After arriving via mid-season trade last year from the LA Clippers, Kevin Porter Jr. became a key cog in Milwaukee’s rotation—and will be even more crucial this season. Somehow, the Bucks got Porter, only
needing to give up MarJon Beauchamp. Granted, you can see why the Clippers didn’t view KPJ as all that important; he shot 42.3% from the field and 24.5% from three with them. However, Milwaukee seemed a much better fit for Kevin, who looked revitalised in Bucks green, upping those percentages to 49.4% from the field and a blistering (but probably not sustainable) 40.8% from three.
Of course, everyone knows about Porter’s rocky past before coming back to the NBA last year. We know there’s a wealth of talent there; it just needs to be harnessed in the right way. I mostly lauded Kevin’s performance with Milwaukee in the above paragraph, but he did have the odd game where he looked completely unfocused—that can’t happen this year. With no Dame waiting in the wings, the Bucks will ask a lot out of Porter. He’ll need to grow into a real conductor role with this team as the presumed starting point guard; Doc won’t have the luxury of just playing him 10–15 minutes. And is there a chance that strategy is setting both Kevin and the Bucks up to fail? Maybe. But that’s the situation. KPJ will be well and truly thrown into the deep end this season, and we’re all going to find out if he can swim.
Getting more into the on-court specifics, Porter will be crucial as one of the team’s few live-ball playmakers. Passing is a skill that players either have or they don’t; it’s tough to develop. Kevin has it; he just needs to be efficient and limit his turnovers. Porter will need to throw lobs to rolling big men in Giannis and Jericho Sims; he’ll need to build chemistry with the shooting centres in Myles Turner and Bobby Portis. How does he get shooters like AJ Green and Gary Trent involved?
Although I prefer it not to be the case, we know Giannis is likely to have increased usage, but KPJ will also handle the ball fairly often. From a scoring standpoint, you hope Porter has been working on his shot off the catch this offseason, because he’ll need to be better than the 30.8% catch-and-shoot mark he was at last season. I believe he has a natural touch, which is evident when he maneuvers into the mid-range (41.8% on pull-ups last year), but he needs to knock down open shots from deep.
The part of the game I’m maybe most optimistic about for KPJ, though, is on defence. If you are making an optimistic case about the Bucks this season, being one of the top defensive teams really must be part of your argument. At 6’4” with a 6’9” wingspan, solid body, and quick feet, Kevin has all the tools to be a good defensive player; he just needs to commit on that end. Obviously, fans are aware of his instincts and nose for the ball, which was exemplified in the five-steal game late in the season against Minnesota.
In closing, there will be a lot on KPJ’s plate this season, and that could be a bad idea. But I’m choosing to be optimistic. Anyway, please vote for who’s next below!
