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Craig Porter Jr. has a chance to be bigger part of Cavs' 2025-26 rotation as backup guard
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- Craig Porter Jr. has a chance to be bigger part of Cavs' 2025-26 rotation as backup guard
CLEVELAND — A challenge offered to a backup guard hoping to carve out more of a role might be paying off for Craig Porter Jr.
As the Cavaliers reshaped their backup guard situation this summer — Ty Jerome left via free agency, Lonzo Ball was acquired via trade , Sam Merrill was re-signed and Jaylon Tyson is entering his second NBA season — Porter remained a depth option at the end of the rotation, but the Cavs wanted to see more when it came to his conditioning in order to make that a reality.
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"I was challenged by the head coach, so that was a big thing for me," Porter said. "And really just my whole career, I feel like it's based off of how I accept challenges and how I attack. So this being a big one — I mean, conditioning is a part of basketball — but I feel like people play their best … when they can fight that fatigue."
Porter showed up for training camp with the benefits of a long summer evident.
"Man, the work paid off," Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. "It starts with his body. It really starts with his conditioning. I'm not saying he was a poorly conditioned athlete [before]. He was probably in the average range, and now he's pushed himself to the 90th percentile of conditioning … so credit to him."
In the second round of last year's playoffs, with Darius Garland nursing a toe injury that cost him several games and eventually required surgery, the Cavs ran into the problem of not having anyone reliable enough to bring the ball up the floor and lead the attack in the face of the Indiana Pacers ' high-pressure defense they used to race all the way to the NBA Finals.
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That, plus Jerome's exit, played a role in the Ball-Isaac Okoro trade with the Chicago Bulls . But an opportunity exists for further depth, especially with Garland expected to miss time to begin the regular season.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Craig Porter Jr. (9) drives to the basket as Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke defends on Feb. 23, 2025, in Cleveland.
Craig Porter Jr. stats
Porter has played in 51 games in each of the last two seasons, averaging 11.4 minutes. He worked this summer to break through that threshold into more playing time. Part of it was the conditioning. Part of it was a real effort to become more of a 3-point threat. In the Cavs' first preseason game against the Bulls, Porter nailed all five 3-point attempts.
It's part of his mission to break into the rotation in a larger way.
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"I just feel like that was a hole I had to fill," Porter said of his shooting. "It wasn't that I couldn't shoot or anything, it was just taking them and being confident in myself. All summer long, I shot as many 3s as I could until my arms fell off, honestly."
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Cavs guard Craig Porter Jr. vying for bigger role in 2025-26
