Assists off of screens means he sets a screen that gets his man open enough to make a shot, it has nothing to do with passing.
I remember some time ago posting what a relief it was to have Lillard after so many years of point guard futility, mediocrity and failed expectations. Stoudamire, Telfair, Chacho, Blake, Jack....none of them were the leader we really needed at that position. Miller was, but was also short-lived and under-utilized. To get a guy like Damian who proved from his very first game as a Blazer that he was a franchise cornerstone was such a relief. Nurkic is exactly the same guy from the center position. He erases the memories of Oden, Jermaine, LaMonster, LaMarshmallow, Kemp, Zbo and so many more. All those idle what-ifs about Bowie or Oden or Walton staying healthy, getting Sabas at a young age....he just feels like a guy who will be wearing a Blazer jersey for the next decade, killing so many big man ghosts.
I was thinking the same thing. My feelings about Nurk tonight remind me of my feelings about Dame back in 2012. We have a keeper!
I think Nurkic is really rejuvenating Harkless. Tired of playing hard? No problem, have some free dunks.
I'm loving what I'm seeing so far, but this is the part I worry about: Maybe all he needed was a better situation, and young guys probably can't be expected to handle everything professionally out of the gate, but it's something worth keeping an eye on.
Nurk just wants to have fun and he just wants to be himself and I have to give Stotts credit he has allow Nurk be himself.
Hark 10 and 9 last night, I think both he and Vonleh will benefit. For me Aminu is surpassing Meyers (and that ain't easy!) as the most frustrating player on the team, his decisions to dribble inside are just so often so bad and he was god awful last night. I know the guy is trying hard, likely too hard, with Nurk he should be like Hark and take his opps as they come and come they will - Stotts needs to address this now.
Aminu can be frustrating at times, but the advanced stats have said that we are a significantly better defensive team when he's on the court. I'm referring to an article that's around 2 weeks old.
On February 5, @riverman and I posted the following (excerpted); (Riverman) I miss really good passing and skilled post play the most...the 3 pt shot is starting to water down the style of play........ (UCD)...............And as Riverman noted, most teams either had (or tried hard to find) a big "aircraft carrier" at center. A guy who could pretty much owned the key and who acted as the hub of a wheel, directing traffic, calling out screens and hitting the cutters. They also made the drive to the hoop more thought provoking and problematic......................... On February 12 we traded for Nurkic...... Nice to know that Neil listens to the old timers......
It's a good thing you can virtually pat yourself on the back on S2, cuz I know your old T-Rex arms won't reach far enough for you to do it in reality.
The kid is 22. He was given a taste of starting early in his career and balled out his rookie year. He was hurt his second year but finished it on a good note. He then worked his ass off last summer and came into this season as the starting C on his team. He had a slump and was given no leeway to make mistakes. Granted, Jokic pounced on that opportunity to become the clearly better player, Malone did jerk Jusuf around. He went from starting to getting DNP CDs. As a competitive guy who still hasn't been paid yet, the pouting is OK. Especially when the team wasn't really winning all that much in his absence. I don't think we have any reason to worry. He's in the right environment in PDX.
I feel like we were partially responsible. I remember Dame abusing him on drives and they had to bench him.
