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The Otto Porter surge was fun while it lasted

NBA: Washington Wizards at Orlando Magic Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Daily Digits is a new daily feature we’re doing at Bullets Forever this year where we look at stats about the Wizards. We’ll dive into the numbers, add context, and discuss how they affect the product on the court.

Today’s stat is Otto Porter’s field goal percentage over the last four games, which is...

31.4%

Last week, I wrote about how Otto Porter had found a nice rhythm since the team had moved him into a sixth man role. I am so, so sorry about that. I jinxed it.

In the four games since Porter’s 19-point effort against the Pistons, he’s 16-of-51 from the field and 6-of-25 from deep. There’s blood everywhere on this shot chart.

It would be one thing if he was just missing open shots, but it isn’t. He’s shooting a little worse than normal on those opportunities, but the real issues are with the rest of his shots.

Otto Porter’s eFG% changes over the last four games

Shot Type eFG% Entire 2018-19 season eFG% Last 4 games
Shot Type eFG% Entire 2018-19 season eFG% Last 4 games
Catch and Shoot 55.5% 48.0%
Pull-Ups 40.0% 20.0%
Shots within 10 ft. 66.0% 50.0%
eFG% = Effective Field Goal percentage, which adjusts for the fact that a 3-point field goal is worth one more point than a 2-point field goal. Stats via NBA.com

Porter is 7-of-26 on shots that aren’t catch-and-shoot opportunities over the last four games. Teams are throwing more attention his way now that he’s the focal point of the offense most of the time he’s on the floor and he hasn’t adjusted well. When have you ever seen Porter bring the ball up court, make a move and just fire up a midrange jumper like this?

You don’t want to overreact too much to four games, but every little decision matters for Washington if they want to stay in the playoff hunt. Porter has to counter the extra attention he’s getting with better separation moves or quicker passing, otherwise it’s time to bring him back in with the starters. There’s no point in trying to make Porter a high-volume shooter if he’s going to shoot this poorly.