https://theathletic.com/837987/2019...-in-hopes-that-it-doesnt-come-up-small-again/ Smack talk might leave his lips with the ease of water from a leaky faucet, spraying his intended target with a deluge while connecting unsuspecting bystanders. But Jusuf Nurkic denies that he goes out seeking trouble in advance; he just prefers to end it. “I’m not trying,” Nurkic said of his reputation for spouting off, “but then you have people who be talking when they maybe should not be talking. And if somebody starts talking, I ain’t going to back down.” Nurkic said this after practice at Temple University, the day before he found himself in the middle of another public spat; this time with Philadelphia 76ers All-Star point guard Ben Simmons, who became the latest—and one of the loudest—victims of a Bosnian big man whose first language is call-it-as-he-sees-it. Simmons began jawing with Nurkic early in the game, after drawing a foul on an attempted dunk, and Nurkic stored up for the right time to strike back. When Simmons missed a free throw off the back of the rim in the third period, Nurkic shouted loud enough for anyone nearby to hear it. “Hell no!” Simmons then calmly walked up to Nurkic before attempting his second foul shot and said, “You talk a lot of shit for being ass.” Nurkic turned away to ignore Simmons, instead focusing on what teammate Damian Lillard had to tell him. But after the game, after the Portland Trail Blazers easily handled one of the better Eastern Conference teams—albeit without MVP candidate Joel Embiid—for the second time this season, Nurkic was ready for a response. “I’m a better shooter than him, I guess. The way he’s able to shoot—or not able to shoot—is ridiculous,” Nurkic said of Simmons. Evan Turner, seated a few feet away in the visitors’ locker room, asked, “Who you talking about?” “The best shooter on the floor. Your boy Ben Simmons,” Nurkic said, wiping his face with a towel. Nurkic then did his best Embiid impersonation, taking his roast of Simmons to Instagram, listing his location as West Philadelphia (Simmons once referred to himself as the Fresh Prince and Will Smith backed it up) and writing, “Thinking they lions, tigers and bears I go hunt and put heads on my fireplace…” The Trail Blazers have grown accustomed to this bluntness from Nurkic in the two years since general manager Neil Olshey plucked him out of Denver, where Nurkic bristled his way out of town. But they’ve come to accept and expect it, right along with his magnetism to offensive rebounds and ability to finish in the low post. "He always just talks some shit,” Lillard said with a grin. “Every day, it’s like most of his comments is slick comments and half the time, he don’t even mean it to be a slick comment. I think it’s just that foreign misunderstanding sometimes. To where he’s just saying something but he talking shit. I appreciate him being himself. He’s a really honest, emotions-on-his-sleeve type of person and you need those kind of people around. So, maybe it brings that more out of people, like, it’s OK, to say how you feel. And express how you feel.” Nurkic’s mouth can at times proceed his talents on the court but this season, he has made a concerted effort to be more consistent with the latter, which has helped Portland remain relevant in the ultra-competitive West following a humiliating first-round sweep against New Orleans last postseason. The Blazers have been one of the more active teams in recent weeks, adding depth to the bench with the trade for swingman Rodney Hood and the signing of waiver wire hire Enes Kanter. The moves do much to change perceptions of the Trail Blazers but only because the intended purpose wasn’t to disrupt, only relieve what they already have in the headlining backcourt duo of Lillard and C.J. McCollum and Nurkic. The perception that the league has gone small isn’t necessarily matched by the product that the best teams put on the floor. Nikola Jokic, whose emergence made Nurkic expendable in Denver, made his first all-star team and is having an MVP-caliber campaign. Steven Adams is the immovable, workhorse enforcer clearing lanes for and catching opportunistic lobs from Russell Westbrook and Paul George in Oklahoma City. Rudy Gobert, whose emergence made Kanter expendable in Utah, is the game’s best rim protector and is refining his offensive game. And the Warriors—the team that encouraged the league to embrace smaller, more skilled lineups—have enlisted DeMarcus Cousins for a rehab assignment that ideally allows them to pummel teams inside while splashing from outside. Nurkic and Kanter are a tier below as individuals, but in tandem provide Portland with the unique opportunity to never be on the floor without someone who commands attention on the low block. Given recent league-wide trends in style of play, the pairing is daring, and risky, but it’s one worth pursuing for a franchise that could use an infusion of more talent. Cut free from New York, where he didn’t fit with the Knicks rebuilding plans and whined about his lack of playing time, Kanter has now found a home for the rest of the season with the organization that originally signed him to a four-year, $70 million offer sheet in 2015. “This was the team that believed in me four years ago. They gave me my very first contract,” Kanter said. “I think from Day One, they opened their arms trying to help me on the court, off the court. When you play with good players like CJ and Dame, they just make the game better for everyone else. So it’s just been pretty easy.” At the time of Kanter’s original signing, the Trail Blazers were reacting to LaMarcus Aldridge’s defection to San Antonio. But Kanter never came, as Oklahoma City matched the deal, forcing Olshey to later make a run at Nurkic. Now the Blazers have two similarly skilled big men and options. “Everybody