Otto Porter Must Step Up As 3rd Option
Otto Porter must must show consistency in order for the Washington Wizards to be great.
It’s clear that the Washington Wizards have a pecking order when it comes to their best players. John Wall is the three-time All-Star, doing everything for the team in terms of points, rebounds and setting his teammates for assists. Bradley Beal is the three-point sniper that can take his team to new heights and help Wall to challenge other backcourts in the game as the NBA’s best.
However, there seems to be an empty slot for the third-best player on the team. Golden State has Draymond Green, Cleveland has Kevin Love and San Antonio has Manu Ginobili. So who will it be for the Wizards? Insert forward Otto Porter.
The third overall pick in 2013 out of Georgetown University has the potential to be a great player. Otto Porter is only 22 years old and has a long way to go until he reaches his peak, but Porter can definitely provide the help the Wizards need–not only to make this year’s playoffs, but multiple playoff runs in the future.
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According to NBA.com, Porter is averaging 11.7 and 5.3 rebounds this season. His last few games have not been up to par for a player the Wizards are hoping will ease the load off of Wall and Beal.
During his last five games, Porter has averaged seven points and six rebounds per game. Not very promising numbers for a guy with large promise. Porter must try to be more aggressive in demanding the ball and making a better effort to be the stretch forward that the Wizards need him to be.
Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers showed that Porter is capable of being a reliable scorer when he decides to get himself involved in the game. Relieved of having to guard LeBron James, who sat out the game for rest, Porter put on a show with 21 points, including shooting 4-of-6 from downtown.
He scored 15 of those points in the third quarter and also had a nasty block on Love in the first half.
It would seem that the could have these kind of games every night. “Games like this remind you of Porter’s potential and his improvement year after year,” said Alan Jenkins of Bullets Forever.
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If Porter is able to put it all together, the Wizards can sleep well knowing they made the right choice to draft him. If not he will probably be another expendable piece to the team trying to acquire hometown native Kevin Durant this summer. Only time and effort will tell.