Cavs Notes – Kevin Porter Jr. apologizes, Alfonzo McKinnie gets opportunity

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CLEVELAND, OH – Kevin Porter Jr. won’t be available in Tuesday night’s game against Boston.

The Cavaliers’ rookie has been suspended for 1-game after he bumped into an official during Sunday’s loss to the Mavericks.

“He was very contrite – very disappointed in himself,” head coach John Beilein said. “He apologized to the official right away. You cannot do that with the officials. You can’t come close to them like that.”

#Cavs rookie Kevin Porter Jr. was suspended one game for bumping into the official. Here’s the video pic.twitter.com/JawZUzNv5m

— James Rapien (@JamesRapien) November 5, 2019

Porter is averaging 5.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists-per-game this season. He’s been far from efficient, shooting just over 30 percent from the field, but he’s shown flashes of his potential.

Former Warriors guard Alfonzo McKinnie will get his opportunity to prove himself with Porter suspended. The Cavaliers were awarded McKinnie off waivers on October 21.

“To get him up to speed has been difficult,” Beilein said.

The Warriors released McKinnie, which paved the way for him to join the Cavs, but he hasn’t been able to practice much because of the schedule. The team hasn’t had many practices during the first few weeks of the season with seven games in a 14-day stretch.

McKinnie will be the first small forward off the bench on Tuesday night, so he’ll get a chance to prove his worth to Beilein and the rest of the Cavaliers’ organization.

“He’s got a lot of experience playing in big games with a great team,” Beilein said. “I love his attitude. He’s really been a good practice player. The fact is our practices have been so short because of the game the next day.

McKinnie averaged 4.7 points and 3.4 rebounds-per-game for Golden State last season. He’s played in three games for the Cavaliers this year, averaging less than two minutes per contest.