Kevin Porter Jr. will more than likely be the starting point guard for the Milwaukee Bucks this season, and there are mixed emotions. Some believe he's due for a leap, while others, like The Athletic draft expert Sam Vecenie, think he could be more of an issue than a solution. Vecenie aired out his issues on an episode of the Game Theory Podcast.
"I don't love the idea of Kevin Porter being Giannis' point guard, in my opinion. He's not a shooter. I think their best lineup won't include him. I think he's going to put up numbers because he handles the ball; it's who he is, but I don't know if his game meshes with Giannis in a winning way."
Analyst thinks Porter's fit with Bucks won't click
In no way is Porter the dream fit for the Milwaukee Bucks at point guard, but the potential is there for him to be a solid complementary piece.
As Vecenie outlined, shooting will be a huge component of that. While the sample size is small, Porter looked great in that regard with the Bucks last season, shooting 40.8 percent from deep in the regular season. That included shooting 10-of-17 (an incredibly efficient 58.8 percent) on 3-point looks off passes from Giannis. He has shot 35.1 percent for his career, so some wonder how legit all this was.
Could he do it over the course of an entire season? That's the major question at hand.
Defensively, Porter will certainly have to step up if he wants a prominent role. The Bucks won't ask him to be Jrue Holiday-esque, but he must show he's capable of taking on big names, logging steals, and just being an overall pest on that end. There were glimpses of this quality defense last year, but again, it was a small sample size.
The thing about Porter is that most of his minutes with the Milwaukee Bucks last season came off of the bench. He played with Giannis often, but he didn't begin games. With Damian Lillard no longer on the roster, it would make sense to insert Porter into the lineup to provide a scoring spark, but there's also a world where Doc Rivers decides to keep him in a reserve role to keep the second unit afloat.
Can the guard impact winning? Can he be a part of the team's most lethal lineup? The jury is still out, but the Milwaukee Bucks clearly think so. Vecenie, on the other hand, was higher on Ryan Rollins, who one could argue is a better starting fit due to his defense-first nature. Yet, he's not the scorer Porter is whatsoever, which could put more of a burden on Giannis Antetokounmpo's shoulders.
Porter, like essentially everyone on the Milwaukee Bucks, has so much to prove this coming season, whether it ultimately comes as a starter or key reserve.
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