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

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mook

mook

The 2018-19 season was the best I've seen
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Even back in college Dame has always been touted as a pick-and-roll point guard. Yet since joining the league he played off LaMarsha (pick and pops), LaMonster (post ups), Lopez (no real skill around rim), Plums (no real ability to set a decent pick, no skill at finishing in traffic), Leonard (no, well, anything)....

Nurkic is the complete pick-and-roll package. He'll use his 280lbs to wipe out a defender on the pick, he'll rumble to the front of the rim and if you overreact he'll lay the perfect dish for the weakside guy.

I'm really, really excited to see him develop. In his first two games he was arguable the second best player on the team. He's not going to get the most shots, but action off him in the pick and roll is going to be the bread and butter of our offense going forward.
 
you meant 3rd best player ?

I love Nurkic but come on now
 
SIeepwalker said:
you meant 3rd best player ?

I love Nurkic but come on now
Click to expand...
In two games, Nurkic is a combined 11-17, 25 pts, 19 reb, 6 ast, 6 stl, 3 blk, +41
In two games, CJ is a combined 15-36, 40 pts, 3 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk, -19

You don't think it's arguable that Nurkic has performed as the second best player on the team over the past two games?
 
PtldPlatypus said:
In two games, Nurkic is a combined 11-17, 25 pts, 19 reb, 6 ast, 6 stl, 3 blk, +41
In two games, CJ is a combined 15-36, 40 pts, 3 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk, -19

You don't think it's arguable that Nurkic has performed as the second best player on the team over the past two games?
Click to expand...

Oh he has, and he's changed the defense as well.
 
ripcityboy said:
He's played TWO FRIGGIN GAMES! Jeez, get a sample set that a little bit bigger please.
Click to expand...

This is very true, but some of the optimism comes from the way Nurkic is impacting the game. He isn't just getting lucky shots here and there (Layman), he is doing very fundamental things that impact the team on both ends of the court. I'm sure he will have games with too many missed shots or too many turnovers, but the combination of his size, low post skills and passing ability is not going to disappear completely. I'm just shocked that they guy is only 22 and only started playing at 14. Even if he never develops into a top 5-10 center he will have a big impact on this team's offense and defense for some time.
 
Reep said:
This is very true, but some of the optimism comes from the way Nurkic is impacting the game. He isn't just getting lucky shots here and there (Layman), he is doing very fundamental things that impact the team on both ends of the court. I'm sure he will have games with too many missed shots or too many turnovers, but the combination of his size, low post skills and passing ability is not going to disappear completely. I'm just shocked that they guy is only 22 and only started playing at 14. Even if he never develops into a top 5-10 center he will have a big impact on this team's offense and defense for some time.
Click to expand...
EXACTLY, great post!
 
I feel like every post in this thread needs to be read with a heavy accent and we need to lose a few of the English articles.

mook said:
Nurkic complete pick-and-roll package. He use 280 pound and wipe out defender on pick. He rumble to front of rim and if overreact he lay perfect dish for weakside guy.
Click to expand...

There, that's better.
 
noknobs said:
I feel like every post in this thread needs to be read with a heavy accent and we need to lose a few of the English articles.



There, that's better.
Click to expand...
You need to follow Jusuf Nurkic Fan Club on Twitter. All post read like that.
 
Ed Davis is a true pick and roll big.
While he isn't as good as he was last year, he's a pretty damn good roll big.
 
H.C. said:
Ed Davis is a true pick and roll big.
While he isn't as good as he was last year, he's a pretty damn good roll big.
Click to expand...
Ed will benefit from practicing against Nurk instead of Plumlee...hopefully it'll get him back to his game
 
H.C. said:
Ed Davis is a true pick and roll big.
While he isn't as good as he was last year, he's a pretty damn good roll big.
Click to expand...

Definitely true, but he just isn't that great at setting picks. He's a crafty finisher around the rim--pretty efficient really. But it's hard to get him the ball because he's no threat more than 3 feet from the rim and he doesn't create space for the guard with the pick and he isn't big enough or athletic enough that you can just throw it near the rim and watch him dunk. So 90% of the time you can count on Dame or CJ taking the shot, and Davis scrapping hard for the rebound. It's pretty predictable.

When Nurk is running the pick and roll, he presents so many problems for the defense:
  • He really, really seems to enjoy laying the wood on guards. Something we haven't really seen since Przybilla. That alone creates fatigue and wariness that only opens the game up more as the game goes along. Re-watch Lillard exploding in the fourth against Orlando and just look at how tentative the defense looked. It is just not fun to run into Nurk compared to Ed.
  • He gets the ball up high on a pick and he'll just palm it and see over top of defenders to pass to the open man.
  • He catches the ball on the roll because he's so big the guard can lob it in.
  • He's got the footwork as he comes in close to avoid travelling calls.
  • If he's near the rim he's so strong he can power through a lot of single coverage contact.
  • If you double down on him he'll find the guy left open.
Because of all those problems, Portland pick-and-rolls are no longer just, "Shit, I got to work through this guy to make sure Dame/CJ don't get a clean shot." It's now, "Shit, there's a fucking mountain between me and Dame/CJ. I got to get around him, but also worry about the consequences even if I succeed."

