04/19/24 05:44:00
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04/19 17:42 CDT Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. heads into playoffs against
Lakers after trying week for family
Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. heads into playoffs against Lakers after
trying week for family
By ARNIE STAPLETON
AP Sports Writer
DENVER (AP) --- Michael Porter Jr.'s coaches and teammates are rallying behind
the Denver Nuggets starting forward who's had a trying week as the NBA's
reigning champions head into their playoff opener against the Los Angeles
Lakers.
Porter, 25, missed practice Friday to attend his younger brother Coban's
sentencing in a drunken driving crash that killed a 42-year-old woman last year.
Coban Porter, 22, a former guard at the University of Denver, received a
six-year jail sentence, which came two days after another brother, former
Toronto Raptors reserve Jontay Porter, 24, received a lifetime ban from the NBA
for betting on basketball and disclosing confidential information to other
bettors.
The specter of each brother's punishment has hung over the family for some
time, and that never appeared to adversely affect Michael Porter Jr. on the
court, where he averaged 16.7 points and seven rebounds while missing just one
game this season.
"It has not been easy for him. That's why I give him credit, because he's
carrying so much in his heart and on his mind," coach Michael Malone said. "For
him to go out there and do the job that he's doing, it speaks to how much
strength that young man has."
Jamal Murray said Porter's family travails aren't a topic of conversation in
the locker room.
"I don't think we've spoken to him about it. That's just not something we talk
about," Murray said. "We're just keeping it professional here and we all
support him. He's handling it really well. Obviously, it's not easy. But yeah,
we're just letting him deal with it."
Forward Christian Braun said Porter "seems to be in a good mental space,"
blocking out his family's issues as they prepare to defend the franchise's
first NBA championship against a team they swept in the Western Conference
finals a year ago.
Michael Porter Jr. was the only starter who didn't speak with reporters at
practice this week. But he did speak at his brother's sentencing Friday,
telling the judge he was the first one in his family to hear about Coban's
crash and initially thought it was Coban who had been killed.
He also told Denver District Court Judge Ericka Englert that Coban was his
motivator, often encouraging him to work out when he didn't feel like it.
"It's not often that a big brother looks up to his little brother," Michael
Porter Jr. said.
Michael Porter Jr. played in a career-high 81 games this season --- and he
blamed the one game he missed on having taken the wrong basketball shoes on the
road.
He played in an average of just 37 games over his first five NBA seasons,
including just one his rookie year while coming off a back injury that caused
him to slip to 14th in the NBA draft, and nine games in 2021-22 when he
underwent back surgery.
Being able to pencil in MPJ on almost every starting lineup this season was a
blessing, Malone said.
"That's incredible. We talk about it all the time. I told Michael he deserves
so much credit," Malone said. "The reason he dropped to us on draft night was
there was concerns about his health and his back. And for him to get to this
point where he's playing 81 of 82 games --- and playing at a high level --- is
just incredible.
"He's got a tremendous family. He has a tremendous faith and I couldn't be
happier for him because it has not been an easy road for him."
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