It would be hugely beneficial for the guys (Damian, Nurk, CJ and Vonleh) to work together on a lot of inside/outside play. And the footwork/nuances are vital for the big men to get. Look at how working on layups has worked for CJ. He's almost unstoppable when he does a layup. I hope, and believe, that neither of the guys (N and V) are content with their games right now.
Noah's defense last night was terrific. He was also gobbling up rebounds, and Nurk didn't seem to mind that he took a couple away from him, LOL. I never gave up on Vonleh, but before what appears to be Nurk's influence, his trajectory wasn't great this season. What a relief it is to see Noah's potential start to become reality. Nurk really didn't seem to have good focus to start the game last night. He was way too lackadaisical and when he does that his butterfingers are really on display. He's a big strong guy, obviously, but I'm starting to wonder about his hand strength. There is no denying the huge positive influence he's had on the team dynamic and performance. I love me some Dame/Nurk pick and roll (and score or dish). Would have liked to see more back door action last night. (In before: "That's what she said.") Both should be much better and more consistent next season. And that should scare the rest of the league.
He does often look "too lackadaisical". Not sure if he actually is, or just looks like he is. Maybe he is just young and cocky. Hard to say but the "butterfingers" is an area he needs to work on.
Hakeem is now on the Rockets bench I think.....Rasheed Wallace would be good...he worked with Dwight Howard when Howard was a rookie offseason..word is Sheed is a very good big man coach.
I can't wait until this group has a serious training camp together. Dame threw a rare alley oop that was off a bit to Nurk but I could see with some work the alley oop may be working it's way back into our playbook...been a long time since we had that going on.
I thought about mentioning the "cocky" part. A player at this level has to have confidence, and Nurk has that in spades. Sometimes, maybe he's a little "too" confident, leading to a lack of focus and intensity.
I agree, he should work on getting a butterfingers sponsorship. "I don't like to talk about stats, it's just a good candy bar" Really though he does need to stop eating corn on the cob before the games.
Still a pretty small sample but that combo seems to be working quite well. w/ Plumlee (229:25 min): -14.0 pts. per 100 possessions w/ Nurkic (257:45 min): +13.3 pts. per 100 possessions Now just need to find a PF/C who can shoot and also protect the rim to be a bridge between the two off the bench. Draft Targets: Zach Collins (our pick), Johnathan Motley (CLE pick) Trade Targets: Kyle O'Quinn
You like Zach Collins that much? All the mocks I see have him end of 1st or 2nd. What do you see they don't? I will check him out on Saturday Or did you mean John Collins?
He looks like he's having fun to me....he looks gassed sometimes but he's on his way to getting in game shape...
Totally. You can see he looks wore out, then doesn't finish close to the basket. That's to be expected though. My Dad keeps saying how much he reminds him of a young Walton. Presence and vision. Probably kinda early for that.... Definite keeper though.
I meant Zach. Great at the rim + pnr defender with enough agility to bounce between both big positions. I'm not super high on his offense, but he looks like he should be at least an efficient pnr shooter/finisher with 3pt range potential.
I'd be good with Donovan Mitchell, OG Anunoby or Justin Jackson. Mitchell has Marcus Smart type potential and Justin Jackson would be nice wing insurance for when we dump one of Crabbe or Turner. OG Anunoby would be a swing forward/Aminu replacement and the biggest project out of the 3.
