NBA FINALS: HEAT VS. NUGGETS

June 8, 2023

Michael Porter

Denver Nuggets

Practice Day

Q. Obviously massive win for the team last night. What do you think was the catalyst for that? There was talk about film. We talked about the team dinner.

MICHAEL PORTER JR.: Yeah, I think we spent a lot of time going through what they're really good at, what they got us on in Game 2 with their slipping to the three-point line, you know what I mean? Really just tried to take away the three-point line. I think they're the No. 1 team in the Playoffs in three-point percentage. That's a big way they score their points.

That was just the emphasis and I think we did a much better job of that.

Q. What did you take away from that team dinner? Seemed like that really had an impact.

MICHAEL PORTER JR.: Yeah, I think it was great for the team as a whole, kind of disconnect, just enjoy each other's company. Make it not about basketball.

I think it was good for us, for sure. We just got to talk a little bit about the game, things like that. But we all really appreciate Jeff doing it, for sure.

Q. At the end of the day you commented on how they knew how to anticipate your defensive coverages. Did you change those calls last night to cut down on those some?

MICHAEL PORTER JR.: Yeah, they do a good job of hearing what we're doing, then reacting out of that.

But I think just the early communication, the loud communication, just sticking with our calls. Just being more aware of the actions they're trying to get into. Just took a lot more preparation.

We did a much better job. I think we had a few slip-ups, but a much, much better job than Game 2.

Q. Even though shots weren't falling for you in Game 3, do you feel better about your complete performance as compared to Game 2?

MICHAEL PORTER JR.: I mean, it's been a couple of rough games for me. I think I played hard defensively pretty good. Still tried to rebound the ball while I was out there.

For me, shooting and offense is natural. I can't put too much stock into a couple rough games shooting-wise, even though I wish shots were falling obviously.

Really, I'm just glad the team won. I know there's going to be a couple games this series where the team is going to need me on the offensive end. I'm looking toward to trying to bounce back in that area as well.

Q. Michael reminded us you're the starting small forward. He said that before the series ends, you and KCP are going to have shooting nights that help them win. Does that confidence help you when you are struggling with your shot?

MICHAEL PORTER JR.: I mean, I wouldn't even say I'm not feeling confident in my shot, I'm feeling pressure, anything like that. I'm just missing, you know what I mean? Sometimes the ball just doesn't go in. I think a lot of shots have been right there, I've just missed.

Yeah, I know my teammates have confidence in my shot. I know my coaches do. Yeah, I'll get it going. Hopefully tomorrow is a better game for me on that side of the floor.

We all have belief in each other, that's one thing about this team.

Q. How satisfying is it for you when you have a game like that, in spite of the shooting, you get seven rebounds, contest some things? It's not necessarily the meat and potatoes of your game?

MICHAEL PORTER JR.: The Playoffs are so much different than the regular season. I'm getting a lot different looks than in the regular season. I think they're paying a lot of attention to me. They're a really good defensive team, you know what I mean?

Jamal and Nikola have the ball in their hands a lot of times. I have to be ready to knock down some shots. They're paying attention to me, I'm missing some shots.

Like I said, that can affect the rest of your game. I thought I did a better job of that yesterday than in Game 2. We're going to win a championship playing defense. It's not going to be about our offense. We can have two or three guys have bad shooting nights and still win a game just off our defense. That's got to be the main focus.

Q. Have you guys had film this morning?

MICHAEL PORTER JR.: Yeah, we did.

Q. What was the message from the coaching staff in that session?

MICHAEL PORTER JR.: Yeah, there were some things we could clean up defensively. But it was a lot of positives on both sides of the floor. Even though we didn't make some of our threes, we still had a lot of positives attacking the zone. I think we did a much better job on that end of the floor than we did in Game 2 or 1. We got some good looks.

We're due to have an explosive offensive night where guys are just clicking like we have all year. But, like, the defense was pretty good last night I thought.

Q. You're primarily a perimeter player. What goes into offensive rebounding as a perimeter player?

MICHAEL PORTER JR.: Yeah, it's really just energy and effort, because if you crash the offensive glass, you know you still got to get back on defense because they're pushing with pace. If you're going to crash, if you don't get the ball, you got to get back.

I just think it's a timing thing. Really, we're just scrapping and clawing. This is a gritty team we're playing against. It's not always going to look pretty. We're just trying to go out there and focus on effort rather than all the uncontrollables. That's how we'll get this series.