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Washington Wizards Postseason Grades: Otto Porter Jr.

By Josh Wilson

May 9, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards forward Otto Porter Jr. (22) dunks the ball over Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap (4) in the third quarter in game three of the second round of the NBA Playoffs. at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 103-101. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
May 9, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards forward Otto Porter Jr. (22) dunks the ball over Atlanta Hawks forward Paul Millsap (4) in the third quarter in game three of the second round of the NBA Playoffs. at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 103-101. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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After grading two Washington Wizards, Bradley Beal (A-) and Marcin Gortat (B), it’s time to go to one of the team’s youngest players. Otto Porter Jr., who was the Wizards first-round pick and third overall pick of his draft class. Porter gets us all very excited about the future of Washington basketball.

Although this year was his best year yet, we can’t be easy on him, and must realize that he’s still not fully matured as a player. He’s got some work ahead of him.

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With Paul Pierce leaving the Wizards after one short year (according to reports), Porter is the next in line to get his minutes. Additionally, the Wizards are looking for a shooter with range to be a stretch-4 player, and Porter has been brought up as a candidate for this position. With this in mind for the future, let’s take a look at what he did last season, and determine his grade.

For a younger player, he’s doing very well. There’s not a whole lot more we could be asking of him at this age, as he’s moving along nicely, bumping up his points from 2.1 to 6.0 this regular season. As a forward, some are looking towards him to be an answer to the needs to stretch the floor.

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Although this is primarily the job of a power forward these days in the NBA, his range seems to have potential.

Randy Wittman has pointed to the idea of stretching the ball more, something we’ve all wanted to see Porter do a better job of. Making room for John Wall and Bradley Beal to work their magic is a great idea that can push the Wizards to utilize the weapons that they have.

Regarding potential, if Wittman is serious about changing up the game plan and looking to stretch the court more, Porter has a serious opportunity to break out next season as a pivotal player for the Wizards. The regular season is important for him.

The playoffs were a great time for Porter, as he averaged 10 points and eight rebounds per game , seeing a decent amount of minutes (33 per game). This was great. We all were impressed, but we needed to see this earlier on in the regular season. As far as next year goes, that’s a big improvement he can make, making sure his regular season is just as great as his playoffs.

We’ll get back to the playoffs later.

Regular Season

His lower six points and three rebounds per game during this regular season wasn’t all his fault, since he was only given about 20 minutes per game. Due to his success in the postseason this year, and the departure of Pierce, he will be getting more minutes during next year’s regular season, and I believe he needs to embrace this, having his biggest season yet.

His shooting during the regular season could definitely improve. He shot for 45 percent throughout the season, and attempted a decent amount of those very close to the hoop, at nine feet or less. Up to the point of nine feet, he had a better shooting percentage, but remember, we want him to be shooting more from farther away to stretch the defense.

Image courtesy of NBA.com/stats
Image courtesy of NBA.com/stats /

He’s got a decent shot from close up, as we can see, but that’s not going to cut it for next season. Looking at the furthest two diameter sections, he only has three sections better than 40 percent, and it’s pretty clear that he isn’t great based on all of the red sections he has.

This highlight video certainly compliments a lot of Porter’s skills, but I actually included it to point to a fault of Porter. It does show that plenty of his points come in the paint off of fast breaks and lobs. These are explosive, fun to watch clips, but it doesn’t mean that this should be how he gets a ton of his points. Thirty percent of his shots this year were at the rim.

Some of this could be expanded. He was actually even worse in the playoffs from this aspect, taking 34 percent of his shots at the rim.

He did, however, boost up his three-point percentage in the playoffs by 4 percent though, a healthy improvement. One of my goals for him is to see him take his 34 percent three-point shooting up to at least 40 percent next season. I’d also like to see him take his six points per game up to double digit points per game.

Porter has what it takes, he showed us that in the playoffs, and it’s a realistic goal, especially with all the playing time he’ll be getting.

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    • Playoffs

    Simply put, these games were the ones that really put Porter’s name out there. Since he was drafted, his first season had been a bit of a disappointment. The No. 3 pick was beginning to lose credibility, but it looks like he knew what people thought of him.

    Luckily, he seemingly found a way to channel that and use it as motivation, because he exploded with newfound NBA talent for the 2015 playoffs.

    It paid off big, boosting the Wizards to some big wins, allowing them to sweep the Toronto Raptors and put up a decent fight against the No. 1-seeded Atlanta Hawks.

    Contributing in a huge way against the Hawks in Game 3, Porter scored 17 points, dished out four assists, and brought in nine rebounds. This was one of the leading factors that brought the Wizards up on the Hawks, 2-1.

    Although several of his games from the playoffs are now referenced, not often do I see Game 2 brought up, but I believe it’s an important one. He shot 75 percent from the field, and ended up with 15 points and nine rebounds to win over the Raptors by 11 points.

    No doubt, the playoffs were a great time for Porter. This will certainly bring his GPA up compared to his mediocre season, especially since the playoffs should be weighted heavier due to the demand of winning and being successful that comes along with the playoffs.

    He’s coming off of very successful games. We need to see him transition this over to the regular season and bring the Wizards some high level playing once the season begins to give them a head start out of the gate.

    Otto Porter is on his way to being one of the Wizards most memorable and greatest players, but he’s not there yet. Although his spectacular postseason performances bring up his average, it’s hard to forget that he has yet to have a great regular season. That’s what we’ll be looking for from him next year, and beyond, as he continues to grow and get more playing time with the Wizards.. SF. Washington Wizards. OTTO PORTER. B-

    Next: Bradley Beal Postseason Grade

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