Nurkic is the best true pick and roll player Lillard has played with

[Nikolokolus]

You sound a little mopey that Nurk is better than you thought. I would of thought you'd be happy.

I'm very pleasantly surprised so far, not unhappy at all. But he was traded for a reason right?

 

[riverman]

When Afflalo first came here from Denver he said how great the locker room was in Portland and that it sucked in Denver...Stotts is a real players coach in the way Steve Kerr is....some coaches have tempers and micro manage everything...Nurk likes playing for Stotts and being in our locker room...most players do

 

[UncleCliffy'sDaddy]

I actually knew a kid in grade school who had T-Rex arms. His name was James.

James was a dick.

I used to work with a (great) guy who was born with a very short left arm (birth defect) that could be described as T-Rex like. The guy is a helluva golfer, guitar player and duck hunter......and (true story) he absolutely swears he can swim circles around Michael Phelps......

 

[blue9]

I think the thread title needs some editing - take out "true pick and roll":
"Nurkic is the best player Lillard has played with".

 

[Orion Bailey]

I think the thread title needs some editing - take out "true pick and roll":
"Nurkic is the best player Lillard has played with".

Green font or a jab at LMA? Cause you know.... there is also this CJ guy...He aint so bad...

 

[rasheedfan2005]

finally watched some game replays with nurk. dude is awesome. as much as i loved plumlee this trade was a steal.

 

[Nate]

I wonder if it's because he actually rolls.

 

[Boob-No-More]

I'm loving what I'm seeing so far, but this is the part I worry about:

Well, would you look who found a little pep in his step? Sparky Nurkic has looked like a completely different player since the Blazers nabbed him -- plus a first-round pick! -- in another center-for-center swap. After an enticing rookie season, Nurkic spent most of his time in Denver injured, disengaged, and cranky.

Analysts mostly panned Denver and Philly for trading Nurkic and Nerlens Noel as their value cratered, but there's a common thread running between those deals: The situations with both guys had deteriorated beyond the point at which they could be salvaged. Nurkic was never going to try this hard fighting for scraps behind Nikola Jokic. You can debate whether that is acceptable from a millionaire player, or if the Nuggets could have done more to motivate Nurkic. You cannot debate the basic reality.

Maybe all he needed was a better situation, and young guys probably can't be expected to handle everything professionally out of the gate, but it's something worth keeping an eye on.

I will add that the "reality" of the situation is both the coaches and GMs in DEN and PHI completely mishandled the situation. The reason Noel and Nurkic saw their values "crater" was because they were completely misused. The talent was clearly there, in both cases, but it's hard to show what you can do, or get into any kind of rhythm, when you have no clear role and don't get consistent playing time. Both of these guys are just 22 and by the time they were 20 had already shown they were starting caliber centers in the NBA. For them to see their playing time ridiculously curtailed and racking up DNP-CDs was ridiculous and what drove their value down.

But look at them now. Nurk is the toast of the town in POR, with the Blazer winning 5 of their last 6 and DAL is 5-1 in games Noel has played.

BNM

 

[BrianFromWA]

WTH is that anyhow? Some sort of mega sun visor? A launching trampoline for lice? A place for birds to build a nest when they migrate back north this spring? I mean. Ive been trying to figure out wtF it is for a while now....

Don't hate on him, it's not finished yet...

 

[mook]

The Nurkard top of the key pick and roll is going to be patented.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

There has been a lot of discussion about how Nurkic's presence has helped Vonleh's game. I'd like to propose that it has helped Dame's game as well:

Pre-Nurk: Dame goes around pick, realizes he's now guarded by TWO players.
Post-Nurk: Dame goes around pick, realizes he's now guarded by ZERO players.

 

[mook]

There has been a lot of discussion about how Nurkic's presence has helped Vonleh's game. I'd like to propose that it has helped Dame's game as well:

Pre-Nurk: Dame goes around pick, realizes he's now guarded by TWO players.
Post-Nurk: Dame goes around pick, realizes he's now guarded by ZERO players.

Nurk just presents so many problems for other teams. You have to put somebody big out there to guard him or he'll just destroy people on the roll, in the post, rebounding, etc. Anybody big enough to contend with a 280lb 7'1 bear isn't going to be that fleet of foot, so isn't going to want to show on the high pick. So you can forget about trying to trap those picks anymore. And by the time the guy guarding Dame on the pick finally circumnavigates Nurkic, well, Dame has already released his shot.

These two guys were just meant for each other.

 

[oldfisherman]

The Blazers have found their third scoring threat, and their enforcer, and rim protector, all in one player.

 

[Scalma]

The pick and roll with dame and Nurk is damn near unstoppable. Puts an insane amount of pressure on a defense. We could literally run it every possession. The only thing a team could hope for is Damian misses the wide open look, or Nurkic bobbles the ball.

This also highlights Dames playmaking ability. He almost always makes the right read. Contrast with CJ, which can be best described as a work in progress.

 

[HailBlazers]

The Nurkard top of the key pick and roll is going to be patented.

And you sir presented with a gold star for this thread.

 

[Scalma]

Spoelstra:

“There's less than five players in this league that you have to do something different on your pick and roll coverage. Lillard is obviously one of those guys. To be able to score basically 50 on 21 shots on the second of an early back-to-back just shows you his efficiency. Doing something different schematically, that’s on me.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Nurk just presents so many problems for other teams. You have to put somebody big out there to guard him or he'll just destroy people on the roll, in the post, rebounding, etc. Anybody big enough to contend with a 280lb 7'1 bear isn't going to be that fleet of foot, so isn't going to want to show on the high pick. So you can forget about trying to trap those picks anymore. And by the time the guy guarding Dame on the pick finally circumnavigates Nurkic, well, Dame has already released his shot.

