I guess that's where you and I differ. They're here for my entertainment. I pay money to be entertained. If they're doing shitty at their job, I'm going to point it out. If I go see a movie and I thought the acting or directing was trash, I'm going to point out that I thought the movie was bad. The most recent Star Wars trilogy is a perfect example. I didn't like it. I thought the storytelling was really bad. Zero continuity. I don't care if they tried their best. I paid money to be entertained. Sports are no different. These guys sign up and get paid a lot of money for a job. That job it so entertain people.
I'm listening to the whole season for free on the AM radio with free game tracks play by play....when TNT shows free games I watch them..I can watch the live game a day after it's played on youtube for free......you don't have to pay for anything you don't enjoy..that's a choice you make...same with movies...you can watch free movies everyday......if the Blazers were shitty at their job, I'd probably skip the NBA for my entertainment needs....nobody on the Blazers is shitty at their job in my view and it's not my money that offers them max contracts....that's Jody Allen's business...not ours. There are way more entertainers making millions for doing nothing much at all....reality tv........music....etc...it's all good...to each their own
I guess that's your prerogative if that's how you view sports and entertainment. As a starting center, right now, Nurk is not good at his job. The question is why.
Drastic solution if he doesn't improve: Start Kanter and bring Nurk of the bench? and we also avoid the Kanter/Melo pairing, Nurk can get back in rhythm against bench guys
My drastic solution is start Melo and put a defender next to Kanter off the bench....with Melo Nurk will not be able to take plays of defensively....and he's a better 3rd option shooting than Roco or Jones....I'd start Dame CJ Melo Roco and Nurk....Roco is the guy you put on scorers on defense....Jones can help Kanter out and finish games
I think Nurk will come around, but the wait is going to be torturous, and unless its due to his grandmother or he had covid or something legit, its very disappointing. Be a pro, show up ready to play. Wood is better and more valuable than Nurkic, so there is no chance Houston lets him go. Steal of the offseason is Wood. Watching him play, the gut reaction is reduce mins...but if he's out of shape, he needs as many mins as possible. Take him out end of quarters for 2 mins, play Kanter and Giles. If he gets in shape - or isnt in shape within the next few weeks, we know its something else.
Honestly I’ve never thought of an NBA player’s job as being to entertain me. I think of their job as being to win games. I like the old school NBA where players took that very seriously.
Sure, but at the end of the day, if the fans aren't entertained, they stop going and the team suffers financially. It's no different than movies or music or any other form of entertainment.
It is much more akin to plays. Night after night acting the same role and trying to do it well and doing it LIVE. If you know someone is a good actor, you aren't going to give up on them because of a few off nights. Well maybe YOU are, but I don't think WE should. Nurk will be back to normal at some point. These are strange times and he's seen some hardship. Give the guy some leeway.
In a way you're right, but unlike theater we have stats to show when someone is having an off night or an off season. Acting is much more subjective in whether someone is doing well or badly. Even their awards are very subjective. One person might think they saw the worst actor ever, and another person thought the person was fantastic.
You got me on the subjectivity. I was just going with your movie thing. My main point is that Nurk has shown us what he is capable of and it's worth waiting for.
The problem is that when it's a problem with the mind, you can't put a timetable on recovering from it. My suspicion has been that it's depression related to his grandmother, that's totally just my thoughts. But some players never overcome a mental block. Roy Hibbert went from an All-Star caliber big man to a bum. There were rumors it had to do with Paul George sleeping with his wife/GF, but he was never the same. Not saying that will be Nurk, but it's difficult to put a timetable on this kind of thing. It's not like a knee injury.
I agree. BUT if you bench him, I think history has shown, he'll fall into the abyss...best just ride out this wave and be positive. Also, how about Dame force-feeding Nurk? What a good friend/leader/teammate.
I worry about any talk about trading CJ AND Nurk. Those are Dame's two best friends. I can't imagine any scenario where we move both of them.