J-Speaks: Nurkic Fever in "Rip City"

In the middle of February, the Portland Trail Blazers were in a serious rut and their playoff hopes were dwindling. It was around this time that they made a trade with the Denver Nuggets sending starting center Mason Plumlee and a 2018 second-round pick and cash considerations and acquired reserve center Jusuf Nurkic and a 2017 first-round pick. Little did anyone know that Nurkic’s addition would make the kind of impact that he has and not only has been a major addition, he has given stability and a presence on both ends of the court. That was especially true in the Trail Blazers latest victory on Thursday night and the Trail Blazers’ starting lead guard also made history as well.

Behind the career-highs of 28 points, 20 rebounds, eight assists and six blocks of Nurkic, native of Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Portland Trail Blazers (28-35) defeated the Philadelphia 76ers (23-14) 114-108 in overtime. He was 9 for 18 from the field and 10 for 13 from the free throw line and had two steals as well.

Starting lead guard Damian Lillard had 24 points, going 12 for 12 from the charity stripe, despite going 6 for 21 from the field, including 0 for 6 from three-point range.

Lillard strong scoring night, courtesy of his perfect performance from the foul line put him at a total of 1,504 points on the season, which made him the 17^th player in NBA history with 1,500-plus points in his first five seasons and just the second player in NBA history to accomplish this.

Among those who recently scored 1,500 points in their first five seasons include Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors, who did it as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder; four-time MVP of the Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James; Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks, who accomplished that with the Denver Nuggets and Hall of Famers David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon.

Another club that Lillard join is he became the 10^th player in league history to score better than 8,000 points and dish out 2,000 assists in their first five seasons.

“When you are mentioned with those names, you’re doing a whole lot things right. All-Star or not,” Portland Trail Blazers color analyst for Comcast SportsNet Northwest Lamar Hurd said during the broadcast.

Even with the great night by Lillard, the Trail Blazers would not have won this game against the Sixers or perhaps be in the position of being just a half a game behind the Nuggets (29-35) for the No. 8 and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Since his arrival of Nurkic, the Trail Blazers have gone 5-3, which included four consecutive wins and he averaged 16.5 points, 9.6 boards, 4.5 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.9 blocks as a Trail Blazers so far.

It is not just the numbers that Nurkic has put up that has the Trail Blazers where they are at now. It is the fact that he has given the Trail Blazers something that they have been lacking for much of this season before he came.

“I’m not worried about the stats. I just want to win and I think we should’ve won easier in this one, but I’ll take any win,” Nurkic, who became the 8^th Trail Blazer all-time to have registered a 20- plus point, 20-plus rebound performance said to sideline reporter Brooke Olzendam after the game, while being serenaded by cheers from the remaining 19,240 fans left in attendance at the Moda Center on Thursday night.  

An offensive presence who can score down low. Has a solid touch from the perimeter with his ability to shoot the ball as well as his ability to find the open man. Defensively, Nurkic has provided rim protection that has made opponent’s think twice before driving the ball inside the paint.

This trade gave Nurkic got an opportunity to go to a team that needed his services and he has taken the opportunity, ran with it, and gained the respect and admiration of his new teammates and Trail Blazers coaching staff as well as the fans of “Rip City.”

Against the Sixers on Thursday night, he made numerous plays that made the difference in the outcome. He had two key offensive put backs that kept the either tied the game or gave the Trail Blazers the lead in overtime.

The biggest play of the game occurred with about 40 seconds left in the extra stanza when he deflected a Sixers inbounds pass to Richaun Holmes that Nurkic deflected off him and gave the Trail Blazers the ball back and received a huge ovation from the Moda Center crowd.   

Anybody can put up numbers, but it is the plays that do not end up in the box score that make all the difference and those are the kinds of plays that Nurkic has been making for the Trail Blazers since his arrival.

“Nothing, because I just played minutes for the first in my life, so I’m cool. I just want to go have fun and win the games,” Nurkic said to Olzendam about the stats he has put up in his brief time with the team.

How popular is Nurkic in the Pacific Northwest, this phenomenon has been dubbed, “Nurkic Fever.” At the close of the broadcast, Hurd had a thermometer in his mouth where he was taking his temperature in representation of how the fans felt about the addition of the No. 16 overall pick by the Chicago Bulls in the 2014 draft.

While Plumlee may be the most polished player in terms of production and playing experience in the trade that took place back in February between the Nuggets and Trail Blazers, Nurkic in the long term may become the more impactful player. On top of that, the Trail Blazers got a first-round pick in the upcoming draft. Nurkic being just 22 years of age and what he has done so far gives the Trail Blazers a serious third offensive option to go alongside Lillard and his fellow starting backcourt mate C.J. McCollum, who finished the victory with 23 points on 8 for 16 shooting.

Whenever a team makes a trade, the hope is that the newest addition can make an impact and it can be a long lasting one. The acquisition of Jusuf Nurkic by the Trail Blazers has had an impact to where they have a serious chance to make it back to the postseason for a second consecutive season; that they have their starting center for the next few seasons that can score, rebound, pass, and shoot and he has brought an edge and swagger that they have not had all season long.

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 3/9/17 10:30 p.m. contest Philadelphia 76ers versus Portland Trail Blazers on Comcast SportsNet Northwest with Kevin Calabro, Lamar Hunt and Brooke Olzendam on the sidelines; www.espn.com/nba/standings; www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/id/400900358; www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/6606/damian-lillard; www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3102530/jusuf-nurkic and http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jusuf_Nurkic.