Kevin Porter Jr. Proving He Should Be A Building Block Of The Future
If you play fantasy basketball hopefully you picked up Kevin Porter Jr. before this week, otherwise you could have missed out on a league winner.
When the Houston Rockets acquired Kevin Porter Jr. from the Cleveland Cavaliers for just a second round pick, they knew they were getting a steal. But even they have to be blown away with how quickly he has adjusted to his new team.
After averaging 24.1 points, 7.3 assists, and 6.4 rebounds per game in the G-League with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets called up Porter Jr. to see what potential the former USC guard had. In the midst of a 13 game losing streak heading into All-Star break, the Rockets decided it was time to start evaluating their youngsters for the future, since they had a minuscule chance of competing for the postseason.
Porter Jr. suited up for the Rockets first game post-All-Star break against the Sacramento Kings, and did not disappoint. Despite coming off the bench, Porter Jr. went for a double-double by scoring 13 points and dishing out 10 assists. He even pulled down five rebounds and picked up three steals.
And he didn’t stop there.
In his second game with the Rockets, he exploded for 27 points and 8 dimes. Through four games with his new team, Porter Jr. is averaging an impressive 18.3 points and 8.3 assists. Now, he is shooting 20% from the three, but that should raise over time as he plays more games on the NBA level.
What’s been most impressive about his string of games is his ability to set the table, and feed his teammates for easy buckets. We know Porter Jr. has all the abilities in the world to be a high-level scorer - he can attack you off the dribble, break you down with his handles, get to the rim whenever he wants, and pull-up for the occasional three.
But the passing is an element that we didn’t really see in Cleveland. Last year with the Cavs, Porter Jr. assisted his teammates on 13.9% of the buckets when he was on the floor. That number has dramatically increased to 40.4% this year...again small sample size.
With the way Porter Jr. is balling out right now, it’s going to be nearly impossible to not consider him a future building block with Christian Wood. If he can’t stay out of the news with the off the court issues, the Rockets might have pulled off one of the biggest fleeces in recent memory.
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