In search for more maturity, Rockets’ Kevin Porter Jr. shows ‘big-time progress’
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As Rockets point guard Kevin Porter Jr. tries to find the balance between initiating and finishing offense, progress came during crunch time of Monday’s win over Boston.
Kevin Porter Jr. has scored more points. He has shot better. He has made bigger late-game shots.
He also might never have had a better night running the Rockets than in Monday’s win or, more specifically, in the fourth quarter of a tight game against a championship contender.
He was overshadowed perhaps by Jabari Smith Jr.’s latest breakthrough or Jalen Green’s final basket or the last-minute free throws both put in to give the Rockets just enough to top the Celtics. But that’s how it can be with point guards, who often are tasked with allowing others to star.
Porter is not always that sort of point guard. He might never be and will not often try to be that kind of facilitator. In Monday’s fourth quarter, however, he took just two shots in seven minutes — a stretch interrupted by a limp to the bench with knee pain after Porter scored on a drive on Boston’s Al Horford — and had six assists without a turnover.
The Rockets’ season-long effort to develop young players is generally about the seven they acquired in the first round of the past two drafts. But Porter is also viewed as a potential core piece needing to grow in different ways, such as finding the balance between initiating and finishing offense.
“The challenge was kind of built in for him going from where he was — playing the three in Cleveland, being in the G League — to now being the point guard for our team,” Rockets coach Stephen Silas said. “The challenge is on him every day to continue to grow and learn.”
That process was stalled when Porter had to miss 20 games with a toe injury and has come unpredictably since his return. But after he finished with 13 assists and one turnover against the Celtics, Silas called it “big-time progress.”
Signs of growth will need to be more consistent. Days earlier, Porter had said, “Consistency is my biggest thing.” The Rockets crumbled down the stretch that night, losing a fourth-quarter lead and falling to the Bulls.
Porter played nearly nine minutes in that fourth quarter against Chicago, making one of five shots without an assist. But when he said the Rockets applied lessons learned from that loss to their play with the game on the line against the Celtics, he could have been referring to his own more poised, effective execution.
“Just mature. Got to be more mature in those moments,” Porter said. “It was about five minutes in the fourth quarter of the (Bulls) game when we had a lack of focus and kind of just lost the lead. Once we lost the lead, we kind of lost the game. It didn’t really give us a fighting chance. We made that something to point out on the film, and we were able to execute down the stretch.”
The determination to be more “mature” can similarly apply to Porter’s play and demeanor.
The Rockets have had no problems with Porter’s professionalism in general, the issues that allowed them to get him from the Cavaliers for no cost. But during games, he can be overly demonstrative with mood swings. When he backed out of a possession against the Bulls with his hands on his hips as a swing pass to Alperen Sengun excluded him from a play, it was not unlike many reactions that players exhibit in games. But Porter’s body language was more conspicuous.
“Kevin and I speak on a daily basis,” Silas said. “We have addressed anything that needs to be addressed. Those moments happen in an NBA season so much, so many times. As the coach, you address them, and you move on. Or you address them, and there has to be consequence. Or you address them, and you bring people together and talk about it.
“It’s a long season, and there’s been a lot of adversity, and it’s been a tough season. For there to be moments when guys are frustrated, I expect that. I wouldn’t want guys rolling out there and just be, ‘Oh, here we go again.’ I want the competitiveness. I want the guys who are frustrated at times. There was frustration on the floor the last game. I talked to the guys. They’re good. And we move on.”
That moment was considered insignificant, but Silas has worked extensively to help Porter manage the demands that come with his position while growing into a more reliable contributor and leader.
“He is one of the guys I talk to the most,” Silas said. “I spend a lot of time with him one-on-one. We’ve had our ups and downs. We’ve had disagreements. We’ve had times we’ve come together. That’s like every relationship, whether it’s on a basketball court or off court. It’s a work in progress.”
That has also made the relationship especially close. Silas choked up when asked before the season about Porter’s contract extension. He made a point to keep Porter’s spirits up during his injury rehab, especially when he went out again with a bruised thigh last week. It allows for especially frank direction.
“Always having a head coach giving assurance to a player is definitely something that’s needed, not just in bad times but in good times, too,” Porter said. “Just having that support from my head coach is dope. It definitely is a help.”
Progress from Saturday’s loss to Monday’s win could demonstrate the benefits of those sessions. The Rockets will always want to give Porter room to go one-on-one and look for his own shot. They would benefit from his getting more shots set up by teammates, having made a team-best (among regulars) 42.3 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3s. But there were signs of growth as a point guard before Monday’s fourth quarter.
In his six games played since coming back from the injury, Porter has averaged 7.3 assists with an assist-to-turnover ratio of four-to-one. In his first 40 games this season, he had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.57-to-one. He is one of 12 players this season averaging 18 points, five rebounds, five assists and one steal.
He also sounded like a point guard.
“I always believe in this team,” Porter said. “I will always believe in this team. The guys that we have in this locker room — the talent is through the roof. Just experience is needed. We’ll continue to get better and better.”