Nuggets coach Michael Malone marvels at what Michael Porter Jr. can do athletically after three back surgeries. Porter wears a brace on his left leg due to those back injuries.
“I don’t think he gets the credit he deserves,” Malone told Bennett Durando of the Denver Post. “What he’s doing has never been done before, from a medical standpoint. If you’re really gonna understand and look at what he’s doing, from a medical standpoint, the brace he wears every night and for him to go out and do what he’s doing — if you just take a step back, it’s just incredible.”
Porter is averaging 16.3 points and 7.2 rebounds per game and hasn’t missed a game this season.
“I’ve gotta remind myself of that,” Malone said. “Because no one else has done what he’s doing, and I really admire that.”
We have more from the Northwest Division:
- The Nuggets couldn’t afford to keep Bruce Brown, who played a sixth man role in last season’s championship run. Brown left for a lucrative deal with the Pacers and Denver misses him, Sean Keeler of The Denver Post writes. Denver’s fast break hasn’t been the same without Brown and the team also misses his defensive intensity and swagger.
- The Jazz’s recent hot streak has pushed them over the .500 mark. Coach Will Hardy said that surge has set the team up for a meaningful second half of the season. “I would describe the first 41 games as a success because of what we have a chance to do going forward,” Hardy told The Athletic’s Tony Jones. “It’s not the record that I’m happy with. I’m happy with how we got here. I think the team has shown grit and character. Because of that, I think this team has developed a lot of confidence. When we’re going through game preparations, the players walk away knowing if they do certain things they can win the game that night. That’s a big step in the right direction for us.”
- Clippers star Kawhi Leonard noticed how well the Timberwolves are connected on defense, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic relays. The Timberwolves collected a four-point win over the Clippers on Sunday. “They’re very long,” Leonard said. “They help each other out. They want you to shoot shots outside the paint. It’s not a team where you make one pass and you’re able to score on them. You gotta move it around a little bit, try to get some open looks and share it.”
But, but, but….. everybody was on here telling me the Jazz were made to tank!
Everyone who said that were living in the past. If anything, the Jazz keep reminding us that they don’t like to lose for long. Not every franchise can cultivate that kind of winning culture for so long, across so many different teams. Quite impressive!. Maybe it’s in the water? =)