Houston Rockets: 3 things to look for in Kevin Porter jr.’s debut

The Houston Rockets are preparing for Kevin Porter Jr. to make his season debut after leading the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the G-League. The second-year guard out of USC found his way to Houston under less than ideal circumstances.

Porter was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks with the 30th overall pick of the 2019 NBA draft before being moved to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a draft-day trade. He enjoyed a promising rookie season as a 19-year-old before friction with the franchise ended his tenure in Cleveland.

Porter didn’t feature in any games this season for the Cavaliers and the franchise became so desperate to move on from him they sent him to Houston for a heavily protected second-round pick. The move amounts to the closest thing an NBA team can do without simply giving away a player for free.

The Rockets’ shrewd piece of business will start paying dividends soon as Porter absolutely lit up the G-League and looks ready to reignite his NBA career. Over 15 games in the G-League, Porter averaged 24.1 points, 7.3 assists, and 6.4 rebounds per game on 44.8-percent shooting.

The Vipers put the ball in Porter’s hands constantly as his 29.9-percent usage rate can attest to, and he largely rewarded their faith in him. While the Rockets have recently looked like a G-League team, Porter won’t handle the ball nearly that much with the senior squad.

The Rockets are starting their youth movement and Kevin Porter Jr. is leading the charge. He’ll have to take his lumps to reach his potential but these are three things to look for in Kevin Porter’s NBA debut.

Next: Thing to look for #3

Houston Rockets: Thing to look for in Kevin Porter’s debut #3: Limiting the turnovers

The last time Kevin Porter jr. played in the NBA he flashed big-time scoring potential but his playmaking lagged behind. He averaged 15.4 points per 36 minutes as a 19-year-old rookie but only 3.4 assists and, more concerning, 2.9 turnovers.

It’s not unusual for rookies to struggle with turnovers but if they’re not also setting teammates up it puts a ton of pressure on their scoring to not sink their team’s offense. In the G-League, Porter’s playmaking was leaned into more, he averaged 7.3 assists a game, but he also paired it with 4.7 turnovers.

The best way for young players to fall out of the rotation, especially on a team with so much depth at the guard position, is to turn the ball over. Porter needs to limit his turnovers if he wants to get the minutes he’ll need to reach his potential.

Early on, Porter won’t be expected to be a lead ball handler. The Rockets will likely use him as the fourth guard and will pair with one of Victor Oladipo, John Wall, or Eric Gordon. In these lineups, Porter will be able to share ball-handling and playmaking duties without being expected to orchestrate the offense.

If Porter can limit his turnovers he’ll earn more minutes and trust from the coaching staff. However, if he constantly coughs the ball up then the Rockets will have to limit his role on offense, which could stunt his growth as a player.

Next: Thing to look for #2

Houston Rockets: Thing to look for in Kevin Porter’s debut #2: Finding his flow on offense

One of the most difficult transitions that almost all NBA players have to go through is learning how not to be the man. Remember, every NBA player was an absolutely dominant youth player.

Most players don’t start to learn how to play off the ball until they reach the league and Kevin Porter jr. is no different. Even in his rookie season in Cleveland he came off the bench and was given free rein to attack on offense.

In the G-League, Porter was given even more license to dominate the ball. His usage rate of 29.9-percent would be a top-20 mark in the NBA this season, even with Kawhi Leonard and a fraction of a percent higher than Kyrie Irving.

Of the utmost importance is for Porter to find his place in the Rockets offense when he doesn’t have the ball. Developing his off-ball game will be very important for Porter, especially early on, because the team has three veteran ball handlers.

Porter needs to hit his catch and shoot threes, cut decisively, and make quick reads when passing. These little things go a long way in being an impactful off-ball player and lead to easy buckets for Porter and his teammates.

With young players, the hardest things tend to be the simple things. Whether it’s playing off-ball, making quick easy passes, or rotating on defense, the fundamentals take time because for most of their life their talent made the fundamentals irrelevant. Porter needs to master the fundamentals and how quickly he buys into them will determine how quickly he finds a serious role on the team.

Next: Thing to look for #1

Houston Rockets: Thing to look for in Kevin Porter’s debut #1: Competing on defense

The most important thing for any young player is for them to compete on defense. As mentioned before, young players usually haven’t had to develop a lot of fundamental skills because their overwhelming talent bails them out at the youth level.

How much does your defensive intensity or positioning really matter when you’re bigger, faster, and stronger than your opponent? Especially for young perimeter players who are used to being the focal point on offense, their defensive fundamentals seriously lag behind.

Porter has posted poor defensive metrics in the pros and if he wants to carve out a role quickly he’ll need to bring it on the defensive side. The Rockets don’t need him to be a lockdown defender, they just need him to compete each and every possession.

When the Rockets acquired Porter they knew they would have to suffer through some of his growing pains. However, the coaching staff won’t be so lenient with Porter’s mistakes if he isn’t playing hard on defense.

Keep an eye out on Porter’s defensive effort and not his defensive output. In the early going, he’ll be bad on defense but it’s important that he gives it his all. If he looks lackadaisical on defense, expect his minutes to dwindle, even if he’s scoring in bunches.