Im not sure it does either, but I am damn sure what big man coaching they are receiving isn't working
Well, logically if we aren't going to hire someone to work with the big guys then we need to draft the most polished at the time. If anyone in the organization says "upside" or "potential" then that person needs fired. I could buy parts online to build a 1500 hp turbocharged engine but without someone who knows how to tune it you're in for disappointment.
You can hire any big man you want but what they can't teach Nurk is to have another gear like Boogie Cousins has.
I feel like Nurk’s top gear grades out pretty well. It seems like the issue is, for whatever reason (frustration with calls/refs, lack of confidence in himself and/or the way he’s being used, fatigue, lapses in concentration, etc.), he’s not putting together enough stretches where he’s humming along in 5th gear. When everything is clicking like the 4th quarters in b2b games with Brooklyn & Wash back in Nov . . . when he’s playing in that “gear” he can be dominant.
So when someone on the coaching staff says to Nurk. 'Dunk the ball'. You think it's a lack of respect because x coach isn't a HoFer? That's a pretty tough sell.
Why are HOF centers, the majority who are financially set, going to come coach the Portland Trailblazers bigs? Also, whether they are HOF or not doesn’t matter. Pretty sure Pete Newell wasn’t a hall of fame big man. Isn’t Jim Moran a big man whose been around basketball his whole life? Maybe he’s trying and the guys are just young/not very good/unreceptive
Jim Moran is a 6 foot 7 small forward. Not what I would consider a big man personally. So I don't need a HOF big man. Just an actual big man who wants to teach skills.
Saying dunk the ball isn't even remotely what Nurk needs. I'd tell Damian to dunk it every trip down the floor. That's the entire problem with what Hurd says and if he is around the team and thinks this way there is an even bigger problem. It has nothing to do with telling someone to do something. It has everything to do with showing them. Now, everyone on the forum listen to me and listen good. You all go make a billion dollars. How? I have no idea.
I think Nurkic is settling into what he is--a good defensive anchor and limited offensive player. That's basically what he showed in Denver. Last year, he had a strong run as a scorer after the trade, but that's looking more like an unusually good stretch rather than his new level of performance after being liberated from Denver. I think he's still valuable to the team (he's the biggest difference-maker on the defense), but I don't think he's going to be a star player or be worth a max deal. That said (and I said this even during the off-season, when Nurk fever was cresting), the best move if he doesn't put together a 70+ game season of dominance is to let him to find his level in the free agent market and match if that level is reasonable. There's no need for Portland to figure out his value themselves and the market hasn't been putting a very high value on good-defense/mediocre-offense centers who don't shoot threes. Unless he really blows up the rest of the season and looks like an MVP, he's not getting max offers from anyone.
From RealGM: he's in his 4th NBA season and his career PER is only 16.0, only 1 point above the NBA median. At times, we're talking about his shooting efficiency as if it's some one year dip but his career TS% is .496 when the NBA average is in the .545-.550 range; that's really bad for a big man. Per36 his career turnover average is 3.5 a game. His career winshare/48 is .056 and this season it's at .033; both those marks are atrocious.
Guys who are 6’7 in his era could be anything. Unless people in here are at practice and in the facility nobody knows what’s going on.
I agree with much of what's been said here. The bottom line is: he needs a big man coach....like, NOW. But I doubt the FO, and especially that incompetent buffoon Stotts, even knows this. I'm a big fan of Nurk, but I won't make excuses for him. He is not as good as last season. But, I will say this, and the truth could not be more clear: We could do much worse than him. Much. Worse. My father presented me with a dilemma: trade away the bench and Nurk for Cousins, or keep Nurk and develop him. Sigh. I want to keep Nurk, but there's no way I'd pass up Cousin's numbers. But the guy is a total head case, completely immature, and what little I've seen of him playing Defense is not encouraging to me. I'd say.....keep Nurk and get a decent Wing. A Wing who can shoot the 3 AND play Defense. I think that would be more valuable to us than having Cousins and trading our bench, and possibly some picks, away.
Oh dude, I love the guy. I like his attitude (when he's producing...not when he's sulking), and I love the Defense he brings. Much needed Defense, I might add. And I love when him and Dame do the PnR....that's a thing of beauty. I look forward to watching his highlights on YouTube. I haven't seen many games this past month because I've been busy, but it sounds like he's really run in to a time where he's struggling. Doesn't seem to stop him from getting 21 and 10 with 5 fouls though. I would kill to see Meyers give us that kind of performance. I like Nurk. And fuck anyone who doesn't. This guy is exactly what this team needed; what we all were begging for before he came here. But he's not getting any help from his team, or from the coaching staff. And if you're not grateful for what he's done with getting his body into shape this off-season, and the lack of support in the paint, then you're a fool.
You don't think anyone has ever shown Nurk to go strong to the rim and try to rip it down? Regardless of who is trying to defend him. Someone could help Nurk with his footwork, but it's more a mentality. You're either going to destroy someone and go through them to score. Or you're going to be Batum. I don't think Nurk is Batum, I think he's young. Yao did similar things when he first entered the league. When he could've dunked it easy, he tossed a shot up because he didn't want to disrespect the opponent. I don't think Nurk's exactly like Yao. But people always told Yao to just rip the rim down. It wasn't until he got older he started to do just that.
He doesn't have to dunk everything, he has to be more composed around the rim. He rushes shots. He doesn't have any go to automatic moves. It is all feel. He has the ability, hasn't had the consistency. He needs coaching and to stay the fuck away from the 3 point line until he's comfortable in the paint. He'll hit a few quick tossup shots because he's naturally skilled and he'll be fine. Or he'll miss some gimmes and lose his shit.
