The Blazers lost to the Heat 109-115 at home today and failed to extend the winning streak. The game featured a discordant shot. In the final moments of the game, Nurkic knocked Heat defender Giro to the ground during a defensive session, and the two sides clashed. The referee played fifty boards each, driving both players out of the game.
In this game, Nurkic had a total of 14 points and 13 rebounds in a double-double. However, the Heat blossomed inside and out of the game, and threw 19 three-pointers on the outside with a 46% shooting rate, and Nurkic was targeted many times on the field. Overall, he played more stubbornly. After today's game, the Blazers are in twelfth place in the West, and if the Blazers continue their current form this season, the playoffs will be hopeless. Nurkic has played for such a long time and the NBA has not improved significantly, and his state is as volatile as the Blazers' status.
At that time, Nurkic was the team's starter in the Nuggets, and was once trained by the team as the main force. In today's small-ball league, the importance of the center forward is self-evident, and Nurkic, as a giant inner liner with a height of 7 feet and a weight of more than 130 kilograms, undoubtedly has no small advantage. Nurkic is not a rough guy, his technique is quite comprehensive, the interior attack is rich, and the fixed-point shooting and back-to-back footwork are all eye-catching. He is a trustworthy score point.
Defensively, Nurkic has a very large body, the strength is outstanding, and grabbing rebounds is not a problem for him. Nurkic also has a talent unique to the European interior line, strong ability to respond, Nurkic can comb the team's attack. Averaging 23 minutes in his career, he averaged 2 assists per game and delivered a lot of shells for his teammates.
At that time, the Nuggets took a fancy to Nurkic's trait and wanted to vigorously cultivate Nurkic. Jokic had to replace Nurkic when he first joined the Nuggets, but then Jokic showed super talent and speed of improvement. The Nuggets eventually chose Jokic as the core and sent Nurkic to the Blazers. Joining the Blazers was supposed to be a good opportunity for Nurkic to prove himself, but he was stuck in the same place. Nurkic's statistics in recent seasons are not outstanding or bad, and it ends with a double-double per game. Jokic has gone from being the bench to MVP.
Why does Nurkic give people a feeling of high or low? We may wish to pick two sets of data: First, Nurkic's average number of blocks per game in recent seasons has shown a downward trend. The number of blocks this season is only 0.5, not even half of last season. Nurkic's 7-foot-tall player has blocked less than 1 time and is really unqualified.
Second, Nurkic has averaged just 13.5 points per game this season. Although a little better than last season, the Blazers have missed many games this season due to injuries, and Nurkic should have stepped forward to become an important end point for the team. But he did not improve his scoring output, but instead Powell and Simmons became the team's thighs. And at the peak, Binukic's score slipped by 4 points.
As mentioned above, Nurkic has a wide variety of offensive techniques, but he has not honed a move to the level of mastery. Coupled with the decline in the level of the guard frame, Nurkic's influence has declined significantly. Today Nurkic also clashed with Hiro and was expelled, which is not a good sign. If Nurkic continues to be so wobbly, the Blazers are likely to trade it. After all, the current Blazers record has dropped sharply, the team can consider rebuilding, and Nurkic, who is not high or low, is likely to be the first to be cut. Dear readers, how do you evaluate Nurkic's performance this season?