What a difference - Bear Nurkic making a BIG impression

I'm not sure many saw this type of efficiency coming but it is such a welcome sight. When Jusuf goes to the basket or to the boards, people are bouncing off of him and for the first time in a long time, the Blazers have the biggest, strongest guy on the court....which creates opportunities and mismatches.

He is a very good passer. Maybe not as creative as Plumlee but more like Sabonis in terms of holding the ball like a grapefruit and faking before threading the needle. He easily should have had at least 8 assists tonight. Vonleh missed a dunk to start the game, Dame missed a lay-in the very next possession and Harkless missed an absolute gimme at the rim off another great pass.

He has very quick feet for how little athleticism he has. His quickness belies his lack of speed or vertical leap.

When he sets a screen, you are not getting through or around it. In fact, the Blazer guards really need to rub off him so their defender will completely enveloped by the Beast.

You can't teach size. He is just a big man and isn't afraid to use his size. He also occupies the other team's big when he rolls to the basket thereby creating a lane for teammates to the rim. They have to respect his dive to the basket. (novel concept)

Good hands around the basket. The ball seems to stick to him and even if he misses, he is quick to his own rebound. He also goes into the defender as much as any big in a LONG time in Portland.

Who knows how this plays out as teams adjust but for the short term, the results should be very positive and his style of play is just what the Blazers needed. And a 1st round pick? Two thumbs up!

 

My neighbor has 2 Lexus LS460s and an LS430. They're great cars but sometimes you might like to have a pickup or a small hatchback. Or a Jeep.

Nurkic is a heavy duty full size dually turbodiesel. Lifted of course.

 

I get where you are coming from. The Blazers needed an influx of 'heavy duty'.

 

One of the things I love is his low center of gravity. Sabonis had that as well. Kevin Duckworth too. One off things that Nuggets fan said is he doesn't get as many rebounds as he should. I think it's the fact that is his arms are so damn long! But the better condition he is in I think that will become less of a problem. It's amazing to watch the contrast to him and Meyers. Meyers literally never gets set, for as big as he is it's all arms and legs. You never get the feeling he is comfortable posting up.

 

^^^ Great points @ripcityboy When he is backing down to the basket, his center of gravity is so low as is his dribble. He was moving Vucevic almost like he wasn't there. Not a lot of opposing bigs are going to move Nurkic off of his spot.

 

The only thing that worries me is our lack of depth at that position. Given his lack of conditioning and newness to Stott's system, how long can we use him? It really puts in perspective how screwed we are with Meyers out there. If we'd picked up one of the Philly bigs as well coming off the bench.... Fuck, playoffs here we come!

 

I don't think it's possible. Meyers is afraid of contact. I was listening to a podcast from an old Blazers announcer (not Mike and Mike) and he said he'd never seen a player shy away from contract like Leonard. He isn't going to bang down low because he has no desire too. That's why he sticks to the 3s. Maybe it's the injuries he's had. I've no idea.

 

Whatever the reason, it is a waste of his height and physical abilities. When he first came to Portland, he actually spent some time on the block with solid results. He has just faded farther and farther away from the basket to where now he is something like a league leader in percentage of perimeter shots taken.

Is that all Meyers....or partially Stotts offensive philosophy? Since it was much better at the beginning and has declined every year since, it seems like some of both.

 

That puts a priority on drating a PF/C of which there is an ample amount if in the middle of this draft (10-24) and perhaps trading for one as well, and if we think the same about Nurk as we do now at seasons end - that he is our COTF then we look to draft guys who are good fits with him at the PF or PF/C position

 

What do you think of that German kid in the draft? That Hartenstein kid. He's a big body but apparently a good passer. They are projecting him to go around our second pick.

 

Once Aminu returns, Davis can back up Nurkic. Leonard can watch from the bench.

 

Lots of talent but some injury concerns I believe, need to look into more

 

That's him.

Here's Meyers

 

The kids local too. Grew up in Eugene. If we can produce a local star that would do wonders for this franchise. Olshey has to be considering that.

 

Very happy about this.
If having a real Center gives us such positive results I wish we had another one, maybe Bogut who's said to be approaching a buyout.
Play Leonard, Davis, Vonleh only at PF. Meyers is not the same type of player, just not his style of play, but could be effective as a stretch 4, I would actualy like him to be used alongside Nurkic, could be an effective Combo.
The other real inside player we have is Davis, he isn't as big or strong and I said he's ideally a PF, but I think should be our backup C, at least for now.
Use the rest of the season, besides trying to make the playoffs, to gauge the effectiveness of our other players, around Dame, CJ, Nurkic, to decide who we should hold onto and who to let go of in the summer.
I also liked Napier getting major minutes, hope this trend continues

 

I actually think Nurk may end up being the DeFacto Leader of our team before too long.
He's a true Alpha beast out there, and sets a great example to the rest of the team with his grit and work ethic.