When Minnesota brought in Stephon Marbury three years ago, it wanted a veteran pro to show him the way, to teach him what the NBA is about. So the Wolves went out and got Terry Porter.
Marbury learned well, obviously. Porter moved on, signing with Miami as a free agent, but he wasn’t done teaching. Even an experienced guy, an All-Star such as Tim Hardaway, can learn from Porter.
“When I heard we were getting Terry Porter, I was like ‘wow, this is great,'” Hardaway recalled.
And Porter all season was like, wow, great for the Heat. Not only did he supply valuable backup to Hardaway, complete with 3-point range, Porter brought intangibles that are vital to a winning team’s makeup.
“We got the first seed and he was saying, ‘This is very important’ and why. We lost and he wouldn’t let us get down on ourselves,” Hardaway stressed. “He always picked us up. And he was always there for us because he has been there before. He’s been a great help, not only for me but for the team.”
Witness Game 2. Porter pumped in 11 points off the bench, was a big part of the Heat’s trademark defense and supplied all the expected leadership, complete with veteran poise and insight, of course.
“Defense is our cornerstone, that’s why we’re successful,” Porter, who gets laughably cranky when his age is inserted in articles, so just say he’s somewhere between 35 and 37. “Our first priority is stopping opponents, not letting opponents get easy ones, not letting them get wide open shots. That’s always going to be key for the Heat. Our priority is our ability to stop opponents, not let them shoot for a high percentage.”
As for the series, when many around him seemed on the verge of panic following the Game 1 blowout, Porter continually stressed it “was only ONE game.” Now, he preaches similar dogma following Miami’s Game 2 triumph.
“We have to maintain confidence, whether it’s a win or a loss. All these games are individual games. Obviously, you win one or you lose one, you can’t go out and get too high or too low on it because you’ve got to play the next one,” Porter said.
“I’m sure the Knicks were confident after the first game. We’re feeling good now. They did their job as far as coming down and trying to get one and now we’ve got to go to their place and do the same.”