Notice Jusuf Nurkic 30 games into the season

[Mr. Robot]

I agree Nurk undeperformed (on the offensive side), he didnt manage to produce numbers he did in those 20 games, but I wouldnt call him "disappointing", "underwhelming", "soft" etc... I read a lot of non-positive comments about Nurk, but those people cleary are not paying close attention to his overall game, cause he is the main reason behind POR success on the defensive side of the floor (POR is 5th best defensive team in the NBA), but that doesnt matter I guess

what Nurk did in those 20 games was great and he felt like a breath of fresh air after the disappointing season POR had before the trade, Nurk fever was created and he obviously had a honeymoon phase, but was also motivated to take that last playoff spot to DEN

now theres no honeymoon phase anymore and hes not motivated as he was (thats understandable), so that plays part into his performance this season... his numbers has regressed, but heres my opinion why that happened

obviously expectations from the fans were big, so theyre not happy, but thats on them, not on Nurk

PPG:

hes ppg has regressed from 15.2 ppg to 14.5 ppg, but his ppg are exactly where I expected it to be, so theres no any problem there (unless you expected improvement on that part, I didnt, but I will in the future)... since he came to POR, hes showed improvement on that part

FG%

his FG% has regressed significantly and thats bad, his best FG% season was last season (with both DEN & POR) when he shoot 50%, before that he had 41% and 42%, and now he has 45% FG, but he needs to have at least 50% FG, and its obviously thanks mostly to those misses under the basket, where he misses easy layups and putbacks and I just cant understand that, his FG% would look better if hes making those shots, but I expect him to fix that with time, its something he absolutely must do

when it comes to his low-post game, weight loss plays part there, Nurk himself said he needs to figure out his body and while he still moves bodies around, he doesnt move them with easy and sometimes he cant get into the good position to shoot (his half-hook shot is ugly anyway, but weight loss certainly isnt helping him)

his mid range is fine, hes making shots, but that was never in question, he could always make those, he just didnt shoot them in DEN (not by his will I assume)

so Id say first and foremost he needs to improve his FG%

FT%

his free throws should be better, alhough hes shooting career best 63%

REB

hes averaging 7.4 rpg contrary to 10.4 rpg he averaged last season, so he regressed in that regard, but you have to wonder why... I mean, obviously its not cause he cant rebound, so either he sacrifices his individual rebounding for the teams one, or hes rebounding less cause of his health... personaly I thinks its the first one, cause POR was the best rebounding team in the league and I bet were still among the best, if still not he best

but nevertheless, people will always look at his individual numbers, nobody cares about the team ones, so they will always speak how his rebounding is disappointing, shit etc

AST

his ast regressed from 3.2 to 1.8 and I can assure you all its not cause he forgot how to pass, but cause our offense doesnt look the same, no cutters from Dame & CJ and we remember how Nurk feed those two last season... for example, take a look at NYK game, where he had 6 ast (Pat C was cutting and Nurk feed him)

BLK

his block regressed from 1.9 to 1.2

STL

his steals regressed from 1.3 to 0.6

PF

his personal fouls regressed from 3.7 to 3.0 which is a good thing

TO

his turnovers regressed a little bit from 3.1 to 2.9 and we can hope it regresses even more


so basically, FG%, FT & TO are on Nurk, but the rest really isnt, I explained about REB & AST, so yes, hes underpeformed so far on offense, but the season is long, so we might see improvement on that end

his defense however is great and hes the main reason behind POR success on the defensive end where POR ranks as 5th best defensive team in the NBA (compare that to the last season)

remember this is the first season where hes a full time starter, its not something to ignore... I must say I like what @riverman is saying about Nurk... hes 23 yo, we all expect him to develop a lot in the future and that might will happen or not, but we have to be patient with him, hes a TOP 10 C talent for sure

hes having a contract year, expectations from the fans are big, so hes might feeling the pressure, who knows

 

[BrunoSOC]

He was better last year but he can play better than this. Dame can controll him and he playing good when they are together.

