Michael Porter Jr. is the X factor that will determine if Denver can become a legitimate championship contender in 2020 and beyond.

So it drives me nuts when the Nuggets are slow to give Porter consistent opportunities to play, develop and shine. Know what? It can drive Porter nuts, as well.

“I’m naturally a perfectionist, and I think that’s what helped me get to this level,” said Porter, a young pro trying to learn patience while itching to get off the Denver bench. “But once you get to this level, it’s a business. There’s a lot of things out of your control. So that’s a skill you’ve got to pick up.”

Can you say unicorn? Porter is the rare NBA big who can start a one-man fastbreak or swish a stepback three. Although he’s undeniably and understandably raw at age 21, anyone with eyes realizes Porter is already the second-most talented basketball player on the roster. Give him more time on the court, and Porter will only improve.

“Looking at him, I can see he is talented, he can shoot it and he can do all the things,” Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic said.

So why can’t the Nuggets see it? Porter has got to play. Let’s take the bubble wrap off Porter. In the past week alone, the 6-foot-10 forward from Missouri has scored 19 points in 28 minutes during a victory against Charlotte and idled on the bench for all but three minutes during a loss against Cleveland. The inconsistent commitment to his development needs to stop.

Learning on the job isn’t always pretty, much less easy, especially for a self-proclaimed perfectionist. But for a franchise that boasts it doesn’t skip steps, the necessary next step is to give Porter room to grow into the second elite player this team so desperately needs.

“You see growth in (Porter) every night, and the more he plays, he’s only going to get better,” Denver coach Michael Malone said.

So why are there nights when Malone avoids Porter like green eggs and ham? I have no earthly idea. And I do not like it, Sam I Am.

The most important thing Denver can do the remainder of this regular season? Far more critical than whether the Nuggets finish No. 2 or fifth in the Western Conference standings is making certain Porter gets 25 minutes of playing time. Every night, every game, without exception (unless the refs send him to the bench in foul trouble).

While Malone can certainly draw circles around me on a whiteboard with his X’s-and-O’s acumen, maybe I see one critical thing more clearly than a coach so bent on winning he sometimes overlooks the bigger picture: The perfectionist in Porter presses too hard if not given a consistent opportunity.

“When I’m all serious, I don’t play good,” Porter said. “When I can go out there and be free and play my game, I feel way more comfortable. That’s what I focus on.”

At exactly the midway point of this NBA season, when the Nuggets took the floor Thursday night against Golden State, Porter had played at least 15 minutes only seven times in 40 games. That’s darn near basketball malpractice, especially when you consider that Porter has averaged 15.1 points and 4.9 rebounds while Denver has gone 6-1 when he gets a run of at least 15 minutes.

Hey, we’re all impatient. I want to see more from Porter. You want to see more from Porter. Porter wants to see more from Porter. We’d rather pop our dreams in the microwave, rather than wait for a slow simmer.

“It’s something I’m working on,” Porter said. “Because I’ll be (ticked) if I have a bad game. I will be thinking about it all night.”

How badly do the Nuggets need Porter to reach his all-star potential? Well, unless he’s all that and a bag of chips, this Denver roster is never going to win a championship as currently constructed. So let’s begin the discovery process in earnest, and find out if greatness awaits him.

Play Porter on the wing. Play Porter as a stretch 4. Play Porter alongside Jokic, and when Joker takes a breather, play Porter alongside Mason Plumlee. Play Porter, even it means trimming the minutes of a savvy, established and talented veteran such as Paul Millsap or Will Barton. Play Porter when he misses a defensive assignment or commits inevitable mistakes of inexperience. Play Porter at home. Play Porter on the road.

Hey, Coach Malone: Play Porter more than Spotify plays Post Malone.

Please. And thanks.

Get my drift? Porter’s gotta play. It’s the only way the Nuggets are getting to where they want to go.