Washington Wizards Otto Porter Showing Promising Signs
By Mark Bruty
When you are drafted with the third overall pick in any NBA draft there are going to be significant expectations. They might not be “immediate impact” type expectations, but at some point in your time in the NBA, you are going to need to justify your draft position. You will be compared to other players in your draft class, other No. 3 picks and your output will be analyzed.
This is true for Otto Porter Jr., the sophomore swingman for the Washington Wizards.
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Porter was drafted No. 3 in last year’s NBA draft. The small forward out of Georgetown had been projected as a star talent and after witnessing a rather complete game during his college career, the Washington Wizards were quite comfortable grabbing Porter early in the draft.
Unfortunately for Porter and the Wizards, his rookie season wasn’t exactly what either party expected to endure. He missed the entire preseason due to injury and it also sidelined him for the first 18 regular-season games. Then, when he was healthy enough to start balling again, Trevor Ariza was dominating and the Wizards were winning and it wasn’t an ideal situation to tamper with — let alone to throw an untested rookie into the mix.
As a result, Porter played in just 37 games in his rookie year and saw less than nine minutes of action per game in those appearances.
This year, though, is a completely different story.
Otto Porter is now healthy and he has worked extremely hard to get himself into what he describes as “pre-draft” shape. This means the injuries are gone and he is now feeling as good and as fit as when he left Georgetown and declared for the NBA. It also means that Porter was able to get stuck into training camp and the pre-season.
This season, he also moved up the depth chart — significantly. After a great season, Ariza departed for the Houston Rockets and the Wizards brought in the aging but experienced Paul Pierce.
This meant that the small forward spot could now be more evenly job shared in order to provide Otto with the opportunity while preserving Pierce for the post season. However, the injury bug hit Washington with shooting guard Bradley Beal breaking his wrist, Martell Webster coming off back surgery and Glen Rice Jr. spraining an ankle.
All of a sudden, Otto Porter could be a go-to guy.
This preseason, Porter is seeing minutes and he is making the most of them. He is showing signs of being a solid scorer, he is ripping down rebounds, running the floor and also knocking down the long ball. Making the 3-point shot is going to be crucial not only for the Wizards, but also for Porter, who isn’t renowned for his ability to fill it up from deep.
On a team with John Wall, you need to space the floor to allow him room to work and you need to find a passage to the basket and finish at the rim. These two areas are where Otto Porter Jr needs to show the most progress to keep seeing significant playing time.
If he can hit from the outside, he’ll play. If he can cut to the rack and finish at the rim, he’ll play. Due to the current list of injuries at his position and on the team in general, he’ll play.
The No. 3 overall pick in 2013 is about ready to make everyone sit up and take notice. It just may be a season later than expected.