The Bulls, not surprisingly, ranked 7th in the NBA in most Isolation possessions. The offense last season was very unimaginative and bland, and the players on the roster weren’t good enough to make up for that lack of creativity.
Many criticize James Harden’s Isolation style of play, but he’s had a lot of success with it. Harden isn’t a selfish scorer, he has the ability, and willingness, to make passes to rim runners, cutters, and players spotting up for 3.
The Rockets also have the shooters that helped Harden to thrive. Porter Jr. has been a terrific shooter throughout his career, and he shot really well on catch-and-shoot three’s last season (53.6 percent).
John Paxson told K.C.Johnson of the Chicago Tribune that “Jim wants to play faster.” If Boylen wants to up the 20th-ranked team in terms of pace, Porter Jr. can fit that too because he’s young enough to run the floor and he ranked in the 92nd percentile by way of a 1.40 PPP (points per possession) during his 15 games with the Chicago Bulls.
Porter Jr.’s proficiency as a shooter is half of what makes him appealing. The big plus is how low patience Otto Porter Jr. is. His usage rate was ranked 93rd among players that played at least 1,000 minutes according to basketballrefrence.com. Only 12 players averaged more steals per game than Porter Jr., and 7 players had a higher percentage than him.