I'm really, really excited about this addition. I think it's the single most under-reported change in the NBA right now. It's not that he's a brilliant top 3 center (who knows, maybe some day?) it's that his skill set is EXACTLY what our two best players desperately needed to make them effective. His addition to the team is so much more than the much-needed talent injection. It's his ability to create so much more leverage for our key guys to succeed.
 
Last edited:
mook said:
Definitely true, but he just isn't that great at setting picks. He's a crafty finisher around the rim--pretty efficient really. But it's hard to get him the ball because he's no threat more than 3 feet from the rim and he doesn't create space for the guard with the pick and he isn't big enough or athletic enough that you can just throw it near the rim and watch him dunk. So 90% of the time you can count on Dame or CJ taking the shot, and Davis scrapping hard for the rebound. It's pretty predictable.

When Nurk is running the pick and roll, he presents so many problems for the defense:
  • He really, really seems to enjoy laying the wood on guards. Something we haven't really seen since Przybilla. That alone creates fatigue and wariness that only opens the game up more as the game goes along. Re-watch Lillard exploding in the fourth against Orlando and just look at how tentative the defense looked. It is just not fun to run into Nurk compared to Ed.
  • He gets the ball up high on a pick and he'll just palm it and see over top of defenders to pass to the open man.
  • He catches the ball on the roll because he's so big the guard can lob it in.
  • He's got the footwork as he comes in close to avoid travelling calls.
  • If he's near the rim he's so strong he can power through a lot of single coverage contact.
  • If you double down on him he'll find the guy left open.
Because of all those problems, Portland pick-and-rolls are no longer just, "Shit, I got to work through this guy to make sure Dame/CJ don't get a clean shot." It's now, "Shit, there's a fucking mountain between me and Dame/CJ. I got to get around him, but also worry about the consequences even if I succeed."

I'm really, really excited about this addition. I think it's the single most under-reported change in the NBA right now. It's not that he's a brilliant top 3 center (who knows, maybe some day?) it's that his skill set is EXACTLY what our two best players desperately needed to make them effective. His addition to the team is so much more than the much-needed talent injection. It's his ability to create so much more leverage for our key guys to succeed.
Click to expand...

Oh you're not wrong that after two games Nurk seems better than Ed is as a screener.
As well as more ability once the ball is in his hands after Lillard creates a 4 on 3 opportunity by passing out of the double team.
I was just mentioning Ed is a true pick and roll big, who if he returns to his 15-16 form. He's pretty damn good in that role.
Tbh I consider Ed to be more of a pick and roll big than Aldridge was. Aldridge just had more talent.
Nards though does set the same wide body screen that Nurk did late in Orlando. Just Nards only rolls to the rim a handful of times a year.... Rest of the time he's a piece of drift wood.
 
mook said:
Definitely true, but he just isn't that great at setting picks. He's a crafty finisher around the rim--pretty efficient really. But it's hard to get him the ball because he's no threat more than 3 feet from the rim and he doesn't create space for the guard with the pick and he isn't big enough or athletic enough that you can just throw it near the rim and watch him dunk. So 90% of the time you can count on Dame or CJ taking the shot, and Davis scrapping hard for the rebound. It's pretty predictable.

When Nurk is running the pick and roll, he presents so many problems for the defense:
  • He really, really seems to enjoy laying the wood on guards. Something we haven't really seen since Przybilla. That alone creates fatigue and wariness that only opens the game up more as the game goes along. Re-watch Lillard exploding in the fourth against Orlando and just look at how tentative the defense looked. It is just not fun to run into Nurk compared to Ed.
  • He gets the ball up high on a pick and he'll just palm it and see over top of defenders to pass to the open man.
  • He catches the ball on the roll because he's so big the guard can lob it in.
  • He's got the footwork as he comes in close to avoid travelling calls.
  • If he's near the rim he's so strong he can power through a lot of single coverage contact.
  • If you double down on him he'll find the guy left open.
Because of all those problems, Portland pick-and-rolls are no longer just, "Shit, I got to work through this guy to make sure Dame/CJ don't get a clean shot." It's now, "Shit, there's a fucking mountain between me and Dame/CJ. I got to get around him, but also worry about the consequences even if I succeed."

I'm really, really excited about this addition. I think it's the single most under-reported change in the NBA right now. It's not that he's a brilliant top 3 center (who knows, maybe some day?) it's that his skill set is EXACTLY what our two best players desperately needed to make them effective. His addition to the team is so much more than the much-needed talent injection. It's his ability to create so much more leverage for our key guys to succeed.
Click to expand...

"Just another guy they won't pass the ball to"
 
Scalma said:
"Just another guy they won't pass the ball to"
Click to expand...
lol, BB27 does seem to be getting a lot of touches, which I really like. Not only that, but he's getting them all over the court - low post, high post, mid range...
 
Wizard Mentor said:
lol, BB27 does seem to be getting a lot of touches, which I really like. Not only that, but he's getting them all over the court - low post, high post, mid range...
Click to expand...

Yeah I think eventually we'll play through him just as much, if not more, than Plumlee. He's not just a post up guy. He's a legit playmaker.
 
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