 

[bodyman5000 and 1]

Stotts

 

[Mr. Robot]

Stotts

Im gonna be fair, I do blame Stotts for the team offensive struggles and it plays a part in the Nurk offensive struggles, but its mainly on Nurk

 

[SynTax]

Nurk is being asked to do a lot of stuff he is clearly not comfortable with yet (Creating for himself being the biggest one). His stats are suffering a bit for it, but it'll pay dividends when it matters down the road. If the Blazers are ever going to be a contender in the Dame era, it's going to be because guys like Nurk and Collins were allowed to take their lumps and improve. Nurk also seems like an emotional player, and when he messes up, it seems like he gets down on himself and starts messing up more. I'm sure he'll get better on that with age.

While he has a lot to work on, he's already an elite defensive center with excellent instincts on that end. If he and Zach can develop, they'll make an awesome Front-court duo.

 

[Stevenson]

Stats don't tell the whole story.

He is missing that spark, that attitude, the fever. That was the difference maker.

Maybe its the 35 lbs, I don't know. But I do know he is playing himself out of $100 million.

 

[Mr. Robot]

Stats don't tell the whole story.

He is missing that spark, that attitude, the fever. That was the difference maker.

Maybe its the 35 lbs, I don't know. But I do know he is playing himself out of $100 million.

Ill agree with this, except the second sentence... he doesnt need to have that spark, fever or whatever, but he needs to work on his attitude also, he lets himself down sometimes and plays with no energy like against DEN

 

[Nikolokolus]

He's in a contract year, so it's not a lack of motivation.

I think the thing that stands out to me is that he violates John Wooden's Maxim, "Be quick, but don't hurry" on a majority of his plays on offense. He looks spastic at times and he's incredibly sloppy with the ball. He needs a big man coach who knows what he's doing in the worst way and he needs to go back to basics and stop pressing so much.

His problems look fixable, but they could turn into a real death-spiral if he doesn't get on top of them soon.

 

[bodyman5000 and 1]

He's in a contract year, so it's not a lack of motivation.

I think the thing that stands out to me is that he violates John Wooden's Maxim, "Be quick, but don't hurry" on a majority of his plays on offense. He looks spastic at times and he's incredibly sloppy with the ball. He needs a big man coach who knows what he's doing in the worst way and he needs to go back to basics and stop pressing so much.

His problems look fixable, but they could turn into a real death-spiral if he doesn't get on top of them soon.

8 trillion dollar payroll and they can't hire him a coach. Maybe it's to keep his market value low until he signs long term.

 

[Cippy91]

I see this as a fanboys big excuse for him. Yeah he is young, that's fine but the regression is quite obvious. Didn't need stats to know that one. He isn't that great this season and yeah it's definitely something to worry about as a fan especially if they are looking to give this guy a shit load of money this summer. Every Blazer fan should be concerned about that considering how well contracts like Crabbes,Harkless, and Meyers turned out. Not to mention Turner. Denver fans are kinda right. He is kinda lazy in terms of how he plays. Sloppy and fast, rushes things. Questionable shot selection with deep mid range shots. Missing easy shots. If anything you could argue Dame makes Nurk look like a great player finding him in the pick and roll. Take Dame off of this team, Nurks numbers go down even more. Most of his ppg come off of the pick and roll I would imagine. Just not impressed. The real question is do you really wanna pay this guy insane money this summer? take that chance? I don't know anymore

 

[ripcityboy]

I see this as a fanboys big excuse for him. Yeah he is young, that's fine but the regression is quite obvious. Didn't need stats to know that one. He isn't that great this season and yeah it's definitely something to worry about as a fan especially if they are looking to give this guy a shit load of money this summer. Every Blazer fan should be concerned about that considering how well contracts like Crabbes,Harkless, and Meyers turned out. Not to mention Turner. Denver fans are kinda right. He is kinda lazy in terms of how he plays. Sloppy and fast, rushes things. Questionable shot selection with deep mid range shots. Missing easy shots. If anything you could argue Dame makes Nurk look like a great player finding him in the pick and roll. Take Dame off of this team, Nurks numbers go down even more. Most of his ppg come off of the pick and roll I would imagine. Just not impressed. The real question is do you really wanna pay this guy insane money this summer? take that chance? I don't know anymore

No. We don't pay him insane money.

