Washington Wizards, 2015-16 Player Previews

Otto Porter, 2014-15 regular season stats: 6 PPG, 3 RPG, 45% FG%, 34% 3P%, 19.4 minutes, 74 games played

Let me just say that I am beyond excited about Otto Porter’s 2015-16 campaign.

Coming out of Georgetown two years ago, I remember scenes of Porter dominating the Big East defensively and acting as a Swiss Army Knife on the offensive end. After a rookie season where he displayed exactly zero of those skills with any consistency, I worried that he simply didn’t have an NBA body and the Washington Wizards blew another top draft pick.

Frankly, not much changed my mind come Year 2, though he did improve statistically in nearly every category. Whether it was because of the lack of minutes allotted to him by Coach Randy Wittman or his inability to master schemes on both ends of the floor, Porter did not seem like a rotational NBA player on a championship caliber team. But…man, the playoffs are a beautiful thing.

In April, Porter tormented the Toronto Raptors and DeMar DeRozan in particular. And in Round 2, he helped provide masterful defense on Kyle Korver and was a solid foil for DeMarre Carroll in the moments the latter wasn’t blowing by Pierce.

Offensively, he knocked down 38 percent of his threes and the Washington Wizards’ Offensive-Defensive Rating split was a +14 (115-101, per Basketball Reference) when on the floor.

However, his biggest attribute was his work on the glass.

With that long frame, Porter repeatedly kept possessions alive and used his expansive mitts to track down loose balls.

For the 10 game playoff stretch, Porter hauled in 8 rebounds per game, including nearly 3 per game on the offensive end.

The entirety of next season’s success may hinge on what he can do over the course of a full season.

Pretty much everyone else on the team is who they are (except for Playoff Bradley Beal and his alter-ego and chief antagonist Regular Season Bradley Beal) so Porter’s growth may dictate whether this is a team entrenched in no man’s land or one poised to make moves even without a certain free agent acquisition next summer.

Porter will most likely be the full-time starter at small forward, a role he didn’t even see in the playoffs despite logging 33 minutes per game. Though the playing time might be similar, two factors will be different.

Namely, he will have reduced minutes vs. a given team’s backups. The matchups will be LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Paul George rather than (insert name here of various second-string forwards from the Cavs, Knicks, and Pacers).

Secondly, Porter won’t be sneaking up on anyone this year.

After living in mostly obscurity outside of starring in a very unfortunate 6 second clip that the kids are calling a Vine, Porter broke out in the playoffs and solidified his place as an important piece for the Washington Wizards. The whole league noticed, there will be more tape on him than there ever was before and defenses will come prepared.

The X-Factor within the X-Factor may be Porter’s ability to play power forward for periods of time.

He’s proven adept at hitting the 3 ball and is a capable rebounder as well. But how can he fare when a big-bodied 4 who can also shoot (think Paul Millsap or Kevin Love) is pounding him down low? We know he has to put on some weight but he also seems to have developed strength within the thin frame.

Washington Wizards are reportedly planning on deploying Porter in that role.

After seeing only 5% of his minutes at the 4 in the regular season, he logged 45% of his court time in the playoffs in that capacity. Again, it’s a different animal to play a certain way in do-or-die situations but the toll on the body can be much greater when slogging it out vs. Charlotte in February.

The proverbial sky is the limit for Otto Porter as his fit in the Washington Wizards’ future. He’ll most likely never be a perennial All-Star but he can thrive as the glue guy and lockdown defender on a championship team, a la Tayshaun Prince or Andre Iguodala.

For now, his primary responsibility is to stay healthy and play within the offense. And most of all, run hard young man. John Wall will find you.