Nurk Fever - second wave?

[wizenheimer]

I’m genuinely surprised we are a top 10 rebounding team right now. A lot of that is Nurkic. Second in the league in TRB% behind Gobert. 5th on OREB% and 3rd in DRB%

yeah, that is a little surprising

Nurkic has a total rebound rate 30% above his career average and a defensive rate 39% above his career mark. 10% over his career mark in offensive rebounding too. And for all of the chatter about his shot selection at the rim (0-3'), he's shooting a career best 70.2% on FGA's while also having a career high rate of shots at the rim. He also has career bests in TS% & FT rate as well as winshare/48. His block rate is way down for some reason though but he also has the lowest personal foul number of his career

he's having a very good year so far and he's giving Portland production no other Blazer can supply

 

[Pinwheel1]

In the last game against the Lakers, he played exactly the way I prefer.
Obviously, going 6-6 was excellent, but it was the type of shots he was taking that I loved.
There is a fine line between being involved in the offense and being too involved. He never forced any stupid passes.

Only two turnovers with 3 steals, and a block.........17 boards in 22 minutes!

 

[THE HCP]

In the last game against the Lakers, he played exactly the way I prefer.
Obviously, going 6-6 was excellent, but it was the type of shots he was taking that I loved.
There is a fine line between being involved in the offense and being too involved. He never forced any stupid passes.

Only two turnovers with 3 steals, and a block.........17 boards in 22 minutes!

Great to see him play that way, I agree. Taken with a grain of salt with AD not down there banging with him, but I'll take it regardless.

 

[Mr. Robot]

yeah, that is a little surprising

Nurkic has a total rebound rate 30% above his career average and a defensive rate 39% above his career mark. 10% over his career mark in offensive rebounding too. And for all of the chatter about his shot selection at the rim (0-3'), he's shooting a career best 70.2% on FGA's while also having a career high rate of shots at the rim. He also has career bests in TS% & FT rate as well as winshare/48. His block rate is way down for some reason though but he also has the lowest personal foul number of his career

he's having a very good year so far and he's giving Portland production no other Blazer can supply

see, this is the problem, when people look and they usually look at the main stats (ppg & reb or ast), they will see nurk averaging 11 & 11 or should i say 11 & 12 as hes averaging 11.9, it doesnt look so nice, does it

but when you put all other things in context, you will get the whole other picture

i swear to god, if you ask some portland trail blazers fans, they will say nurk is having a bad season based on his 11 & 11 averages

 

[KSF-ERIC]

Great to see him play that way, I agree. Taken with a grain of salt with AD not down there banging with him, but I'll take it regardless.

AD started the game and played for a bit but he couldn’t solve the Blazers defense (shot 1 of 5 from field) so he quit.

 

[bobf]

OP I think most of us have had the second dose of the Nurk Fever vaccine, there’s only a small portion of the population that is anti vaxx that may get it again.

Ive got a permanent case of Nurk fever.

 

[Mr. Robot]

if the refs allow more contact play, it will benefit nurk greatly

something to watch going forward

 

[wizenheimer]

if the refs allow more contact play, it will benefit nurk greatly

something to watch going forward

just as long as the contact doesn't lead to an injury

 

[Predator]

Zeller is the perfect example of the type of player Portland falls in love with. Every year there’s some average rotational dude with a cute personality that’s supposedly ready to bench the quality starter that can’t do anything right. For example, there was someone on here ready to play Snell over Roco a couple days ago.

Lmao. You and HCP have some interesting reading comprehension or a very bad memory about my words when you both quote respond to them. Hilarious.

“I can’t wait for Snell to get some of Roco’s minutes if Nance isn’t going to get them.”

Then I told you exactly why. Roco was playing SO bad his PER was ~6. You don’t have a massively below average PER as a “quality” starter that is doing everything right.

But once again, please enlighten me as to where I said “Bench Covington, Start Snell”. You won’t be able to. Because he was injured and hadn’t practiced at all, and I didn’t know what to expect from him. But I wanted to see what he could do with Covington playing that poorly.

Nice try, genius.

 

[Haakzilla]

OP I think most of us have had the second dose of the Nurk Fever vaccine, there’s only a small portion of the population that is anti vaxx that may get it again.

Ive got a permanent case of Nurk fever.

...at first I thought maybe I was getting omicron, but after tonight I am confident that it is just a small case of Nurk Fever 3.0! @nurk #ripcityontheyass @dame #ripcityontheyabs

...and just for old times sake:

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Boosting that trade value

 

[TBpup]

Nurk's been great since Dame and CJ went down....I think also he's starting to feel the new coaching system and implement it better.

It seems like he is adjusting to not having Dame/CJ/Norm take up 50 shots per game. There is much more balanced scoring all the way around. Much better to watch and even though the opposition hasn't been the toughest at times, they have won 4 of 5 and 5 of 8. Who knew more balanced scoring, ball movement, and getting everyone involved would be a thing?