 

[Labinot41]

I see this as a fanboys big excuse for him. Yeah he is young, that's fine but the regression is quite obvious. Didn't need stats to know that one. He isn't that great this season and yeah it's definitely something to worry about as a fan especially if they are looking to give this guy a shit load of money this summer. Every Blazer fan should be concerned about that considering how well contracts like Crabbes,Harkless, and Meyers turned out. Not to mention Turner. Denver fans are kinda right. He is kinda lazy in terms of how he plays. Sloppy and fast, rushes things. Questionable shot selection with deep mid range shots. Missing easy shots. If anything you could argue Dame makes Nurk look like a great player finding him in the pick and roll. Take Dame off of this team, Nurks numbers go down even more. Most of his ppg come off of the pick and roll I would imagine. Just not impressed. The real question is do you really wanna pay this guy insane money this summer? take that chance? I don't know anymore

The Salary Cap is not rising up anymore like in 2016. And look at the free agent Market Next Summer. There are too many Centers who become free agents, and not many teams with Cap Space. 2018 is a Bad year for free agents

 

[Strenuus]

I agree Nurk undeperformed (on the offensive side), he didnt manage to produce numbers he did in those 20 games, but I wouldnt call him "disappointing", "underwhelming", "soft" etc... I read a lot of non-positive comments about Nurk, but those people cleary are not paying close attention to his overall game, cause he is the main reason behind POR success on the defensive side of the floor (POR is 5th best defensive team in the NBA), but that doesnt matter I guess

what Nurk did in those 20 games was great and he felt like a breath of fresh air after the disappointing season POR had before the trade, Nurk fever was created and he obviously had a honeymoon phase, but was also motivated to take that last playoff spot to DEN

now theres no honeymoon phase anymore and hes not motivated as he was (thats understandable), so that plays part into his performance this season... his numbers has regressed, but heres my opinion why that happened

obviously expectations from the fans were big, so theyre not happy, but thats on them, not on Nurk

PPG:

hes ppg has regressed from 15.2 ppg to 14.5 ppg, but his ppg are exactly where I expected it to be, so theres no any problem there (unless you expected improvement on that part, I didnt, but I will in the future)... since he came to POR, hes showed improvement on that part

FG%

his FG% has regressed significantly and thats bad, his best FG% season was last season (with both DEN & POR) when he shoot 50%, before that he had 41% and 42%, and now he has 45% FG, but he needs to have at least 50% FG, and its obviously thanks mostly to those misses under the basket, where he misses easy layups and putbacks and I just cant understand that, his FG% would look better if hes making those shots, but I expect him to fix that with time, its something he absolutely must do

when it comes to his low-post game, weight loss plays part there, Nurk himself said he needs to figure out his body and while he still moves bodies around, he doesnt move them with easy and sometimes he cant get into the good position to shoot (his half-hook shot is ugly anyway, but weight loss certainly isnt helping him)

his mid range is fine, hes making shots, but that was never in question, he could always make those, he just didnt shoot them in DEN (not by his will I assume)

so Id say first and foremost he needs to improve his FG%

FT%

his free throws should be better, alhough hes shooting career best 63%

REB

hes averaging 7.4 rpg contrary to 10.4 rpg he averaged last season, so he regressed in that regard, but you have to wonder why... I mean, obviously its not cause he cant rebound, so either he sacrifices his individual rebounding for the teams one, or hes rebounding less cause of his health... personaly I thinks its the first one, cause POR was the best rebounding team in the league and I bet were still among the best, if still not he best

but nevertheless, people will always look at his individual numbers, nobody cares about the team ones, so they will always speak how his rebounding is disappointing, shit etc

