Burdens are for shoulders strong enough to carry them. Even if the left one requires a needle full of lidocaine.
Maybe if Michael Porter Jr. wasn’t so candid. Maybe if he didn’t look so exasperated and hopeless in interviews. Maybe then, we would realize that he is capable of almost anything on the basketball court. Even with one good arm.
After using the first two games of this series to establish himself as a liability, MPJ forced critics to swallow their tongues on Friday night.
The guy who missed 15 of 18 shots in Oklahoma City could barely miss. He scored 21 points. He drained a team-best 5 of 6 from 3-point range. He grabbed eight rebounds — seven with two hands.
The one player fans wanted on the bench — I did not call for that, though his inconsistency is maddening — guaranteed the Nuggets woke up with a 2-1 series lead in the Western Conference semifinals.
Aaron Gordon made another shot. Over a two-week span, he has become more clutch than Mr. Goodwrench. And Jamal Murray received a 10 from the X-game judges for his degree of difficulty on lay-ups.
But those things, while brilliant, are not uncommon. What MPJ did was as unexpected as hitting the lottery. Yes, it looked that bleak for him. Be honest.
So, what changed?
“A couple of days in between is helping at this point. I felt a little bit better overall today. I was trying to space out and not do the injection every game, but right now it’s needed,” Porter said. “I still don’t feel like I can play physically or bum guys the way I would like to. But I am able to do what I can.”
MPJ has a face made for a magazine cover. Even his shadow beard is stylish. He looks like he is ready to cut an album or drop another podcast.
He looks soft. Don’t fall for it.
There is no one tougher on the Nuggets roster. Diagnosed with a sprained AC joint, he can only play if his shoulder is numb. And wrapped. He turns the training staff into MacGyver, using tape, patches, painkillers — everything but duct tape and chicken wire.
When he hurt his shoulder diving for a loose ball in Game 2 of the Clippers series, he was told he would need 4 to 6 weeks recovery time.
“I knew I wasn’t doing that,” Porter said.
Basketball has healing powers for Porter. He has not missed a game — even though there was a strong argument to rest him — and it paid dividends.
He made a few buckets at the end of the Game 2 debacle. And when he drained his first 3 just three minutes into Friday’s first quarter, it triggered arguably the best postseason performance of his career.
He turned frustration into inspiration.
“You don’t even know what he’s going through. I can’t even believe he’s playing,” teammate Peyton Watson said. “He’s making big-time plays, rebounding. I am super happy for him.”
Porter could have pulled the curtain on his season without any pushback. His career, however, has been defined by overcoming odds. He has had multiple back surgeries and is required to wear a special shoe to relieve pain in his foot.
Every day, he has learned to navigate physical obstacles. But what about the mental demons? It cannot be easy to hear fans, and, yes, sports columnists, fire off criticism like paintballs in his direction.
“I knew there would be games where I couldn’t produce the way I wanted to or didn’t play as many minutes as I wanted to, but it’s the playoffs. I wanted to at least try,” said Porter, who is averaging 10.7 points per game in the postseason. “It’s been an up-and-down (postseason) for me, but that’s OK because we are in a good position as a team. And I have had some games where I have gotten some shots to go down.”
It is impossible to overstate Porter’s importance in the first half. Jokic was 2 for 9 from the field and in the middle of an 0-for-10 night from beyond the arc. The Thunder players make it their life’s work to own the paint defensively. The only way to create consequences for packing it in is by knocking down deep jumpers.
Porter contributed three 3s over the first 24 minutes. That is one more than he had in the first two games.
“When Michael is making shots, it makes the court feel that much bigger,” Nuggets interim coach David Adelman said. “I am really proud of him. He’s getting treatment every day. He’s just trying to stay alive in this thing.”
The Nuggets are who we wanted the Avs to be — gritty, grimy, at their best when the alarms are blaring. And they also know a dirty little secret: The Thunder can’t close, so staying close matters even more in this series.
Porter kept the Nuggets connected.
“He is going through a lot,” Murray said. “It says a lot about his resilience and love of the game.”
As Porter left the podium on what was then Saturday morning, he looked a little more comfortable. Maybe it was the ice pack underneath his jacket. Or just maybe it was because his hot-shooting gave the Thunder the cold shoulder.
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