Michael Porter Jr.’s run in the NBA playoffs was over, and the Denver Nuggets were eliminated.
This past regular season efficiency averaged 18.2 points with over 50% efficiency, with Michael Porter Jr. being the Denver Nuggets’ third main star and the top scorer just behind Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. But when he needed him most, he simply disappeared.
Porter Jr. averaged 7.4 points per game, as the Nuggets ran the championship under interim coach David Adelman.
His awful postseason was the subject of the debate over Denver, with Jokic dulling his struggles, with interim coach David Adelman trying to get him out of him more.
Porter Jr.’s playoff challenges are deeply rooted in his health issues. He especially sustained Grade 2 shoulder sprain in his previous first round series against the LA Clippers.
This was when the recession finally began for the Denver Forward. However, it is difficult not to consider Porter Jr. taking more responsibility for the Nuggets this postseason, as much as he deserves a pass to continue his play bravely despite shoulder complications that require four to five weeks of recovery.
Against the OKC Thunder in the Western Conference semi-finals, he averaged only 7.4 points per game on 32.2% shots (25% from the third innings) in seven games.
With losses in games 4 and 5 that badly blown away opportunities by the Nuggets’ advance, he confessed that he was the main reason for their collapse.
“I mean, I’m personally really ravaged by not being able to contribute the way I wanted and not playing the way I wanted,” he said after the Nuggets playoff run ended with a 125-93 Game 7 loss to Thunder.
“I felt a bit helpless, like I was trying to do, but I can’t recover what I want to do.
“Even when I was filming, my shots don’t have any real confidence in my jumper’s feelings. Usually, it felt good every time I left my hand, and it didn’t feel good. It’s difficult.
“But at the end of the day, I got a rough injury, it was kind of like an injury, and I tried to play through it, but that’s it.”
With the Nuggets set to enter a critical offseason, Porter Jr.’s name is one of the most anticipated to watch.
The Denver star was the team’s top trade candidate this past season and was tagged around the Nuggets’ rumoured interest in Zack Lavigne.
And as they tackled their reluctance to let him go, the Nuggets president Josh Kroenke set a straight record of their potential trade stances regarding Porter Jr.
Regardless of what happens next, Porter Jr. is grateful for the beliefs and commitment the Denver organization has given him over the past seven years.
“From Croenkez to Tim Connelly, Calvin (Booth), coach (Michael) Malone, and now (David Adelman), I have so much to say to everyone here,” Porter Jr. still has two years left in the Max Rookie expansion he signed in in 2021.
“Everyone in this locker room means a lot to me. I don’t know if they’ll be in the exact same group next year, but to me, whatever next thing next for this team, I know it’s ready.”