The Golden State Warriors are back in championship contention after a couple of tough years due to injuries. While Stephen Curry grabs the headlines with his MVP caliber performances, the bench has quietly been one of the significant factors to the Warriors’ strong start with the second-best record in the NBA.
The Warriors signed Otto Porter Jr. this past offseason, hoping that Porter could provide consistent shooting coming off the bench. Porter is shooting 47.8 percent from the field and 40.1 percent from long range for his career. Which the Dubs hope will be a lethal combination with Jordan Poole when Klay Thompson makes his return to the lineup. While Porter has always been known as one of the league’s most accurate shooters, he’s also known as a player that can’t stay on the floor.
The nine-year player’s struggles with injuries with each of his last three previous teams scared off many NBA teams and were considered a gamble to Golden State. That gamble has paid off handsomely, according to Warriors Coach Steve Kerr.
Kerr was a guest on 95.7 The Game’s “Damon & Ratto” podcast this week and expressed how impressed he was with Porter Jr.’s season thus far.
“I think the biggest surprise, honestly, is that he’s been healthy,” Kerr said. “It had been a rough couple of years for Otto. He has not been healthy. As soon as he signed his contract in the summer, he was in our training room that week and every day since. He put in the work, and it’s paid off for him.
“We knew he was a good player. It was mainly, we were just trying to figure if he was going to be available and healthy. It’s just been great to see. He’s really been a fun player to coach and play with.”
Otto Porter scored 7.6 points and grabs 4.8 rebounds per game while shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 39.4 percent from three-point range in 26 games off the bench for Golden State.
