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From Damian Lillard to Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal, Denver Nuggets rookie Michael Porter Jr. received quite a bit of backlash over recent comments made when he appeared to criticize the playcalling in Game 4.
Porter scored 15 points in the first half of that game but had just two shot attempts in the second half as the Nuggets lost. Afterward, he told reporters that other players needed to get involved after Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray handled the bulk of the offensive load.
His comments received criticism from several current and former players after airing his frustration out through the media. Lillard said Porter was wrong for the comments and said those concerns need to be addressed within the team and not publicly.
Porter responded by scoring seven points in the Nuggets’ win in Game 5 on Friday, including a clutch 3-pointer late that helped seal the victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. Porter said he tried to block out the backlash beforehand and that he meant no ill will toward his teammates.
I kinda tried to block that out. Everything I said — I stand by what I said. I didn’t mean it in any type of disrespectful way or anything like that. Coaches and my teammates, they all know that. We talked as a team. Everybody was on the same page coming into today.
But Dame and those guys, I respect all those guys — especially those superstars in the league talking to a young guy like me. You want to listen. You don’t want to have an ego and think you’re always right. So I took what those guys said and I listened to it. Everybody has their opinion but that was blocked out before today and everybody was on the same page.
The situation will likely serve as a learning opportunity for Porter, who has often not held back his opinion on certain topics. Nuggets head coach Michael Malone spoke to Porter regarding the incident and the two appeared to have handled it and moved on.
Following the win on Friday, the Nuggets now trail the Clippers 3-2 in the Western Conference semifinals with Game 6 set to tip-off Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET.
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