Christian Wood and Kevin Porter Jr made news for all the wrong reasons during the Rockets’ loss to the Denver Nuggets last night.
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Nikola Jokic spearheaded the Nuggets to yet another dub as the roster emerges from a spate of Covid-19, which has hit numerous teams across the league. The Joker was in his reigning MVP form, but he also got some great support from his teammates for once.
Facundo Campazzo finished the game shooting 7-of-11 from the field for 22 points, along with 11 dimes. His opponent PG, meanwhile, ended his own game with a temper tantrum that saw him leave Toyota Center.
According to reports from Shams Charania and Adrian Wojnarowski, Kevin Porter Jr and Christian Wood both received a ton of stick from Rockets assistant coach John Lucas. Porter Jr, in particular, displayed some highly unprofessional behaviour.
KPJ reportedly walked out of Toyota Center at halftime after his verbal showdown with the John Lucas. Christian Wood, meanwhile, was consigned to the bench for the entire second half for what seems to be a different, isolated incident.
Christian Wood and Kevin Porter Jr receive brickbats from Rockets and NBA fans for their behaviour
The abrupt nature of KPJ’s departure from the arena will doubtless earn him a serious punishment from the Rockets FO. Kevin Porter Jr was already a well-known headcase during him time in Cleveland, reportedly throwing food at GM Koby Altman and calling him a slave owner.
NBA Twitter may not always have the best basketball takes, but they hate unprofessionalism above all. There probably isn’t a single fan batting for Ben Simmons at this point in his standoff. And there definitely isn’t a single one backing Porter Jr or Christian Wood.
Christian Wood chose to use the unclaimed courtside tix for himself tonight. The lady in Charlotte clearly didn’t want them pic.twitter.com/KTnm2IV7K3
— Rocketgirl (@00rocketgirl) January 2, 2022
I would very much like to not be Kevin Porter Jr.’s third team
— Fred Smith (@FredSmith914) January 2, 2022
This is why Christian Wood bounced around the league and Kevin Porter Jr. dropped in the draft & was later cut by Cleveland.
Talent only gets players so far. Both have questionable character reputations. Unacceptable and unprofessional behavior. https://t.co/UpFW1Z6Cyq
— Billy Reinhardt (@BillyReinhardt) January 2, 2022
Silas: “Alright Christian, you ready to check in?”
Wood:
pic.twitter.com/A0uvhsvtDB— 🪣BucketsByJayGup🪣 (@CaughtByBrevin) January 2, 2022
Kevin Porter Jr was packaged by the Cavs for perhaps NBA front office history’s smallest trade package – a top-55 protected 2nd round pick from the Houston Rockets. At the time, it seemed like a brain-dead deal by Koby Altman.
But Porter Jr was clearly way out of line in the way he responded to his own gaffer yesterday. This isn’t high school basketball where you get to leave your bench if you feel slighted and you’re a star. This is real life, and the sooner KPJ realizes it, the longer his career will be.