Last season, Yusuf Nurkic took action several times on the Portland Trail Blazers' defense. Terry Stotts didn't completely ban Nurkic from running outside portland's ultra-conservative defensive system, and even encouraged him to run at will on the perimeter.
On March 26 last season, the Trail Blazers beat the Orlando Magic in nurkic's first game in 10 weeks.
However, portland's longtime coach's suppressed laughter and blushing face were most telling. If Nurkic wants to live peacefully with Stotts, then randomly "going wild" is not the Blazers' nightly defensive strategy. Nurkic spent most of the rest of the season doing what Stotts didn't say. When the Blazers were played six games by the understaffed Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs, Nurkic expressed his feelings about Stotts' two-way tactic.
No one who pays attention would be surprised that Nurkic was so quick to heat up with Billups and the Blazers' coaching staff. Portland's rookie head coach not only wanted to further unleash Nurkic's organizational skills and give him a steady low-touch score. The more aggressive and aggressive defensive system adopted by Lupus is also in line with the tactics that Nurkic has loved for years.
"We're trying to stop this guard from moving to our defensive end," Billups said of blocking defense on day Blazers camp first.
Portland's excitement about the change isn't limited to Nurkic. After Tuesday's training session, Lillard said he "really liked" the Blazers' new defense, and his teammates also expressed enthusiasm for a system that requires collaboration and precision, not to mention accountability, on Media Day.
For the Trail Blazers, who were the second worst defensive players last season, there wasn't much room for their 2021-22 performances. But the team's optimism and strong desire to improve their defense will only keep the Blazers stagnant after the regular season. Portland still has inherent personnel deficiencies in defense, some of which may even be amplified by adjusted offensive plans.
Bilupustan whitened his defensive requirements against Nurkic this season. Gone are nurkic days when he barely went outside the penalty area. Nurkic drove the ball carriers on the other side of the block, letting them attack the basket as the main defender chased from behind. The Blazers will now play at an "equal level," having their big men catch the ball under cover of the sidelines before rushing inside to help defenders get back to their top priorities.
It's a more complex defensive style than Portland is used to, but it's also more physically demanding. Billups highlighted Nurkic's recent form, knowing he needed the Bosnian beast to be at his thinnest and fastest for the Blazers' defense to work. In the modern NBA, most rounds have multiple blocks. Nurkic has more room to fill on one defensive trip this season than he has had on several defensive trips in 2020-21.
Billups told Athletic: "Big Nock at this level... The work for these five people is tough. "It requires you to be in very — not very good — but very good state."
Nurkic's ability to move is stronger than his size, but it is still average compared to other centre-forwards in this regard. In theory, substitute center Cody Zeller is better suited to the "aggressive offense" that Lups prefers. But a healthy, positive, healthy Nurkic still has enough flexibility and mental processing speed to successfully complete the program, especially if his fast, positive hands are destructive, including the ball handlers.
Few people at 7 feet tall can do it, and even fewer people weigh 280 pounds.
That's a bit higher than what Lups demanded of Nurkic, but it's an analogy to what we're going to see this season. That's part of the problem: The Trail Blazers' defensive coverage almost left Nurkic indulging in his worst-case tendencies, becoming an offensive player, a stealer and a magnet for unnecessary fouls.
Last season, Nurkic had the lowest foul rate in his career, but still led the Blazers by a large margin. Who can forget the disastrous consequences of his continued foul play against the Nuggets in the final stages? Billups must have repeatedly stressed the importance of Nurkic avoiding fouls when blocking the ball near the three-point line. He has publicly stressed that Nurkic's adaptability is not unrelated. Nurkic, like all players, doesn't get so easy to foul when he has breathing.
The question of whether Nurkic will succeed in Billups' plan is fair until he makes them meaningless. Under Stotts, he's a leader for the Blazers, and while he doesn't want to play, his ability is probably optimal. Apparently, Bilups believed Nurkic had the ability to do more, at least with the support of an auxiliary defence that required the cohesion of the whole team.
Portland's hope is simply to manage the league average's defense and be promoted in the championship standings, all up to him.