Michael Porter Jr credits Kobe Bryant's Mamba Mentality in helping him bounce back from a bad performance: "Like Kobe, he created the Mamba so he could leave it all away when he's on the court."

For the Denver Nuggets to contend this year and take the next step towards the NBA Finals, they will need help from forward Michael Porter Jr. When the 6-foot 9-inch forward is healthy, he is a threat to score from anywhere on the court. Porter only appeared in nine games last season due to a back injury that resulted in surgery.

Porter has been healthy this year and has appeared in 12 of the team's first 13 games. In Friday's 131-112 loss to the Boston Celtics, Porter had a bad game. He scored only seven points on 3-for-10 shooting while playing 25 minutes.

In the next game against the Chicago Bulls, Porter bounced back and contributed a team-high 31 points in a 126-103 Nuggets' win on Sunday. Porter was able to put up big numbers in just 24 minutes. He was 6-for-9 from 3-point range and appeared to be locked in.

"Some stuff was going on off the court that I carried on the court last game," Porter said. "Like Kobe, he created the Mamba so he could leave it all away when he's on the court."

Kobe Bryant was a master at being focused and locking in mentally. If Porter can channel that type of energy, he will be hard to stop.

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The Denver Nuggets as a contender

The Denver Nuggets are 9-4, sitting in a first-place tie with Northwest Division rival Portland Trailblazers atop the Western Conference. The Nuggets were in the Western Conference finals two years ago in the bubble, Porter's rookie season. But they lost in the second round of the playoffs in 2021 and lost 4-1 in the first round to the Golden State Warriors last season.

Last season, the team played short-handedly with Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray both being out for most of the season. Both Porter and Murray are back, with Porter averaging 18.0 points per game, while Murray is contributing 16.2 ppg. With both of these young players healthy, the Nuggets have a deeper team that has a pretty good scoring punch.

Porter, who was drafted 14th in 2018, missed all of the 2018-19 season while dealing with a a back injury.

Porter and Murray should be able to provide two-time MVP Nikola Jokic with enough support for the team to make waves in the West. The team also has versatile forward Aaron Gordon to provide the Nuggets with a pretty deep roster.