I think this is a highly underrated comment. A lot of his Nurks issues are mental (and not in a bad way like Meyers had cat litter for brains). He plays like someone who doesn't know NOT to do the dispey do spins and floaters, etc. He has a similar issue that Simmons has, in that he think he's a lot better than he is, but his play doesn't necessarily reflect it. I'm hoping Billups connects with him, and they start utilizing his skillset. He should be try to be a combo of Joker and Shaq (in that Joker is a good passer/shooter, and Shaq was a beast. not saying Nurk is Shaq like).
I am saying that Nurk is Shaq like. I don' think we've seen anyone in the NBA with the any athleticism at that size since Shaq. Nurk's width, when mixed with his footwork and ability to jump (not as high and quick as Shaq but high and quick enough) make him a Shaq like... actually Shaq lite scoring option. As far as Joker goes... Nurk doesn't have that kind of agility. We don't want Nurk passing or taking shots off the dribble. From a stationary position he's a great ball distributor and might be able to knock down wide open shots.
I meant more of Joker in the way how he (Nurk) used to initiate the offense from the top of the key. he doesn't have Jokers eyes or touch, but he should take what he CAN do like Joker and what he CAN do like Shaq. He's gotta stop going up soft like he's a SG/SF in the paint.
hopefully, this comes across as a non-confrontational quibble, but when people use words like phenomenal or elite to label a player's skill, there's nowhere to go up from there except GOAT I don't believe Nurkic is a phenomenal passer/facilitator. He's good at finding players cutting to the basket for sure; and he's improving in give-n-go plays as the pivot point * Nurk's career assist rate is 14.3%; his assist rate last season was 21.4%. His career assist/100-possessions is 4.5 and was 6.9 last season * Bam Aebayo's career assist rate is 20.2%; his assist rate last season was 26.9%. His career assist/100-possessions is 6.3 and was 8.0 last season * Nicola Vucevic's career assist rate is 15.7%; his assist rate last season was 21.3%. His career assist/100-possessions is 4.4 and was 5.6 last season * Mason Plumlee's career assist rate is 15.9%; his assist rate last season was 21.0%. His career assist/100-possessions is 5.3 and was 6.6 last season * Domantas Sabonis' career assist rate is 18.2%; his assist rate last season was 27.5%. His career assist/100-possessions is 5.9 and was 8.8 last season * KAT's career assist rate is 15.0%; his assist rate last season was 22.6%. His career assist/100-possessions is 4.3 and was 6.3 last season Nurkic appears to be at a level of Vucevic' or Plumlee. Of course, Plumlee looks to pass all the time while Vucevic spends a lot of time looking to score; so those may not be good comps one other stat....assist/bad-pass (82games): Nurkic 4.5 Adebayo 6.4 Vucevic' 7.0 Plumlee 5.1 Sabonis 7.7 KAT 4.6 Nurkic improved in assist numbers pretty significantly last season, under Stotts. That might indicate he has more room for improvement under Billups, in a different offense. Or maybe he's close to his ceiling. He needs to improve his assist/turnover ratio though, if he's going to assume a bigger role as a facilitator
Nurk needs to stay healthy and be able to play 30+ mpg consistently. Until he does that, he's unreliable.
Yeah, phenomenal might be overstating it but I use my eyes a lot and his low post passing ability is great. The passes he makes to cutters and open shooters are advanced. He just hasn't been in an offense that utilized that advanced skill. As far as the facilitator that he is at the top of or above the key in PnR situations or other plays... again I think he's really really good; his ability to hand off or pass and screen is very valuable as an initiator of a play. So, again phenomenal was hyperbolic but he's really a high level facilitator for a true big man.
that's fair when you look around the league at all the big men, Jokic, Adebayo, Sabonis, & Randle are the only ones clearly better than Nurkic. He's in a class with KAT, Vucevic, Plumlee, & Embiid. Obviously, Giannis & Draymond are better but both of them are kind of unicorn-ish. Gasol and Horford are on the wrong side of the hill
Yeah that is the intriguing part about him. Simmons would be the 2nd biggest player on the team behind Nurk. In most scenarios, you could put him in at center with 4 shooters. I am not saying you start him in the middle, but you have the option to play him there.
Billups deserves a chance to work with a full roster and we will see where he can take them. If what many are saying is true about Stotts then there should be significant improvement next year with many of the players this team has. Nurk isn't going anywhere. YET!
No absolute statement about what's going to happen with our team right now has any validity. Tomorrow we might know more. Tomorrow we might see the beginning of this team as we know it (the entire core) starting to slip away. Today though, for all we know we might have the exact same starting five on opening day that we did for our fourth loss to the Nuggets or we might have none of them. Hell maybe running it back means bringing back everyone.
nurk quoting chauncey billups, they have history from denver nuggets i believe man, billups could really be the best thing that happened to nurk in his career after dame lillard
Wow, Chauncey really did a number on Nurk. Compared to how he was at the end of the season, this is a different human. Hopefully it reflects on the court as well.
wow i didn't realize that it was a Chauncey quote. awesome. contract year Nurk is gonna ball out isnt he?
Looks good. If no moves are made, at least we know the Blazers can beat up their opponents with fisticuffs. Blazers are gonna piss lightning & crap thunder.
