By Dionysis Aravantinos / info@eurohoops.net
The team’s mentality has changed, as Lillard, McCollum, and Nurkic are becoming one of the best ‘big 3’s’ in the league. This has to do not only with their scoring production but also with their defensive focus. So far in 24 games, Jusuf Nurkic is playing well, scoring, rebounding and blocking shots, becoming one of the best centers in the NBA and certainly one of the best European players in the association.
Eurohoops, analyzes Nurkic’s season and his transformation after being traded from Denver to Portland.
His numbers
The 7ft center is playing great basketball to start the year. In a good Blazers squad, he has a very significant role in the team as he helps his guards in Lillard and McCollum but also is a force down in the paint. Using his strength and body frame, he can bully defenders but also defend the paint exceptionally well. In these first 24 games, ‘the “Bosnian Beast” is averaging 15.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 blocks per game. While shooting a fair 45.5% from the field, Nurkic has been inconsistent with his shot but also with his game in some contests this season, and so far, has not had a string of great games. The burden of expectations, he created for himself has affected him, but the Blazers’ fans are happy they have him on the roster.
However, if he wants his team to compete for a top-5 spot in the Western Conference, and become the next ‘Bad Boys’ as he stated earlier this year, the key will be consistency.
Nurkic is playing 28 minutes a night, but if he played 36 minutes, he would average 19.4 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. He has the ability and skills to score 20 points and grab 10 rebounds each night. In usage percentage; an estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while he is on the court, Nurkic averages 28.7% a night, his career-best showing how Terry Stots and his teammates trust him. The 23-year old Bosnian center could average a double-double by the end of the season.
*To start the season, he was our best 18th European NBA player (remember this list)
His court presence & Blazers’ defense this year
The past years, the Blazers had struggled with their defense, allowing easy and many opponent points per game while being ranked very low in the defensive efficiency rating. This year with Nurkic as their main defensive anchor and force down low the Blazers have become one of the best defensive teams in the league. It’s strange, but it’s the offense which isn’t clicking as well as someone would expect.
The Blazers are also one of the best rebounding teams in the entire association as Terry Stots’ team ranks third in total rebounds per game (55.2) with Nurkic being the team’s leading rebounder. Their defense has improved tremendously this season, but the offense has become average. Portland’s team is allowing opponents to make just 44.0% of their shots; ranked fourth in the NBA. Jusuf Nurkic has a significant role in the team’s defensive efficiency as well as the team has jumped from 1.074 (2016-2017) to 0.996 (2017-2018) ranked fourth just behind the Boston Celtics, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs. Another interesting and vital statistic in favor of the Blazers is that the team is allowing just 100.2 opponent points per game, ranked fifth in the league.
Nurkic’s best games
Jusuf Nurkic has had some impressive games this season as he has also been a regular in the top 10 plays almost every night with highlight blocks and powerful dunks. His best game, however, came against the Brooklyn Nets where he scored 29 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and blocked four shots in a two-point win.
‘The Bosnian Beast’ has had six double-doubles this year, but five games with 20+ points. Against the Oklahoma City Thunder, he managed to put up 25 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks, while against the Bucks he finished with 25 points.
The team’s start
The Portland Trail Blazers have started this season with a 13-11 record and are ranked 6th in the Western Conference. The last couple of years, the team usually picks it up in the second half of the season, after the All-Star break in February. This year the squad has a positive record from the first 24 games which is a good sign. If the team continues to play like that, they have a legit chance of challenging for a top 5 spot in the packed West, after February’s break. Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum are one of the best backcourts in the league, and together with Jusuf Nurkic, they could become one of the best ‘big 3’s’ as well.
Offensively they are ranked 22nd overall. It is absorbing as last year the story was entirely different and with the offensive talent of Lillard and McCollum, it may be just a matter of time for things to change in this aspect of Portland’s game.