Kevin Porter Jr. is putting together arguably the best season of his NBA career, but his turnovers are a massive problem. He's averaging 3.5 per game this season, tied for a career-high. In December, it was 3.9 per matchup. If Porter's rapid rise to stardom continues, he must find a way to cut back on these constant giveaways. If things keep going as they have, trouble may be on the horizon.
Porter's turnovers plagued the Milwaukee Bucks in December
The guard logged 51 turnovers in December. That was the second most in the entire NBA in that time, trailing only Portland's Deni Avdija. It was a combination of many things, such as thinking his man was open in situations where he wasn't, or driving into a crowd of defenders and having the ball stripped. No matter the cause, these turnovers happened often. Far too often.
A huge part of the turnover problem was caused by Porter playing without Giannis Antetokounmpo, forcing him to take on more responsibility. In eight December games without the Greek Freak, Porter averaged 4.4 giveaways per game. In games with Giannis, that number was down to 3.2. Having him back should help take stress off Porter, but that won't alleviate the problem entirely.
These growing pains shouldn't be surprising. This is the first time Porter has had this much control of the basketball since 2022-23. He's still figuring out what it's like to be a full-time starter and be tasked with running an offense. That goes without mentioning the fact that he's still working his way into form after missing a good chunk of the season due to injury.
The good has outweighed the bad with Porter this season. In December, he averaged 19.9 points and eight assists per contest. He looks like a player who could be a legitimate piece for this team. He may not be a clear-cut second option on a title team, but if he keeps playing like this while cutting down the turnovers, conversations will begin to take place.
One could argue that Porter is Milwaukee's biggest X-factor this season. His ability to go off for over 20 points on any given night has been a massive shot in the arm. That goes without mentioning his pretty passing or underrated defense. When he's playing well alongside Giannis, this team can do some real damage. Milwaukee needs its starting point guard firing on all cylinders.
Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis.