Otto Porter Jr. provided his signature moment in a Warriors uniform on Christmas Day. With 1:40 left in the game, as he worked his way to a 13-point fourth quarter that put the Phoenix Suns and their crowd to bed, Porter rose up for a jumper over Jae Crowder. Once it swished through, Porter pointed to the Suns (who were NOT amused) and gave a big smile as he ran back down the court.
Less than a minute later, Porter knocked down another 3-pointer from the top of the key to seal the deal for the Dubs. During his bi-weekly appearance on 95.7 The Game’s “The Morning Roast: Executive Show” Tuesday, Warriors basketball operations consultant Zaza Pachulia said he’s been a long-time fan of Porter. Listen to the full interview below:
“I played against him. He can score,” Pachulia told hosts Steven Langford and Lorenzo Neal. “He’s so versatile with his size and ability to shoot and ability to finish under the rim. We’re so lucky to have him.”
Porter finished the game with a season-high 19 points, in a game where the Warriors were hamstrung by COVID-19, as second- and third-leading scorers Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole were sidelined.
The 28-year-old Porter has been inserted into the starting lineup the past two games after serving as a key bench player all season. Porter is known for his shooting, but has also proved to be a solid defender, rangy block threat and high IQ addition to the free-flowing Warriors offense.
He is averaging 8.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 3-pointers made per game while shooting 46.6 percent from the floor and 40 percent from beyond the arc. But his most impressive stat has been 28 games played out of the Warriors’ 33 contests. Foot and back injuries limited Porter to just 42 games the previous two seasons, but he’s been praised by the Warriors for hopping in the weight room shortly after signing a free-agent deal this summer.
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“Otto has been amazing,” Pachulia said. “We all knew he could play. But I got to give the credit to our training staff for keeping Otto healthy. That was the key for all of us. So far, so good. And I’m pretty confident he’s going to finish the season even stronger.”
Porter is just one of three key veteran minimum signees the Warriors front office lured this offseason – along with Andre Iguodala and Nemanja Bjelica.
Now that Draymond Green is expected to miss at least the next three games due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, Porter could be tasked with tougher defensive assignments in the low post. The Warriors host Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets Tuesday before heading to Denver for a Thursday rematch. Golden State will face Rudy Gobert and the Utah Jazz on New Year’s day before Green would be eligible to return.
