Really Bottom Line is i hope a new coach helps Nurk out and he becomes a better all around player and has a good healthy season. It's time the Blazers had a healthy season.
nurk started practicing bball when he was 14 yo and five years later he was in the nba i wonder how much better he would be if he started practicing bball earlier
It's funny i like him so much as a player but first with the talk few years ago by some blind Blazers fans that he is better than Jokic and now with all this blame everything else except for Nurk thing i m starting to like him less lol I hope at least people close to him and his trainers hold him accountable for his brain farts on the floor
That's fair, but he was on an ascent to become an top tier center before the injury. It's been a slow climb back after. Some maybe due to his mental focus, and maybe some due to not putting enough work into his craft. Not everyone's Dame. But i think his new coaches will help get him back on track.
nurk is in bosnia & herzegovina and has talked a little bit about the next season youre welcome mothefuckers
Ahm, 2nd most efficient offense in the league? Doubt that. What opponents loved was the blazers defense, which iirc was forced on stotts at the start of the year and proved to be worse than the years before. I still think the issue was and continues to be the roster. Maybe billups can change my mind, but without roster changes, expect the same stuff going forward, an opinion that seemingly is shared by the franchise player.
A ton of the Dame chatter also subsided after he met with Chauncey and Neil. So it's pretty clear Chauncey is having a huge impact already. I just hope it's not a temporary bandaid and puts less pressure on Olshey of having to do anything drastic.
Exactly the same. He's practiced and played thousands of hours since then. I hear this sentiment a lot but I kind of doubt the years 10 through 13 are make-or-break for a basketball player.
This might make sense if opposing players didn’t go on record and say “The Blazers have a basic offense” and that our coach “doesn’t know what to do when we double you (Damian) in the (playoffs).” Let’s look at how efficient our offense *tends* to be in the playoffs. Also, part of our offensive efficiency is sheer brilliance of shot making skill. It’s not like Stotts scheme is getting people so fucking wide open that we can’t be stopped. Part of offense is ball movement, player movement, etc. The ball sticks, have hardly any player movement, and very rarely do we ever get easy buckets. We are incredibly easy to guard from a philosophical perspective. The issue - and what I’ve been saying for years - is that because of Damian (and CJ to a lesser extent) it covers up how pathetic our offense is when Dame can pull up from anywhere on the court. Our offense sucks from a philosophical perspective. It works, mainly outside of the playoffs, solely because of Dame. Then they double him in the playoffs and we are fucked. Super fun times. Glad that trash can of a coach is gone. I was looking forward to Stotts getting another job so we could see how that fucked up offense would do without Dame. I think defense and roster are definitely issues. Not a championship roster or defense. But not worthy of a first round loss. I wish I had more faith in Neil that I could say “no, he’s saying look… this roster should’ve made it past the first round. That was a coaching failure, not a roster failure. Getting past the second? Probably wouldn’t have happened and that’s a failure on my part. I’ve got to be better.” Our offense has been a major problem in multiple playoff losses. Of course so has the defense. But when your identity is your offense and that is failing you… yeah, that’s a sign.
Simply need more effort on defense and more scoring from the wing's. If we add one solid defender in the back court and a legit scoring 3/4 we would be improved.
Considering most players start playing basketball at probably 6-7 years old, I'd say when you're 16-20 you make a lot of improvements, and even more so the older you get. Look at Damian, he's made a LOT of improvements in the last 5 years, and that's well after he's been playing for 10-13 years.
Ding ding ding! Most teams target the opponents weak link on D by running high pick and rolls forcing switches until they get their desired matchup where either they've decided size or speed advantage. Against this Portland roster they've multiple great options to go after. Dame & CJ are undersized guarding mosts wings while Nurk struggles to keep up vs PGs & wings. The Blazers have been trying to overcome these multiple sieves by outgunning their opponents for years now. How anyone thinks changing coaches is going to change this is beyond me. STOMP
Nurk's problems aren't with under developed skills. He's one of the most skilled true bigs in the league. He can put the ball on the floor, is a phenomenal passer/facilitator from anywhere on the court, he uses his size to protect the rim and box people out after missed shots and his footwork is solid on both ends. He doesn't need to develop more shots, unless it's a set three for wide open takes (which he already seems to have). He has to change his mind and stop trying to reinvent the wheel. When you're as big and athletic as him, you dunk the ball at point blank. You don't try spinning hook shots, you don't do whatever you call the flip thing he does from barely above his head... when you can you throw the ball down through the hoop because you know that shot will succeed. Nurk can do that every time he's near the rim, he has that ability. He just thinks he's different and more skilled, at least that's what he's said. So the time he's been playing has nothing to do with it. He might start hitting more threes and get even better at passing but what separates Jusuf from being a 22+ and 10 guy is taking the ball up and finishing strong. His field goal percentage would go up at least from 50% to 65% and he'd get fed more.