 

[BoomChakaLaka]

lets be honest, nurk has become scapegoat for our fans and while some of the fans frustration is understandable (due to his injuries, which causes him to miss time and therefore affects the team or him missing easy shots at the rim and to lesser degree butterfingers and fouls), the hate he gets online has gone far away (but then again, that same people were calling for dame lillards head), so theyre not really objective, to say the least

nurk has regressed when it comes to ppg, but he never averaged less shots per game with the blazers, than he is now, so thats why his ppg numbers are down, but if you look at his statistics, youll see that hes slightly improved:

- his efficiency has gone up (career high)
- hes rebounding the ball better than ever (career high)
- hes improved when it comes to fouling, he seems under control so far
- in the last couple of games, weve seen nurk use up an under and pump fake moves in the low post and is taking his time, playing patiently (all of this is is new, thank you roy rogers)
- moves his feet and defends on the perimeter and covers a lot of space really well (which is also new thanks to the new defensive scheme)

i love nurk, but im also one of his biggest critics there is and im telling you, its so sad to see some blazers fans get on his back for missing easy shots at the rim (which is frustrating and criticism is warranted), like thats all nurk does, while completely ignoring other things he does well on both ends of the floor... hopefully this trend continues and we see even bigger improvement in his game as the season progresses

that being said, im really intrigued if he could keep carrer high in efficiency while averaging more shots per game and maybe hell get more shots per game if his efficiency keeps getting better and better, but from what we know, both chauncy billups and nurk said that hes working on his finishing every day and if roy rogers is the man behind it, which he clearly is, we can only regret that he didnt come earlier to our coaching staff, nurk wouldve improve his game earlier

There is a business side to our relationship with Nurkic; he’s a free agent at the end of the season. We do NOT want to be strapped paying this guy $20-25 mil a year! It’s like paying CJ over $30 mil a year. Now Dame seeks an extension that will pay him over $50 mil a year…when is like 33/34 years old. I’m glad Nurkic and RoCo are picking up their games - perfect timing before the trade deadline! Similarly, good CJ is back. What was not counted on was the rise of Ant over the past twenty days! I’m worried that there are no takers for CJ!

 

[royo]

Who knew more balanced scoring, ball movement, and getting everyone involved would be a thing?

Wish someone could sell this idea to Dame.

 

[Scalma]

Wish someone could sell this idea to Dame.

more like to CJ.

 

[Mr. Robot]

chauncey billups said nurk has taken his game to the next level in the last month or two and its cause his role is bigger right know, as theyre going to him more

well see how the things will unfold going forward, cj mccollum & powell are back, simons has taken a leap and thats not even taking lillard in the equation, so well see if they can keep everyone involved

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

Nurk's been great since Dame and CJ went down....I think also he's starting to feel the new coaching system and implement it better.

I think he may be getting better individual, skill coaching also.

 

[illmatic99]

Centers Nurkic has faced in this run:

ATL -- Capela
MIA -- Yurtseven
CLE -- J. Allen
SAC -- Bagley
BKN -- Claxton
DEN -- Jokic
WSH -- Gafford
ORL -- RoLo

Love the consistency from Nurk, but his two worst games have been against the best competition (Jokic/Allen). He hasn't exactly been dominating a murderer's row.

 

[Scalma]

I think he may be getting better individual, skill coaching also.

Rogers has a good rep for working with big men. He was credited for the development of Zubac for example.

Nurk has always been this guy though, only real difference is his usage is up. His usage in January is the highest it’s been since he first got to Portland. He’s averaging 16ppg/13rpg/4apg. The real test will be now that CJ and Powell are back. They need to keep playing through him and scratch the iso shit. Team is much better when we play through Nurk instead because everyone is more involved.

 

[Scalma]

View attachment 44137

Centers Nurkic has faced in this run:

ATL -- Capela
MIA -- Yurtseven
CLE -- J. Allen
SAC -- Bagley
BKN -- Claxton
DEN -- Jokic
WSH -- Gafford
ORL -- RoLo

Love the consistency from Nurk, but his two worst games have been against the best competition. He hasn't exactly been dominating a murderer's row.

He would’ve had a triple double against the best player on that little list had anyone been able to knock down shots and he played the fourth quarter. Also, Gafford is one of the best centers in the league and he made him look like a nobody. This just comes off as nitpicking to suit a narrative because you’ve spent the past month throwing him into every trade proposal.

 

[illmatic99]

This just comes off as nitpicking to suit a narrative because you’ve spent the past month throwing him into every trade proposal.

I want to trade him because he's a FA and I think we can get a good return for him. Do you want to let him go to FA and have the chance of letting him walk for nothing in return? Because it's still not certain that he even wants to come back.

Given his current play, he's a 20 mil center easily.

