Washington Wizards: Bobby Portis shines in debut with Wizards

Bobby Portis made quite an impression in his first game for the Washington Wizards.

If Bobby Portis was trying to send a message in his Washington Wizards debut on Friday night, message received.

In his first game since he and Jabari Parker were traded from the Chicago Bulls for Otto Porter, Portis introduced himself to the fans in Capital One Arena with a 30-point outburst in a 119-106 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

As Wiz of Awes contributor Robert Athmer noted on Twitter, Porter had two 30-point games in his entire five-plus seasons with the Wizards. Portis put one up on Day One.

In fact, this was Portis’s second consecutive 30-point performance, as he ended his Bulls’ tenure with 33 points against the Charlotte Hornets on February 2. According to ESPN Stats & Info, he became the first player to score 30 points in back-to-back games for two different franchises.

But Portis didn’t get the attention of the Wizards and their fans; he also wanted the Bulls to take note as well, as he went to Twitter after the game to take jabs at his former team as well as Porter.

There’s never been any doubt about Portis’s talent, and Friday night showed that he can score in bunches at his best. Earlier this week, I wrote Portis was a natural fit to replace Markieff Morris‘s production, but the reality is that a focused Portis has a much higher ceiling night in and night out than Morris did.

That said, fans should also be wary of fool’s gold too. This was against the lowly Cavaliers. Portis shot 66.7 percent from the field (12 for 18), including on three-pointers (four for six). Maybe Portis’s full potential will be unleashed in Washington, but the team should also be measured in its expectations.

That said, Portis will have no shortage of motivation on Saturday night when the Wizards travel to Chicago for a bit of a revenge game for the recently traded players. Could Portis exceed his impressive debut or return to his normal output?