Earlier this season and a season ago, everything was different.
If Portland wants any legitimate chance of keeping their playoff streak alive, then they desperately need Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins to be healthy and the versions of their 2019 selves. The frontcourt of Portland is already thin due to Rodney Hood’s Achilles injury. In addition, Trevor Ariza has opted out of the Orlando bubble. Both Hood and Ariza are two of the Blazers’ most reliable frontcourt players– especially when
2019 Jusuf Nurkic: Emergence of a Star
Nurkic played and started in 72 games of the 2019 season before suffering a horrible broken leg injury — an injury that has kept him on the sideline this entire year. Nurk’s season debut was scheduled for March 15, 2020, just 10 days short of the one-year anniversary of his broken leg.
Last season, Jusuf Nurkic had a career year for Portland. The Bosnian big man averaged career highs in points per game (15.6), rebounds per game (10.4), assists per game (3.2), field goal percentage (.508%) and free throw percentage (.773%). He also became the first NBA player to ever record a 5×5 (excess of 5 points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks in a single game) with more than 20 points. Nurkic emerged as the third star the Blazers needed behind Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.
Nurk’s advanced stats were even more impressive. He averaged career highs in PER (Player Efficiency Rating) (23.4); win shares (7.8); offensive (2.1) and defensive (1.7) box plus/minus; and VORP (Value Over Replacement Player) (2.8). For reference, his box plus/minus and VORP are better than his temporary replacement Hassan Whiteside. And that is no knock on Whiteside. He is having a great year for Portland. He was averaging 16.3 points per game, 14.6 rebounds per game, and a league-leading 3.1 blocks per game. Without Whiteside, the Blazers wouldn’t have even been invited to the Orlando bubble.
Nurk and Dame: Brotherhood
Arguably the most important factor of the return of the Bosnian beast is his camaraderie and chemistry with Blazers star, Damian Lillard. Lillard is the most efficient scorer in the league in the pick-and-roll– and he’s doing it without his favorite pick-and-roll partner. In the 2019 season, the two-man game between Lillard and Nurkic was the team’s bread and butter.
After a come-from-behind, overtime victory against the Mavericks last year, Lillard was asked what makes their two-man game so effective: “It’s not predictable as, I guess, just a straight up pick-and-roll because I can hit him and get the ball back. He can roll. I can flip to CJ. There’s so many other options. I can hit him, cut backdoor, he can throw it to me, not throw it to me, go into something else. There’s so many different actions that we can get into out of it, so that’s why I think it’s going really good.”
In addition, the two are very close off the court. Lillard is one the best leaders in the NBA and when Nurkic was traded to Portland three years ago, he immediately made the big man feel welcome and loved. Nurkic felt slighted and disrespected by the Nuggets organization after the trade and was at an all-time low in his basketball career. Nurkic has gone as far as to say that Damian Lillard is the best thing to happen in his life, basketball-wise. Their on-the-court chemistry immediately translated into an off-the-court brotherhood.
2019 Zach Collins: No Longer a Prospect
Nurkic wasn’t the only Portland big man who had a career year in 2019. Zach Collins made huge improvements in his sophomore season and played a huge role in Portland’s playoff success. His ability to protect the rim and stretch the floor was invaluable for the Blazers. The 22-year-old is also fiercely competitive. In Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Nuggets, Collins played big minutes down the stretch and made key plays in their victory. This season, his career was ready to take off before he suffered a shoulder injury. Recovery time for Collins was set at four months after he had surgery to repair the shoulder. At only 22 years old, the seven-footer is a major cornerstone for the Blazers franchise.
Blazers Beyond the 8 seed
Portland needs their big men to be healthy– and not just for a chance to make the playoffs. With a healthy Nurkic and Collins, they have a legitimate chance of taking down the one-seed Lakers in a potential first round matchup. The Lakers are 5.5 games ahead of the Clippers in the Western Conference and have had their best season in 10 years– largely due to the dominance of their huge frontcourt. LeBron James and Anthony Davis are arguably two of the top-five players in the league and Dwight Howard is having a great season off the bench. Their size and athleticism is too much to handle for most teams.
With a healthy Collins and Nurkic, the Blazers could match up with them much better size wise. Collins’ seven-foot frame and ability to protect the rim will disrupt the dominance of Anthony Davis. Nurkic negates any rebounding advantage the Lakers may have. In addition, Lakers guard Avery Bradley, arguably their best on-ball defender, has opted out of the Orlando bubble; and Rajon Rondo will miss 6-8 weeks with a broken hand injury. The Lakers are lacking depth at the guard spot now and without Bradley or Rondo, we could see another berserk performance from Damian Lillard.
With both big men back in the starting lineup, the likely matchup will be:
Blazers Lakers
PG: Damian Lillard PG: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
SG: CJ McCollum SG: Danny Green
SF: Carmelo Anthony SF: LeBron James
PF: Zach Collins PF: Anthony Davis
C: Jusuf Nurkic C: JaVale McGee
6th man: Hassan Whiteside 6th man: Dwight Howard
The two teams lineups are fairly evenly matched on paper. The Lakers will struggle with the explosive backcourt of Lillard and McCollum, just as the Blazers will struggle with the dominance of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Damian Lillard is a man on a mission and has zero intention of letting his playoff streak end. In addition, Carmelo Anthony has a chip on his shoulder from the last two seasons he played with the Thunder and Rockets. With both healthy big men, the Blazers have the size, personnel, and depth to not only make their way to the 8th seed, but to potentially upset the Los Angeles Lakers.
7/23 Scrimmage vs. Pacers
Earlier today, we got the first look at the Blazers’ starting lineup including both Nurkic and Collins. Both players looked great in their first action together in over a year. Collins scored six points, grabbed four rebounds and had one block in 19 minutes of play. The Bosnian Beast looked especially fantastic. In 20 minutes of play, he scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Nurk and Lillard picked up right where they left off, running their patented pick-and-roll to perfection. The big fella did manage to accumulate four fouls in his 20 minutes of gametime which was a combination of rust and questionable officiating. The Blazers went on to lose their opening scrimmage 91-88 to the Indiana Pacers, but in their first action in months, the two big men looked primed and ready for a strong playoff push.
Grateful to be back 💯 much love ❤️ 🙌🏻 🙏🏻#bošnjak #hadžomoj #imback #elhamdulillah🤞🏻 pic.twitter.com/ll4t5Yroir
— Jusuf Nurkić 🇧🇦 (@bosnianbeast27) July 23, 2020
Both big men are ready to play and the excitement of their playoff push is mounting. Damian Lillard said his confidence is sky high after seeing both big men in practice every day.
“It’s a relief. It’s good to have all those guys back there. It breeds confidence in you as a defender. You can be a lot more aggressive in the pick and rolls. There’s a lot more rim protection behind me. The paint will be locked down more,” Hassan Whiteside said.
Charles Barkley even proclaimed that if Portland can make the playoffs, they will beat the Los Angeles Lakers. The tension is building as we get closer and closer to the July 30th NBA restart date. And the Blazers have all the confidence in the world with their young stars in the lineup.
Feels good to be back 🙌
Scrimmage highlights presented by @McDonalds pic.twitter.com/7fZt8DCrjV
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) July 23, 2020
Leave a comment