This topic contains 2 replies, has 3 voices, and was last updated by AvatarAvatar GlenTaylorSucks 10 years, 11 months ago.

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  • #47973
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    B-ball fan
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    This college season, I payed particularly close attention to Georgetown and, specifically, Otto Porter. Porter might be my favorite prospect for the 2013 draft and I feel he has been a little undersold at times due to his stylistically unusual game.

    Porter may have fewer holes in his game than any other wing prospect in this year’s draft. He was a knockdown shooter his sophmore year, showing the ability to make shots both spotting up and off the dribble. He has funky mechanics, but is very capable of making contested jumpers and does an excellent job squaring his shoulders in the air, allowing himself to make shots when he is off-balance or seemingly out of sync. His mid-range game is a thing of beauty and, given his height and length, should continue to be effective in the NBA.

    Porter moves exceptionally well without the ball and shows great court vision. Georgetown is a well-coached team and most of its players tend to work hard off the ball and show good court awareness, but I think Porter is exceptional, even by Georgetown standards. While it is hard to see exactly where the credit should go to Porter and where it should got to the team, Porter looks very instinctive moving without the ball, is an unselfish passer, and shows nice ability to pass off the dribble. Porter sometimes gets too cute with his passing and sometimes would be better off attacking the rim or pulling up from mid-range rather than passing it off, but overall his pass-shoot decisions are excellent.

    Porter also shows potential as a post-up threat. He may lack strength, but he has shown nice footwork in the post and possesses the ability to make contested looks and turn-around jumpers. Given his length, he could be very effective in the post for and NBA wing.

    Porter also excels on the defensive end. His on-ball defense is quite good. He has a high center of gravity, but his length allows him to play off his man on the perimeter and he shows an outstanding ability to recover if his man beats him. His length makes these recoveries effective. To excel as an on-ball defender in the NBA, Porter will have to gain strength while maximizing his athleticism, but in the long run, I think he projects as a good on-ball defender.

    Where Porter needs to improve on offense is handling the ball and attacking the basket. Porter’s dribble can get a little high and, given his lack of strength, this may lead to him getting stripped at the NBA level. And, while Porter makes a very good effort to get low when turning the corner and attacking the basket off the pick and roll, this may come at the expense of his balance. Porter simply lacks the ideal tools to be a really dangerous ball handler. Porter does show potential in driving the lane coming off of screens or when the defense is not set, but he could be even more aggressive getting to rim in those scenarios. Overall, Porter’s slashing ability is definitely very much set up by his skill as a shot maker and long strides to the rim, as he lacks advanced ball handling ability.

    Off the ball is where Porter really excels on defense. He does a great job positioning himself to help without losing his man and uses his length, athleticism, and great anticipation skills to get in the passing lanes. Porter’s length and timing allowed him to be an effective help defender in college and I think that should continue in the NBA. He did average fewer than 1 block per game, but I think he is a more effective defender than the numbers would indicate.

    Porter also is an excellent defensive rebounder, as he ranked fifth in the Big East in defensive rebounds per game, averaging 5.6 per game. He boxes out well and uses his length to his advantage on the boards, although he can be pushed around by more physical players. His average of 1.7 offensive rebounds per game isn’t quite as impressive, but is still good.

    I was wondering if anybody thinks that Porter could go #1 overall if the right team is drafting (i.e., the Cavs, Pistons, Hornets, Magic, Suns, or other teams that could use a young sf). I feel that there is a very good chance that Porter could become the best wing to come out of this draft.

    It seems that when anyone talks about Otto Porter, they talk about how low-risk he is, while at the same time mentioning his lack of upside. I find this claim that Porter lacks upside a little puzzling. Sure, he may not project as a definite all-pro, although it isn’t out of the question, but do Oladipo or McLemore really have upsides that much greater than Porter? Porter was an extremely effective jump shooter this past season, and, while his poor mechanics raise questions, if he continues to shoot so well, he could score quite a bit in the NBA, given the advantages his height gives him in getting his shot off. Porter may not project as an elite iso scorer, but he can score in so many other ways (coming off screens, posting ups, spotting up, attacking in transition), that this may not matter.

    In my opinion, Porter is the top prospect in the draft class, just ahead of Nerlens Noel. As of right now, Porter might be harmed by a lack of ideal positional versatility, as, while he possesses a very multi-faceted game, he may lack the strength as of right now to play much at the four or the lateral quickness and ball handling skills to play the two, but if I was a team in need of a SF at the top of the draft, I would not hesitate to draft Porter first overall. He may not look like the stereotypical first overall pick, but, in my opinion, no player in this draft appears to be the slam dunk pick John Wall, Blake Griffin, and Anthony Davis were.

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  • #761848
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    halfdecayed
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    If the wizards get the first pick, I just hope they pick him..

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  • #761849
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    GlenTaylorSucks
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    Well, given that the usual suspects at the top are there for a reason (i.e. questionable draft day decisions), that there’s really no clear-cut #1, and that #1-8 are similar in talent, I don’t think it’s totally out of the question. I think it’s pretty unlikely, because there are people that have far higher ceilings than Porter, and teams like to draft based on potential. But…if a team like Cleveland or Detroit are picking at the top, which have gaping holes at the SF spot, I wouldn’t put it past them to consider Porter at the top.

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