 percent from three-point range, and 66.3 percent from the field.
Among them, after Murray was injured, Porter Jr.'s average score per game increased to 23.5 points, and the true shooting rate reached a staggering 70.2%.
It is no exaggeration to say that in terms of Murray's performance after injury last season, Porter Jr. showed an absolute all-Star level, and considering that Porter Jr. helped the Nuggets reach the Western Conference Finals and the Western Conference semifinals for two consecutive years, it is completely understandable that the Nuggets have given him a top salary of 173 million for 5 years (up to 207 million in 5 years).
Porter Jr.'s original advantage was offense, he was a half-court shooting machine without dead ends, thanks to excellent static talent and high shooting points, it was extremely difficult to cover him, and his efficiency was also extremely good, especially at the 45-degree angle and the two bottom angles, Porter Jr.'s three-point shooting rate was even close to 50%.
At the same time, Porter Jr.'s basket finish is also great, the past two seasons, he has shot 168 shots and shooting percentage under the basket 168 times / 62.5%, 281 times / 72.2% - in terms of shot distribution, Porter Jr.'s play style is very magic, which is in line with the trend of the times, coupled with top efficiency, Porter Jr. is indeed a player full of potential.
However, Porter Jr.'s shortcomings are also obvious, his lateral movement is slow, the defense is poor, the change of small defender may suffer losses, and his assist rate is high, in other words, the ability to hold the ball is not very good - this is also related to Porter Jr.'s talent, his center of gravity is high, the dribble is also high, and the hand is not large, it is difficult to become a good ball-holding attacker.
Originally, because Porter Jr.'s advantages were too outstanding - shooting efficiency was historical, even overshadowing Durant last season, so his shortcomings were ignored, but now, Porter Jr. could not find the accuracy, which also made his influence plummet, in terms of on-court value, it is obviously not worth the maximum salary.
Considering that Porter Jr. has already signed big contracts, it's impossible to say no worries.
The history of the NBA has not lacked some players who have withered after signing big contracts, the most famous is probably Chandler Parsons, because of the performance of the Lone Ranger period and coincided with the 2016 salary cap surge, Parsons and the Grizzlies signed a 4-year, 95 million contract, but in 4 years, he only played 90 games, averaging only 7.7 points per game, which is why fans call it "money is afraid of something".
Will little Porter now be the next "money to be afraid of"? Obviously, it's a little early, and it's normal for stars to have ups and downs in their hands, not to mention that it's only the beginning of the season, as Coach Malone said: "His shooting is definitely more than that, he will come out of the slump, and before that, he needs to influence the game in other ways." ”
Honestly, Coach Malone can only believe half of what coach said - we believe that Porter Jr. will find the feel sooner or later, maybe in a future game he can cut 30+, 40+ or even 50+ in a single game, but he needs to strengthen the ball holding, the ball to strengthen the impact on the game.
I hope that Porter Jr. can find his own feel as soon as possible, he is only 23 years old, the road ahead is still very long, and now that the big contract has arrived, it is time to hand over a better performance.