Michael Porter Jr. flipped me off, raising his left hand to offer a single-finger salute.
But to be honest, I asked for it. And laughed out loud.
Please allow me to explain.
About to bump and grind and sweat and curse in the NBA playoffs for the second time since 2019, the Nuggets and Portland are two teams that don’t particularly like each other. And Enemy No. 1 in the fine Oregon city where the rivers are filled with hazy IPA?
It might well be Porter.
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He has a contentious history with the Trail Blazers, even though the 6-foot-11 forward was in street clothes on the Denver bench during the postseason two years ago while rehabilitating a back injury that put his rookie season on hold.