A BRIGHT FUTURE
Let's examine the impact Kevin Porter Jr. can have with the Rockets
Jan 22, 2021, 4:53 pm
The Rockets traded for Kevin Porter Jr. on Thursday night. Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images
The Houston Rockets received 20-year-old Kevin Porter Jr. in a trade acquisition from the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night. Unfortunately, Kevin has been in recent trouble while playing for the Cavilers. So, it makes sense why the Rockets received Porter for a second-round draft pick. Hopefully, Porter can squash his troubles, so he can blossom for the Rockets.
In November, Porter was arrested on gun charges but eventually got released in three hours. As the season was ramping up in December, Porter's gun charges were dismissed. Even though the charges were dropped, Porter still managed to have issues with the Cavs. The Athletic's Jason Lloyd and Joe Vardon reported Porter had an outburst inside the Cavaliers' locker room. It was seen that newly acquired Taurean Prince had Porter's locker, which caused him to be upset. Porter then started to throw food across the locker room and get into a heated exchange with GM Koby Altman. After the locker room debacle, Altman decided to put the talented Porter on the trade block. Thursday night, Rockets GM Rafael Stone struck a deal to acquire Porter.
Porter is 6'4 with tremendous upside and could become one of the building blocks for the Rockets' future. Since the Harden-era has ended, the Rockets need a spark for this season because they are 4-9. I'm curious to see how head coach Stephan Silas adjusts his roster, including the starting rotation with Porter now onboard. Silas has changed his starting rotation 13 times so will it be 14 now? Who knows? Hopefully, Porter adds a spark with newly acquired Victor Oladipo.
Porter averaged 10 points per game and shot 44 percent from the field with the Cavs. He isn't a three-point shooter but is an excellent mid-range shooter. Porter shot 50 percent from mid-range, including being able to shoot 40 percent in "catch-in-shoot" situations. He is also a shifty dribbler and can shoot above 40 percent off the dribble. Porter is a young talent that can create a lot of opportunities for himself on offense, including being extremely athletic. The Rockets need more scorers and creators on offense since John Wall is still nursing a knee injury and James Harden is in Brooklyn.
Kevin Porter Jr. 24 points, 6/9 three-point shooting against the Rockets last season. https://t.co/nHIBO7sGy6— Jackson Gatlin (@Jackson Gatlin) 1611293025.0
Hopefully, assistant coach John Lucas and John Wall can counsel Porter as he starts his new career in Houston.
The Houston Texans have a big challenge in store as they look to start the season with a win against the Colts this Sunday. When these two teams met in Week 2 last year, the Colts dominated the Texans, despite losing their QB Anthony Richardson to a concussion after the first quarter.
Keeping Richardson contained on Sunday will go a long way in increasing the Texans' chances of coming home with a win. The Texans defense will have their hands full containing the Colts backs and tight ends in the passing game.
Scoring touchdowns with their wide receivers could prove difficult, as the Texans allowed the second-fewest TDs (10) to the receiver position in 2023.
Limiting running back Jonathan Taylor will also be a top priority. While the Texans had an elite defense against the run last season, they struggled with Taylor in Week 18 as he almost rushed for 200 yards.
Houston's D allowed only four carries to running backs in 2023 that went for 20 or more yards. Two of which were to Taylor in the final game of the regular season.
Finally, DeMeco Ryans and company have to find a way to get pressure on the QB. They only had one QB hit and zero sacks on Richardson and Garner Minshew the first time they faced off last year.
On offense, the Texans have two big x-factors to watch for on Sunday. The offensive line that suited up to play the Colts in Week 2 last season is completely different from this year.
The o-line was ravaged with injuries to start the 2023 campaign, so we expect a big jump in productivity in the trenches this year.
Another big addition in 2024 is the presence of running back Joe Mixon. The running game only produced 2 yards per rush in Week 2 against Indy last year, so there's clearly room for improvement.
Be sure to watch the video above for our in-depth preview of Texans-Colts!
And catch Texans on Tap (a Texans podcast) live on our SportsMapTexans YouTube channel following every game this season!