Hoyas in the NBA: Otto Porter solid in first career start

The Washington Wizards are off to a really good start this season and though he's had an up and down year so far, Otto Porter has looked much more comfortable this season. In recent weeks, however, his shot hasn't been falling as often and his minutes have dropped off after a hamstring injury and the emergence of Rasual Butler as a sniper off the bench for the Wizards.

That changed last night, as Otto got his first career start. Paul Pierce was forced to sit out with a sore toe and Otto got the start in his place.

Bullets Forever had this to say:

Otto got the nod as a starter after Paul Pierce was ruled out with a sore right toe. Porter has been struggling as of late, but as tends to happen, he got a nice little boost offensively thanks to playing alongside John Wall, who assisted him on a three early in the game.

Unfortunately, that was about it from Porter early in the game. He struggled with foul issues in the first quarter, but didn't let the quick trip to the bench affect him when he returned to action. He finished with 10 points and 6 rebounds in just over 22 minutes of action. His play will be overshadowed by another hot night from Rasual Butler, but Porter started to get his groove back tonight, and that's a good thing.

Otto was 4-8 from the field including 2-2 from three point range. He also had a nice finish on an alley-oop from John Wall (video here) and a sweet block on Thaddeus Young in the third quarter. All-in-all a very solid first NBA start. Watch what Otto had to say about the game here.