Kenny Atkinson was ‘not happy’ with the development of a key player

Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson admitted his mistakes in developing Craig Porter Jr. last season. After Porter’s “heroic” effort in the team’s 130-116 victory at the Miami Heat on Wednesday, opened up to reporters about Porter’s work shining through after some direct discussions between the two this offseason.

“This is the culmination,” Atkinson said of Porter’s milestone. “Me and him had tough conversations this summer, just man-to-man, coach to player. I told him the things we needed. He agreed. He just kind of had a pact: ‘We need you here early. We need you to bring your body comp to this marker.’ We just had all these KPIs (key performance indicators) that we needed to see.”

“I wasn’t happy with myself, how he developed last year. I felt like I didn’t do a good job. This summer I said, ‘Man, we’ve got to change this. We’ve got to have a different approach.’ The credit is all his. He got down to business. He sacrificed a lot. It’s great to see him play like he did (Wednesday).”

Porter finished with a franchise-first performance for the Cavs, scoring 19 points, dishing out nine assists, four blocks and three steals. He also crashed the boards, pulling down four rebounds. The third-year point guard was a plus-21 and led the team in that category. He is also only the fourth point guard in NBA history to block four shots in a single contest.

“I think it definitely builds his confidence, but it’s not the first time he’s had a good game,” De’Andre Hunter said after the game. “I’m confident in him. I know he’s confident in himself and I know he’ll be even more confident in himself after this game. I think that’s a great thing for us.”

Hunter is not wrong. This season, Porter has taken his efforts to another level. He’s a pest all over the court defensively, constantly harassing inbounders under the basket, controlling the offensive glass in the trees, and is as well prepared as Cleveland has seen him. Traditional statistics may look the same, but advanced statistics illustrate Porter’s critical influence.

According to Cleaning The Glass, 19.9% ​​of Cleveland’s opposing possessions end in a turnover with Porter on the floor. That ranks in the 99th percentile among all NBA players. The Cavs are also rebounding at 31.0% from own failures with him in the composition.

Speaking to ClutchPoints before the season, Porter was direct in his messages: he was there to take his place on the Cavs and keep it.

The 6-foot-2, 186-pounder appeared in every game he appeared in, making the most of the opportunity he earned.

“I know there’s still a lot of things locked in, so honestly, the sky’s the limit, I feel like,” Porter told ClutchPoints before training camp. “And it’s all on me, and that’s good to know.”