Check out this video compilation of Nurk's assists from last season as a Blazer. He's easily the best passing big man on the Blazers since Sabonis and that's a huge reason to be excited about this season. Sleepwalker warning: turn off the sound.
What I love the most are how many are cross court or dishes inside out. NOt all of them are handoffs to the streaker under the hoop. Awesome crosscourt vision. That one where he is dribbling and one hand pass off the dribble to crabbe cutting in from top of the key. man. I should have upgraded to the club section this offseason. Almost did. Fuck....
He's a natural, deft passer with nice vision. A lot of those passes were impressive, fitting it into small windows to lead his teammate perfectly.
That pass around 1:55 to Harkless is amazing! Also, this video illustrates just how good Harkless is - he is, hands down, without a doubt, the best at navigating the half-court. He knows where to move as a feint in order to make his hard cut that creates open space. He knows how to get position and hold position despite being slender. He's got terrific hands to catch fast passes coming at him at weird angles. And he always knows where he is in relation to the basket so that he can go up QUICK once he has the ball in his hands. I'm most excited about watching Nurk/Hark grow together! These two are tailor made for each other.
I wonder if CJ's off-season bulking up is intended to take advantage of Nurk's interior passing ability and withstand the inevitable hits? CJ is such a natural at slithering through openings, he could be lethal working off the ball and slashing to the hoop.
I agree 100%!! I also feel the same way about Vonleh and Nurk. (I guess we could say this about anybody and Nurk, but these two could benefit the most.) Vonleh will be a beast inside and out with Nurk. He's built for grabbing rebounds, and like Hark, finds the open holes in the defense for easy layups and dunks when the D tries to help out.
Yeah, I'm pretty surprised when people suggest small forward is an issue. Harkless isn't a star (and I don't think he has star potential) but he's a good two-way player. He can defend, he can shoot and he's a smart cutter. That's virtually everything you need in a non-star wing. To me, Harkless is a "core complementary player"--the kind of guy who you're happy to have for years around your stars.
I agree it is not an issue as long as Nurk plays big minutes, does not get into foul trouble or gets hurt. Bobby Gross was extremely effective alongside Bill Walton, not near as effective when Bill was out. Bottom line for me is if Nurk is on the floor we do not have to have a SF (or PF -take your pick) on the floor who can create their own shot. But if he is not on the floor, one more offensive threat is needed. Dame and CJ are not enough. Not when other playoff teams often have a "big 3".
I use to feel that way about Vonleh, but the more highlights I watch (Nurk, not Noah - Noah doesn't have any!) the more difference I see between how Nurk affected their games. Harkless actually creates his opportunities by using the abilities I mentioned in my first post. Noah really doesn't have any abilities to create offense with. Rather he's a release valve - Nurk will find him when Noah's man slides over to defend Nurk. Noah isn't creating passing lanes - Noah's defender is! But to his credit, he's got a decent 10-15' jumper and he can dunk as long as no one is guarding him. Noah might be fine as our starting PF. His defense, particularly on the perimeter, is highly valuable. And as a 5th option on offense he's fine - stick the open jumper, dunk, and hit the o-boards. We really don't want a PF taking shots away from Dame, CJ, Nurk, and Harkless. But if Collins pans out, it sounds like he could be better on both ends of the court. Either way, our PF needs to primarily play defense and rebound - any offense they bring should be considered a bonus.
Nurkic is the third member of Portland's "Big Three." Saying, "If one of our Big Three players isn't on the floor, we don't have a Big Three" doesn't make a lot of sense, IMO. That's true for every team except Golden State, since they have a "Big Four" (though one of the four, Green, isn't a scoring dynamo).
I don't totally disagree with you on this, but most teams who have an effective big 3 ....the center position is not part of the equation. I like Hark, but if we ever get a dynamic SF to go along with Dame and CJ AND two quality bigs (who can focus on the dirty work) then that will be the day we can realistically compete for a title. It's not that SF is an "issue," but I still say we need a wing with size who can create his own offense. (and play D)
Didn't Jade Falcon already make this thread? C'mon preseason.... On another note a third of his assist are to harkless slashing to the basket.
Y'all are so wrong about Vonleh... What about at :34 here when he dunks on one of the best shot blockers in the NBA?
loved the pick he set@ 2:46 before the pass. BBIQ, very high. did he even practice before playoffs? not workout on off days but practice? and defensive rotations IQ for so little time around teamates?
We draft Collins and Swanigan and people forget about Noah. I see Noah having a breakout season this year. He had his biggest improvement on both sides of the court last year and is widely reported to be an extremely hard worker. I love both our draft picks but come on now!
You mean that one where he wards off the defender with his arm? C'mon ref! To your point, his dribble-drive game is stronger than I recall - and stronger than LA's! To my point, most of his "highlights" are non-contested dunks.