AST

his ast regressed from 3.2 to 1.8 and I can assure you all its not cause he forgot how to pass, but cause our offense doesnt look the same, no cutters from Dame & CJ and we remember how Nurk feed those two last season... for example, take a look at NYK game, where he had 6 ast (Pat C was cutting and Nurk feed him)

BLK

his block regressed from 1.9 to 1.2

STL

his steals regressed from 1.3 to 0.6

PF

his personal fouls regressed from 3.7 to 3.0 which is a good thing

TO

his turnovers regressed a little bit from 3.1 to 2.9 and we can hope it regresses even more


so basically, FG%, FT & TO are on Nurk, but the rest really isnt, I explained about REB & AST, so yes, hes underpeformed so far on offense, but the season is long, so we might see improvement on that end

his defense however is great and hes the main reason behind POR success on the defensive end where POR ranks as 5th best defensive team in the NBA (compare that to the last season)

remember this is the first season where hes a full time starter, its not something to ignore... I must say I like what @riverman is saying about Nurk... hes 23 yo, we all expect him to develop a lot in the future and that might will happen or not, but we have to be patient with him, hes a TOP 10 C talent for sure

hes having a contract year, expectations from the fans are big, so hes might feeling the pressure, who knows

He's underwhelming offensively is all I say. Defensively except for moments hes been fine. I think most would agree with this.

 

[Strenuus]

He's in a contract year, so it's not a lack of motivation.

I think the thing that stands out to me is that he violates John Wooden's Maxim, "Be quick, but don't hurry" on a majority of his plays on offense. He looks spastic at times and he's incredibly sloppy with the ball. He needs a big man coach who knows what he's doing in the worst way and he needs to go back to basics and stop pressing so much.

His problems look fixable, but they could turn into a real death-spiral if he doesn't get on top of them soon.

Best answer. It's the truth.

 

[jlprk]

New article of videos over the years, in which DeMarcus Cousins destroys Mason Plumlee.

https://sports.vice.com/en_us/artic...es-campaign-of-destruction-over-mason-plumlee

 

[stampedehero]

I see this as a fanboys big excuse for him. Yeah he is young, that's fine but the regression is quite obvious. Didn't need stats to know that one. He isn't that great this season and yeah it's definitely something to worry about as a fan especially if they are looking to give this guy a shit load of money this summer. Every Blazer fan should be concerned about that considering how well contracts like Crabbes,Harkless, and Meyers turned out. Not to mention Turner. Denver fans are kinda right. He is kinda lazy in terms of how he plays. Sloppy and fast, rushes things. Questionable shot selection with deep mid range shots. Missing easy shots. If anything you could argue Dame makes Nurk look like a great player finding him in the pick and roll. Take Dame off of this team, Nurks numbers go down even more. Most of his ppg come off of the pick and roll I would imagine. Just not impressed. The real question is do you really wanna pay this guy insane money this summer? take that chance? I don't know anymore

I got it! If I was Neil, I would get Collins beefed up and teach him a Bosnian accent for media interviews. <Right now, Collins is a bit skinny for heavy duty post work.

 

[Mr. Robot]

I see this as a fanboys big excuse for him. Yeah he is young, that's fine but the regression is quite obvious. Didn't need stats to know that one. He isn't that great this season and yeah it's definitely something to worry about as a fan especially if they are looking to give this guy a shit load of money this summer. Every Blazer fan should be concerned about that considering how well contracts like Crabbes,Harkless, and Meyers turned out. Not to mention Turner. Denver fans are kinda right. He is kinda lazy in terms of how he plays. Sloppy and fast, rushes things. Questionable shot selection with deep mid range shots. Missing easy shots. If anything you could argue Dame makes Nurk look like a great player finding him in the pick and roll. Take Dame off of this team, Nurks numbers go down even more. Most of his ppg come off of the pick and roll I would imagine. Just not impressed. The real question is do you really wanna pay this guy insane money this summer? take that chance? I don't know anymore

its not an fanboy big excuse and you could clearly read it, especially the paragraph about his FG%
Id like to hear why you think so... for example, REB & AST comments are not an excuse, its a fact

as long as we have Dame, you pay him all money he want, you match any offer he gets

 

[Mr. Robot]

He's underwhelming offensively is all I say. Defensively except for moments hes been fine. I think most would agree with this.

