Michael Porter Jr. played only three college games but said he is ready for the grind of an NBA season.

His back may not let him make good on that promise James Daniels Color Rush Jersey , but the Denver Nuggets‘ newest young player said he’s ready to go after being selected 14th overall in the NBA draft Thursday night.

”I have no reason to not believe that,” he said. ”I feel good.”

Porter was limited to 53 total minutes as a freshman for the Missouri Tigers due to the back injury, which required surgery. He averaged 10 points and 17.7 minutes in the 2017-18 season.

He said his back won’t be a problem, nor the hip that had him cancel most of his workouts for NBA teams and contributed to him falling to the last lottery spot in the draft.

”After pro day teams at the top of the draft telling me I was their guy, then I had that episode last week,” Porter said. ”Hip hurt and I think that kind of scared some teams.I was feeling really good, had a good pro day. I was jumping really good again and everything was coming back together. I just had a sore few days but I’m on the right track and I’m getting better every single day.”

Denver decided Porter’s talent was worth the risk.

”We were very surprised, and happily so, that Michael continued to fall down the board,” Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said. ”At some point it becomes a risk-reward ratio. We think he’s an elite talent http://www.eaglesauthorizedshops.com/authentic-richard-rodgers-jersey , a guy with no back issues we wouldn’t have the good fortune of drafting. You have to take a swing at guys like that. You have to get lucky.”

Connelly said the team’s executives and medical staff pored over Porter’s medical records and felt comfortable taking a chance on him.

”We’ve looked at so many medicals,” Connelly said. ”We felt well-informed every step of the way. We feel it’s a well thought-out and well-designed risk that we’re unbelievably happy is going to be in a Nuggets uniform.”

Porter joins a young team with a strong nucleus that has missed the playoffs for five straight seasons. Denver’s offense starts with playmaking center Nikola Jokic, who has 16 career triple-doubles, 10 of which came last season for the 46-36 Nuggets.

Denver finished a game out of the postseason each of the last two seasons.

In addition to the 23-year-old Jokic, Denver’s young core consists of point guard Jamal Murray, 21, and shooting guard Gary Harris, 23, which gives the franchise a foundation to build upon.

That foundation now includes the 6-foot-10 Porter, who turns 20 on June 29. He could immediately fill a need at small forward if veteran Wilson Chandler opts out of his contract and Will Barton Cheap Josh Allen Jersey , an unrestricted free agent, doesn’t re-sign with Denver.

”I know they’ve got a good young point guard in Jamal Murray, Gary Harris at (shooting guard) can score the ball. Jokic, great passer, and Paul Millsap,” Porter said. ”It’s a good, good young team who is very unselfish and that’s what I like about it. That’s how I like to play. When I watch them that’s the feeling I get from them.”

The Nuggets traded a future second-round pick to move up two spots in the second round to take Jarred Vanderbilt out of Kentucky at No. 41. They also drafted center Thomas Welsh of UCLA with the 58th pick.

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The Celtics expected to see a different LeBron James in Cleveland after the Cavaliers fell into a 2-0 hole to open the Eastern Conference finals.

Two games and back-to-back wins later , James has reminded everyone exactly why he’s been to seven straight NBA Finals.

Boston will be back in the embrace of its raucous fans at TD Garden for Game 5 on Wednesday. But a team that has thrived on youth this postseason suddenly looks disoriented without a go-to player and opposite a more veteran squad that has found a new attitude thanks to the fuel being provided by its biggest star.

Celtics coach Brad Stevens said all you can do against James is ”make it as hard as you can.”

”LeBron is the best player of this generation and he’s just maintained that because of his commitment to improvement,” Stevens said. ”He’s always been an unbelievable physical player. He’s always been a savvy player. And he’s always had, just like the natural instincts to make the right basketball play along with his tremendous skill set.”

While the Cavs are certainly feeling rejuvenated behind the play of James http://www.49ersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-jeff-locke-jersey , coach Tyronn Lue said it hasn’t changed their sense of urgency.

”We still gotta play,” Lue said. ”We have veteran guys who have been there and know what it takes, but this is a young team, a good team that’s playing at home so experience is not going to be a factor. We have to come in there and have the same mentality that we had in Game 3 and 4.”

Two games ago, the numbers seemed all on the Celtics’ side.

They had moved to 9-0 at home during these playoffs and taken 2-0 series lead, which has been a magic number for a franchise yet to surrender such an advantage during its storied history (37-0). Over the last 96 minutes, Boston has been outscored by 39 points, has dropped to 1-6 on the road and is suddenly facing a must-win game to maintain home-court advantage.

Stevens said at the start of the playoffs that he believed there was value in the greenness of a young group that had several players getting their first taste of postseason basketball. He was proven right with Terry Rozier, Jaylen Brown and rookie Jayson Tatum all thriving as first-time postseason starters.

Their success had the cumulative effect of masking the absences of Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward. Now, the lack of an alpha like Irving capable of creating his own shot is sticking out with every 40-point game James produces.

Al Horford Baker Mayfield Browns Jersey , Boston’s only healthy All-Star, was never a dominant scorer, but more of a facilitator who worked well in a finely tuned system.

Horford started off the series strong but his scoring and assist numbers have declined over the last two games.

Lue’s move to reinsert Tristan Thompson back into the starting lineup in Game 2 is a huge reason.

Thompson has not only helped things move better on the offensive end for Cleveland , he’s combined with Larry Nance to make things difficult on Horford. Horford had just four shots and seven points in 30 minutes in Game 3. He scored 15 points in Game 4 but was just 5-of-13 from the field with one assist.

If the Celtics are going to get back to the by-committee style that got them here, it must begin with his leadership. To that end, Horford said they’ll focus on correcting their issues, but also won’t dwell on them.

”As a group, we’re excited to be back, going back home,” he said. ”Obviously we understand the challenge of it. We can’t think about the past. We just have to worry about this opportunity. We have a Game 5 at home http://www.seahawksauthorizedshops.com/authentic-will-dissly-jersey , and we have to make the most of it.”

Cleveland is hoping James’ once quiet supporting cast continues its surge in Boston.

Kevin Love just missed his third straight double-double in Game 4 and sharpshooters JR Smith and Kyle Korver were 12 of 19 from the 3-point line in Games 3 and 4.

Korver’s efforts have stood out.

At 37 years old he was all over the court scoring in Game 4, diving for loose balls and collecting three blocks. While he anticipated being sore from all the activity, Korver said playing ”fun basketball” is still propelling a guy looking for his first ring after appearing in 124 playoff games for five different teams during his 15-year career.

”There’s not many of us `03 class guys still around,” James said of Korver. ”I feel like we’re just cut from a different cloth because we’ve been around for so long. We have this work ethic and you see him every day putting in the work, putting his mind, his body into it. It’s not about his age.”

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AP Sports Writer Tom Withers in Independence, Ohio contributed to this report.

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