is talking about the three-point shot,” coach Terry Stotts said, “but there is nothing more efficient than going 8-for-8 in the paint.” The obvious concern for the duo is what happens defensively when teams decide to place stretch bigs on the court and either force Nurkic to step out on the perimeter or the clumsy, slow-footed Kanter to get exposed in pick-and-rolls. “Adding Kanter now, having length on this team, it’s going to be difficult for them to get small,” Nurkic said. “That’s a good thing when you have two guys that can score in the post. And bring some attention from our guards. It’s going to be difficult for them, what they’re going to do. I think teams need to adapt to us.” Hood is starting over for the second time in as many seasons, returning to the West after being dealt from Utah to Cleveland last season. The transition to Portland has been much smoother than it was in Cleveland, where Hood moved his family, including a pregnant wife who delivered twins during the playoffs. This time, Hood decided to travel alone, so that he could focus on adjusting to a new team without having to make sure everyone else was settled in. Hood could never find his bearings in Cleveland, going from struggling to find his spot alongside LeBron James on a team that made a run to the NBA Finals to a lottery-bound program in contention for the number one pick in a matter of months. “It was tough for me to adjust a little bit,” Hood said. “It was a constant thing, off the court, trying to get adjusted to everything, coming from where I was in Utah. I was a real focal point to coming somewhere where I had to fit in, it was tough for me. But here, I think I have a better opportunity to be myself and play in a system where I can flourish a little bit. And it’s going to take some time, but I feel like it’s a good team for me.” Being back playing “competitive basketball” has been good for Hood, who is now used to being in the playoffs after helping the Jazz climb out of a rebuild. The Trail Blazers are seeking the type of respect that can only come from the kind of success that would help McCollum appease his Twitter buddy, Jennifer, and Kevin Durant view them as one of those teams “at the top of things.” “I feel like the guys, they know the chatter that’s going around about last year,” Hood said. “Me, personally, I want to get back to June. It was the most fun I had playing basketball. It’s just two teams, the whole world is watching. I want to be a part of that.” Portland is used to being readily dismissed as a threat and last season’s flameout as a third seed against the Pelicans didn’t lend itself to the benefit of the doubt going forward. Lillard hasn’t invested much energy into what led to that debacle but views it as a necessary evil for this group. “I believe that sometimes, it’s just your turn to go through some shit. I felt like that was our time to go through a bad time. That’s what it was for us and it’s about how you respond to it,” Lillard said. “Just got to hold it down. We know what we’re capable of and we’re a better team this year than we have been [previous] years, so we’ll see. Looking forward to getting back to the postseason and having a good performance.” To Lillard, the way that Trail Blazers have responded to that letdown this season is evidence of the team’s overall character. In a league with a lot of talented players but few genuine leaders, Lillard stands out as someone who inspires his teammates with timely buckets and a defiant attitude. “There’s no bullshit to him,” Stotts said. Remember how Portland was supposed to collapse and embrace a rebuild after Aldridge left? Probably not because the Trail Blazers have remained a playoff contender. That ping-pong ball chase never happened, because Lillard refused to let it happen. “I think it was showing trust in other people, showing trust in the guys on the team. The bond, the chemistry. I think our chemistry allowed us to make up for, at least earlier, the experience we didn’t have,” Lillard said. “How consistent we was, as far as showing up and wanting it, playing hard and playing together. Where we might play a team that’s better than us, but they don’t have it that night. We taking that win. I think we ended up in a lot of those situations. Now, we’re the same way, with years of experience together, years of experience at how to win. That and just will power. It’s certain stuff that I’m just not going to accept. Losing is part of that.” But for Portland to escape the anonymity that comes from its proximity and an annual quick-second-round-or-sooner ceiling, it will need some favorable matchups (if the season ended today, it would get the not-ideal bracket with Houston in the first round and Golden State in the second round). And it will also need to save Lillard’s heroics for the moments that truly require them. "From the first year after our roster turnover, I had to shoulder a lot, as far as, trying to make sure we win games and trying to will us to wins and stuff like that. Now, us being a deeper team, it’s not always necessary for me to have 35 or 40,” Lillard said. “Because I’m smarter now. I know how to control games and manage games, put other guys in position to where they can take advantage of what the other team is doing. It makes my job that much easier and I’m not going go out there and kill myself, if I don’t have to.” And much of that begins with Nurkic, who has traded in his status as an X-factor for the team into someone whose production is expected more than celebrated. The new additions are nice but the team made an investment into Nurkic possibly raising the team’s ceiling. Nurkic challenged himself in December to be more dependable and has since been one of the better, more overlooked big men out West. “To just realize how big I am. I’m 280, 7-feet