These two guys were just meant for each other.

liking this post isn't enough:
LOVE it!

 

[julius]

The team should incorporate PnR like Malone and Stockton did. It's the oldest and most reliable play in the game.

 

[illmatic99]

Just need Nurk to refine his postgame a bit, and extend his range this summer. It's unstoppable as is, but adding a 3pt threat just spaces the floor that much more for Dame. And as a backup play, we can post Nurk on the elbow and have Dame/CJ cut off him.

What an incredible addition.

 

[blue9]

The team should incorporate PnR like Malone and Stockton did. It's the oldest and most reliable play in the game.

Yeah, I was just thinking that I would like to see some more variation on it. Throw in the side pick/roll, with some different pick/cut options on the weak side that will get CJ/Hark/Crabbe involved even if they don't receive the ball.

 

[Scalma]

I'm very pleasantly surprised so far, not unhappy at all. But he was traded for a reason right?

Yeah. Denver had two centers, strictly centers, so they traded one of them. They sold low, but Nurkic always produced when given starter minutes in Denver.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Yeah. Denver had two centers, strictly centers, so they traded one of them. They sold low, but Nurkic always produced when given starter minutes in Denver.

And why did they sell low? He acted unprofessional and pouted. I'm glad the change of scenery was all he needed (apparently), but this is a bit of revisionist history. They sold low, because he damaged his stock with his behavior.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

And why did they sell low? He acted unprofessional and pouted. I'm glad the change of scenery was all he needed (apparently), but this is a bit of revisionist history. They sold low, because he damaged his stock with his behavior.

Which was the best possible situation for us.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Which was the best possible situation for us.

Absolutely.

 

[SIeepwalker]

And why did they sell low? He acted unprofessional and pouted. I'm glad the change of scenery was all he needed (apparently), but this is a bit of revisionist history. They sold low, because he damaged his stock with his behavior.

Which was the best possible situation for us.

Come on, we all know it was a carefully crafted plan by Nurkic and his best friend N.Olshey

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Come on, we all know it was a carefully crafted plan by Nurkic and his best friend N.Olshey

You mean the guy who introduced himself as Neilski Olsheyovich?

 

[Haakzilla]

The Ringer echoes this thread nicely...good read!

These Violent Screens Have Violent Ends
Something was wrong with the Blazers — their electric offense wasn’t plugged in. Enter Bosnian screen specialist Jusuf Nurkic. Turns out all Damian Lillard needed to find his stroke was a little room to work.
...
Nurkic (shipped along with a 2017 first-round pick) was the crown jewel in a pre-deadline trade with fellow 8-seed contender Denver for theoretical triple-double machine Mason Plumlee. While it made sense for both teams, as far as optics go, the trade is looking more and more lopsided by the day. Despite playing fewer than 20 games with the Blazers so far this season, Nurkic has already become indispensable to the team’s offense. His on-off net rating differential is by far the highest on the team.

The small sample size is implicit, but immaterial: He has been incredible from every vantage, whether you care about the metrics or you care about only the Blazers’ record since the All-Star break (9–4). Nurkic is posting dreamy fantasy lines every night, but arguably more important to Portland are his contributions to overall team flow simply by being an extremely large, nimble man. Nurkic has quickly become the ideal pick-and-roll partner for both Lillard and C.J. McCollum. He not only seems to embrace the violence that comes with setting a solid screen, but he’s proved himself a versatile receiving threat, operating as a hellacious rim runner and someone who can be a secondary playmaker on a short roll to the elbows. Due to his girth and mobility, he’s been perfect on drag screens in transition and early set plays.
...
FULL ARTICLE --> https://theringer.com/how-jusuf-nur...-and-portlands-season-583f7f8355c6#.vlnzikp1e

 

[Natebishop3]

And why did they sell low? He acted unprofessional and pouted. I'm glad the change of scenery was all he needed (apparently), but this is a bit of revisionist history. They sold low, because he damaged his stock with his behavior.

I feel like there's always two sides to a story. Denver fans aren't particularly happy with how Malone goes about his rotation. Isn't it possible that Nurkic got tired of how Malone was handling the rotation and did what a lot of young guys do (pout)? Maybe he saw that he had no shot at reclaiming the starter position because Jokic is amazing, so he lost heart. I don't know because I'm not privy to what happened behind the scenes, but it's in the best interest of Denver to smear the guy because they already look stupid for this trade.

 

[Elton]

I feel like there's always two sides to a story. Denver fans aren't particularly happy with how Malone goes about his rotation. Isn't it possible that Nurkic got tired of how Malone was handling the rotation and did what a lot of young guys do (pout)? Maybe he saw that he had no shot at reclaiming the starter position because Jokic is amazing, so he lost heart. I don't know because I'm not privy to what happened behind the scenes, but it's in the best interest of Denver to smear the guy because they already look stupid for this trade.

I have to admit I do wonder if there is another shoe that's going to drop, but I think it's likely that we have simply benefitted from a little immaturity from a 22 year old that felt like he may have been buried on the bench and was being forced into a much smaller future contract. It was probably in his own self interest to not "take one for the team."

 

[Natebishop3]

I have to admit I do wonder if there is another shoe that's going to drop, but I think it's likely that we have simply benefitted from a little immaturity from a 22 year old that felt like he may have been buried on the bench.

He has nothing to fear here. His only competition for minutes is Meyers fucking Leonard and Ed Davis (when he's healthy.) I'd feel pretty good about my chances too, if I was him.