Nets’ continued reliance on Michael Porter Jr. could prove more costly

Michael Porter Jr. has put on a pretty spectacular show this season.

The problem is when the other Nets have stood around and watched it.

The veteran forward is in the midst of a career year. To his credit, he hasn’t been chucking but has played team-oriented ball. But down the stretch in Friday’s loss to the Mavericks, the Nets reverted to relying upon him to dominate, rather than taking advantage of the gravity that his white-hot form provided.

It’s a mistake they can ill afford to repeat going forward.

“We kept looking at Mike instead of using him and others taking or making the shot,” coach Jordi Fernández said. “You can control if you take a good shot, you cannot control if it goes in.”

Entering Saturday, Porter was in the top 15 in scoring (25.8). Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic are the only two ahead of him on that list, grabbing more boards than his 7.6. But to Fernández’s point, the Nets are utterly reliant on him.