Why playoffs mean so much to Warriors’ Porter
Sometimes, when running the floor in transition or setting a screen, Golden State Warriors forward Otto Porter Jr. feels a quick surge of gratitude.
“It's just good to be back in the playoffs, man,” he said recently. “There was a time when I didn't know if I would ever experience this again.”
Four years ago, Porter was told he might never walk again. Now, after going from a maximum contract to a minimum one, he is a high-level role player for a title contender — the type of forward who can space the floor, defend most positions and rebound at a high rate.
Porter's per-game averages won't stand out, but he provides muchneeded toughness and seldom makes mistakes. It should come as no shock, then, that head coach Steve Kerr has felt comfortable playing him during crunch time of the playoffs.
The Warriors have outscored opponents by 15.1 more points per 100 possessions when Porter is on the court than when he's off it this postseason — the third-best differential on the team behind Draymond Green (27.1) and Andrew Wiggins (16.6). To combat the Grizzlies' speed and physicality in the Western Conference semifinals, Kerr has even played the 6-foot-8 Porter at center during critical stretches.
His 17 total rebounds through two games have helped the Warriors beat Memphis on the boards, no small feat considering the two teams' track record in that category. The Grizzlies led the NBA in the regular season with an offensive rebounding percentage of 33.8. Golden State has often struggled to box out, posting the third-lowest defensive rebounding percentage among the 16 playoff teams in the first round.
“Otto takes on that challenge of going down there and mixing it up, and he's been one of our best rebounders all year,” center Kevon Looney said. “Nobody on our team is surprised by what he's doing.” Porter is just happy he's healthy. While with the Wizards during a first-round playoff series in Toronto in April 2018, he came down awkwardly on a layup attempt and felt a sharp pain shoot up his left calf. Over the next 15 hours, as he finished that Game 5 loss, flew back to Washington and met with the team doctor, Porter's left leg was numb from his ankle to his knee.
By the time he learned he would require emergency surgery, medical staffers were already preparing the operation room. Delaying, Porter was told, would risk him never walking again.
He had acute compartment syndrome, a frightening condition that occurs when internal bleeding or swelling of tissues cause pressure to build up in a certain part of the body. Fewer than 20,000 such cases are documented in the U.S. each year. In severe occurrences like Porter's, permanent — sometimes debilitating — damage can be done to the muscles and nearby nerves if not treated quickly.
As Porter was rushed into surgery, questions raced through his mind: What would this mean for his career? Would he ever be the same player?
Less than a year earlier, after averaging 13.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists for a team that reached the Eastern Conference semifinals, Porter had signed a four-year, $106 million max deal with the Wizards. Though not as gifted a scorer as teammates John Wall and Bradley Beal, he was a promising “3-and-d” wing essential to the franchise's future.
Some of Porter's concerns were eased when, just three months after surgery, he was cleared to resume basketball activities. But to this day, many pinpoint that leg injury in Toronto as the moment his career began trending in the wrong direction.
It took a while for Porter to regain his usual explosiveness. In February 2019, he was traded in a salary dump to Chicago, where back and foot issues limited him to 54 games in two seasons.
Shortly after he was dealt to Orlando last March, Porter started to feel pain in his left foot. Team trainers diagnosed him with a stress fracture and shut him down for the rest of the season. By the time Porter entered free agency in August, he wondered if he would ever stay on the floor long enough to become a valuable NBA player again.
“There's some doubt that crept in, for sure,” Porter said. “I mean, you're only human.”
A few days after Porter signed a one-year, veteran-minimum deal with the Warriors worth $2.4 million, he ran through a battery of tests with the team's training staff. It discovered that hip issues dating back to Porter's rookie year had thrown his body out of alignment.
To stay healthy, he would need to rethink everything, from how he walks to even how he breathes. Detailed sessions with Dr. Rick Celebrini — the Warriors' director of sports medicine and performance — helped Porter economize his movements and improve his balance.
His 63 games this season were his most since he suffered that leg injury four years ago. The Warriors rested Porter for part of back-tobacks to avoid wearing him down, but he dealt with no serious ailments.
What makes that especially notable is the fact that he has banged down low more than ever before. Long considered a small forward, Porter has oscillated between power forward and center with the Warriors. According to basketballreference.com, roughly 36% of his minutes came at center in the regular season, 34% more than his previous career-high at that position.
During the second-round series against the Grizzlies, Porter has been asked to focus on the grunt work as Stephen Curry, Jordan Poole, Klay Thompson and others handle the scoring load. Though Porter only scored four points in Tuesday's Game 2, he needed just 21 minutes to lead the Warriors with a plusminus of plus-17.
“He's been through a lot injury-wise,” Kerr said. “He bounced around a lot the last couple of years. He signed for a max contract. He signed for a minimum contract.
“This is a guy who gets it. He understands the league. He understands his profession, and he's been an absolute joy to coach on and off the floor. He's one of our smartest players.”
Porter should be in his prime at age 28, but teammates concede he acts much older. Part of that is all the adversity he has endured since going No. 3 overall in the 2013 draft. Part of that is also his upbringing in Morley, Mo. — a town of 659 where people don't just know everybody; they know their birthdays, too.
From a young age, Porter's parents, uncles and aunts told him to appreciate what he has because he never knows when it can be taken away from him. Over the past few years, as Porter sat with injuries and saw his market value plummet, he thought often about that advice.
As he stepped onto the Fedex Forum floor for Game 1 on Sunday, he surveyed the stands and saw more than a dozen relatives who had made the 2 1/2 -hour drive from Morley to Memphis. Then it dawned on him: These are the first playoffs they have seen him play since that frightening night in Toronto almost a half-decade ago.
“Ever since I got that leg injury, the plan was always to get here and experience the playoffs again,” Porter said. “Actually being here, it's just a reminder that hard work really does pay off.”