I agree that offensively hes not playing as good as I expected (even with flaws in his game)
but season is long and if he manages to improves his FG% to 50% or more, I dont think hell be "underwhelming" or anything

cause that FG% he had in those 20 games and was considered great

 

[Blazinaway]

its not an fanboy big excuse and you could clearly read it, especially the paragraph about his FG%
Id like to hear why you think so... for example, REB & AST comments are not an excuse, its a fact

as long as we have Dame, you pay him all money he want, you match any offer he gets

you absolutely do not "pay him all the money he wants". we have seen first hand where that leads, you pay him a fair market price and if he doesn't like it you let some other team get stuck with a huge salary if they make a stupid offer, there are a lot of C's in FA next summer and its a saturated position in the NBA in a yr with much less money available. And we will see how he does the rest of the season

 

[Cippy91]

you absolutely do not "pay him all the money he wants". we have seen first hand where that leads, you pay him a fair market price and if he doesn't like it you let some other team get stuck with a huge salary if they make a stupid offer, there are a lot of C's in FA next summer and its a saturated position in the NBA in a yr with much less money available. And we will see how he does the rest of the season

Which is what I was also kinda saying. We saw what crabbe turned out to be. Even in Brooklyn he’s really not that great. These big and dumb contracts olshey gave out got us here in the first place

 

[Cippy91]

its not an fanboy big excuse and you could clearly read it, especially the paragraph about his FG%
Id like to hear why you think so... for example, REB & AST comments are not an excuse, its a fact

as long as we have Dame, you pay him all money he want, you match any offer he gets

This is one big post to try to justify some contract he may get. If the season ended Thursday I wouldn’t want Portland to offer some big contract to him. You offer a reasonable amount and if you can get him back at a decent price take it and see if he gets better since he is only 23. He’s not worth big money though. Not at all at this point. You might as well throw Javale McGee in there starting for Portland and you could get the same production and presence in the paint defensively

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

I have a bad feeling about Nurk, it's not really rational, but it's there. I would try to pump him up and once he plays a good stretch, trade him.

 

[jlprk]

Which is what I was also kinda saying. We saw what crabbe turned out to be. Even in Brooklyn he’s really not that great. These big and dumb contracts olshey gave out got us here in the first place

McCollum is paid triple what he should be.

My favorite part of Nurkic' game last season was the nifty little inside passes. Remember them? Brainy-boy Stotts saw the nice assist stat, so now he has Nurkic stand outside and attempt stupid long assists which fail.

 

[jlprk]

it's not a lack of motivation.

I think the thing that stands out to me is that he violates John Wooden's Maxim, "Be quick, but don't hurry" on a majority of his plays on offense. He looks spastic at times and he's incredibly sloppy with the ball.

This describes several Stotts players. They are told to play faster than they are capable of. The Stotts system is all flash and no substance.

 

[tlongII]

He’ll be fine. I love our potential with Zach and Nurk. Just need a good 3 and we’ll be golden.

 

[Haakzilla]

I got it! If I was Neil, I would get Collins beefed up and teach him a Bosnian accent for media interviews.View attachment 17602 <Right now, Collins is a bit skinny for heavy duty post work.

...have no fear, the Blazers' training staff is here -- 25 pounds of muscle by next year!!!

 

[GrandJury]

Oh man this guy sucks he’s lazy and turnover prone

He also bitches a lot for somebody as weak as he is

 

[KeepOnRollin]

Oh man this guy sucks he’s lazy and turnover prone

He also bitches a lot for somebody as weak as he is

Are you describing yourself?

Merry Christmas!

 

[PHXBlazer1]

I'd be cautious before handing him a max contract..and I hate that I'm saying it.

 

[Mediocre Man]

...have no fear, the Blazers' training staff is here -- 25 pounds of muscle by next year!!!

And a summer working on his 3 point shooting