Rafael Suanes-USA TODAY Sports
In a drag of a game that epitomized offensive futility, Washington Wizards forward Otto Porter turned in a forgettable performance in the Wizards’ 56-52 loss to the Golden State Warriors today.
Porter finished with seven points and six rebounds on 3-13 shooting.
While Porter had the most attempts for Washington, he simply wasn’t assertive. When Porter wasn’t drifting, he was settling for jumpers instead of utilizing his size advantage and taking his smaller Golden State defender into the paint.
With Washington employing the 6-foot-9 Porter as their starting shooting guard in this contest, his advantage in size was significant.
With such an edge in size and talent, Porter should’ve been able to get whatever shot he desired. While even the best players have scoring lulls they never lack in aggressiveness, and that’s what was truly disheartening about Porter’s performance.
If he carries this type of performance over to Washington’s remaining games, it doesn’t bode well for his potential impact on Washington next season.
Washington retaining Martell Webster signals that Porter will probably be a reserve next season. So these summer league games can give a good gauge as to what Porter will do as a rookie. While the talent level on the floor will be improved during the regular season, there aren’t many former top-five picks patrolling the court as reserves for many NBA teams. This would make Porter possibly the most talented player on the floor, like he is in these summer league games.
While it’s hard to take away much from one game, especially an exhibition one, I caution Washington fans that the last highly-touted rookie who lacked assertiveness in this setting was Jan Vesely. Just saying, you’ve been forewarned.
Marcel Davis is a Washington Wizards writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Mar_CelDavis24, Like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google+
