Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic has responded to Draymond Green's earlier statement about the fate of the NBA big man resting heavily on how the Houston Rockets fare in this year's playoffs.
According to Green, big men around the league should be rooting against the success of Houston's micro-ball style of play, given how this might negatively impact the value of traditional centers such as Nurkic. The Bosnian national took to Twitter, reminding Green that the Golden State Warriors were actually the ones who started this trend:
You right but u guys started that trend… 🤷🏻♂️😂
Young big fellas coming up.
We will be alright one way or another 💯 #BubbleLife— Jusuf Nurkić (@bosnianbeast27) September 5, 2020
Excellent comeback from Jusuf Nurkic, as he presents a truly valid point here. Dubs coach Steve Kerr and his infamous Hamptons Five lineup featured Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Kevin Durant, and Green himself as a makeshift center. That lineup found tremendous success during their time together as a unit. Even prior to that (and well after), coach Kerr was already adept at fielding center-less lineups, so at least some credit needs to be given to the three-time champion coach for promoting the small-ball lineup.
Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni took it a step further with his revolutionary micro-ball approach. It has been highly successful thus far — including a surprise Game 1 victory against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday — which further proves Green's point.
Nonetheless, it's hard not to love Nurkic's enthusiasm here. He completely understands how the game is shifting, but he remains adamant that he and the rest of the bigs around the league should be able to somehow prove their worth. Kudos to you big fella.
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