The Cleveland Cavaliers have been searching for reliable reserve point guard play for a little while now. They had it last year with Ty Jerome, who turned in the best season of his career and earned a lucrative deal from the Memphis Grizzlies. The Cavs essentially swapped him for Lonzo Ball at that position, but it has not worked out.
Ball has been collecting DNPs for the last couple of weeks because of his ineffective offense. However, this has led to an opportunity for Craig Porter Jr., who has flown
under the radar for his entire Cleveland tenure.
Porter Jr. has been a revelation for the Cavs this season, a big part of the youth movement that has given the team a huge boost. His counting stats may not jump off the page, but it is not hard to see Porter Jr.’s impact on a nightly basis, especially on the defensive end. The numbers support this too, as Cleveland has a +3 net rating with Porter Jr. on the floor, including a sterling +10.5 net rating when he shares the court with Donovan Mitchell.
The tape also supports Porter Jr.’s impact on both ends.
Take a look at this play from Cleveland’s win over Indiana last week.
Porter Jr. gets screened by Johnny Furphy to free up Andrew Nembhard and to get the switch on Darius Garland. Nembhard gets by Garland, thinking he has a free layup, but Porter Jr. has the awareness to leave Furphy and help Garland. This leads to an epic block and preserves the Cavs’ six-point lead.
Porter Jr. may be listed at 6’1”, but he plays like he’s much taller. This is a guy who led Wichita State in blocks during his final season there, and that has translated over to the NBA.
He also led the Shockers in rebounding, and Porter Jr.’s relentlessness on the glass has played into Kenny Atkinson’s message of winning the possession game as he did against San Antonio.
Hunter misses the mid-range jumper, but look at Porter Jr. sprint from the three-point line and jump up to back tap the ball to Jaylon Tyson, who knocks down a key three-pointer. Even on plays where he doesn’t have the ball, this doesn’t stop Porter Jr. from creating more offensive opportunities. This was the start of a huge fourth-quarter run for the Cavs against the Spurs.
Even Porter’s playmaking has been key off the bench, giving Cleveland another guard that can get downhill and create for their big men. This play from the same game is a good example of that.
Porter Jr. starts on the opposite wing. The Cavs swing it twice before getting it to him, where he attacks the closeout and gets into the paint. He then sees Allen sitting in the dunker’s spot and delivers a nice bounce pass to him for the easy dunk.
Porter Jr. has all the skills Cleveland has been lacking at the backup point guard spot all year and during their previous playoff runs. He defends at a high level, he crashes the glass at a high level, and he can playmake and get to the paint. He has taken his spot in the rotation and has not looked back. The Cavs are going to need him in order to take the next step in the postseason.