And Ant's getting north of 18 mil if he continues his play.

Unless we straight dump CJ/Norm, we're in cap and tax hell for the near future with a roster that is a fringe playoff team with duplications all over. Roster construction has been trash until now and we've overspent so much on guards that paying Nurk even his expected salary would be tough.

 

[Fairly-Hard]

I'm confused now?
So now Nurk isn't a soft, sulking, Non dunking center that can't keep from jawing at the refs when he should be playing defense?
Softest 7 footer in the entire league.

 

[Fairly-Hard]

Given his current play, he's a 20 mil center easily.

If the Blazers give this dude 20 mil a year they will regret it.

 

[Scalma]

I want to trade him because he's a FA and I think we can get a good return for him. Do you want to let him go to FA and have the chance of letting him walk for nothing in return? Because it's still not certain that he even wants to come back.

Given his current play, he's a 20 mil center easily.

And Ant's getting north of 18 mil if he continues.

Unless we straight dump CJ/Norm, we're in cap and tax hell for the near future with a roster that is a fringe playoff team with duplications all over. Roster construction has been trash until now and we've overspent so much on guards that paying Nurk even his expected salary would be tough.

There’s nothing that suggests he wants to leave either. He has a good relationship with everybody, including some of the assistants. We can pay him more than anybody. We have no in house replacement. We’re on Dames timeline so we will be in win now mode for at least another year. If you wanna win, you will have to be in the tax. Btw there’s nothing to suggest ownership is against being in the tax either, that’s pure speculation as well. It doesn’t make sense to be in it if you’re not winning, but the plan is to win next year. So as long as Dame is here, Nurk is my center.

The expensive, redundant guards are the obvious trade candidates, it’s not complicated.

 

[illmatic99]

If the Blazers give this dude 20 mil a year they will regret it.

Center contracts:

Embiid - 49 mil
Gobert - 41 mil
KAT - 32 mil
Jokic - 30 mil
Horford - 27 mil
Vucevic - 25 mil
Allen - 20 mil
Capela - 18 mil
Turner - 17.5 mil
Adams- 17.5 mil
Valanciunas - 15 mil
Lopez - 13 mil


You're gonna be disappointed if you think Nurk is getting any less than 20 on average.

 

[Scalma]

Center contracts:

Embiid - 49 mil
Gobert - 41 mil
KAT - 32 mil
Jokic - 30 mil
Horford - 27 mil
Vucevic - 25 mil
Allen - 20 mil
Capela - 18 mil
Turner - 17.5 mil
Adams- 17.5 mil
Valanciunas - 15 mil
Lopez - 13 mil


You're gonna be disappointed if you think Nurk is getting any less than 20 on average.

What team with cap space is gonna give Nurk 20M?

 

[Fairly-Hard]

Center contracts:

Embiid - 49 mil
Gobert - 41 mil
KAT - 32 mil
Jokic - 30 mil
Horford - 27 mil
Vucevic - 25 mil
Allen - 20 mil
Capela - 18 mil
Turner - 17.5 mil
Adams- 17.5 mil
Valanciunas - 15 mil
Lopez - 13 mil


You're gonna be disappointed if you think Nurk is getting any less than 20 on average.

I won't be. I said the Blazers will be.
It ain't my money and Nurk ain't worth 20 million. Your own list proves that.

 

[illmatic99]

There’s nothing that suggests he wants to leave either. He has a good relationship with everybody, including some of the assistants. We can pay him more than anybody. We have no in house replacement. We’re on Dames timeline so we will be in win now mode for at least another year. If you wanna win, you will have to be in the tax. Btw there’s nothing to suggest ownership is against being in the tax either, that’s pure speculation as well. It doesn’t make sense to be in it if you’re not winning, but the plan is to win next year. So as long as Dame is here, Nurk is my center.

The expensive, redundant guards are the obvious trade candidates, it’s not complicated.

My hesitation about entering tax is purely based on the consequences of being a repeater on said "Dame's timeline." Who know what Rich Paul is feeding into Nurk's brain? Nurk is holding Dame's kids at B-Day parties and laughing with the team one week, and then sulks and doesn't show up the next. He's probably the most talented center that can be paired with Dame, but I don't want to risk losing him for nothing if we can kick the can down the road by getting someone with a longer contract.

What team with cap space is gonna give Nurk 20M?

You don't think Detroit or San Antonio would throw cash at him if they strike out with Bridges/Harden/LaVine? Nurk is easily a top 5 UFA this summer.

 

[illmatic99]

Your own list proves that.

You don't think Nurk is better than Capela/Turner/Adams/Val/Lopez?

 

[Scalma]

You don't think Detroit or San Antonio would throw cash at him if they strike out with Bridges/Harden/LaVine? Nurk is easily a top 5 UFA this summer.

no. Pistons are on Cunningham’s timeline and the Spurs have a good center.