tall,” Nurkic said. “Sometimes I was helping my opponent when I rushed a shot. I just need to be patient and actually having the ball in my hands more helps me out to.” Though he’s known to speak his mind, Nurkic was silenced during that Pelicans series. Anthony Davis played with unmatched determination and put Nurkic on the wrong end of an embarrassing, disrespectful moment. Davis elevated for a putback dunk that was so mean, Nurkic dropped to the floor and Jrue Holiday pointed to let everyone in the arena know who got got. That humbling experience has kept Nurkic from turning competitive banter with opponents into braggadocio for the team’s prospects. He’s having a career season, flourishing as a scorer, rebounder and playmaker, but there’s more to go. "Being in the playoffs is a big goal for any team in the league. We’ve done that pretty well the last couple of years but the most important thing is moving forward in the playoffs and being a contender,” Nurkic said. “For us last year, we get to the playoffs, we get swept. That stay with us. We need to live game by game because we live before the moment and it didn’t work well for us last season.” Nurkic admits that consistency is what separates the best players in the league and credits a conversation with Lillard for helping maintain his focus through the unavoidable highs and lows of games and the season. "He’s been playing at an all-star level,” Kanter said of Nurkic. “Not just offensively, but defensively, too, he’s been unbelievable for us, and he’s just going out there and it’s almost impossible to stop him.” With Kanter around, the Trail Blazers have another big man who can still punish defenses should Nurkic have an off night. They also have two of the league’s most notorious irritants. Kanter also exchanged some banter with Simmons during the win against the 76ers, hopping up to walk and yap with Simmons after Simmons bumped him to the floor and collecting a technical when he turned his focus to Mike Scott. “We’ve got a lot of quiet, laid-back, humble, not really feisty kind of dudes on our team, so you need that mix,” Lillard said. “That might be what we need to make us a little bit better, so I’m not mad at that. That’s good.” “You’ve got to get under their skin,” Kanter said. “It’s important. Sometimes, basketball is not enough. You’ve got to go out there and play that mind game and take them out of their game. It’s all a part of the game.” Kanter has trolled James and inspired Durant to unleash some of his harshest, belittling words. Nurkic is an equal-opportunity offender, having gone after DeMarcus Cousins (“He’s not that tough. He looks like first team flopping”) and Embiid (“He tries to be more famous than a player”) in the past and Russell Westbrook (“Westbrick”) and Iman Shumpert (“I’m not worried about a guy who’s going into retirement soon”) in recent weeks. "I think you’re born with that,” Nurkic said of his brash nature. “You’re born with that and you can develop that through the years. I left my home when I was 14, some small kid from small village back there in Bosnia. There is a lot of experience you go through by yourself and you learn on your own skin. It just maybe more difficult in that period, but it makes you life more easy going forward. "You know in this league, some people really like to talk, but that’s their game. I feel for me, it’s more what am I doing wrong? What can I be better?” Nurkic said. “You need to be quick learner and forget about things in the past, you can’t get back. I think that’s a major thing for me, not the words that come to my mouth. That can’t motivate me. My biggest motivation is to enjoy the game, have fun out there and win.” And if anyone gets sprayed along the way, so be it.
I loooove when Nurkic starts jawing. What’s anyone going to do about it? Simmons told him to be quiet with the energy of a substitute teacher. Kanter seems a little bit more sensitive than Nurkic, but he’s obviously fearless and isn’t one to mess with either. This article forgot to mention our best shit talker though in Collins. Nothing will ever top “fuck you ho fuck outta my face”
Talking it up is an essential part of the game; you have to be aggressive and counterpunch. Its like in prison, if you don't fight back you will become someone's bitch. You are weak if you take it from someone. We need a guy like Kanter who is always getting under the skins of opponents.
You are no ordinary rookie.....you speak wise beyond your years...... something is special with this one.
[QUOTE=" "He’s been playing at an all-star level,” Kanter said of Nurkic. “Not just offensively, but defensively, too, he’s been unbelievable for us, and he’s just going out there and it’s almost impossible to stop him.” “[/QUOTE] This. It's good Kanter can see that. Hope he can learn it too.
defense is a team skill as much as anything...Kanter is still learning where to be with his teammates...chemistry hopefully will flow by playoff time for him and Hood
Great trash talking is almost an art form. Such an underrated tactic. I remember the best burn I ever heard about was funnily enough in baseball. There was I think a Mets player, who got hit in the head and had to have plastic surgery. After he came back he was much noticeably better looking, an opposing pitcher told him, "Hey ____ , you should paid us, not the surgeon. That bean ball made you handsome."
This. It's good Kanter can see that. Hope he can learn it too.[/QUOTE] Although it might work out best if he learns it next year. Because if he shows too much of an improvement on the defensive side of the ball this year....we won't be able to afford him this summer.
"He's been unbelievable for US" -- after only three games with the team. I'd say Kanter has bought into the Blazers pretty hard. Here's hoping he gives US the family discount.
