Jusuf Nurkic Articles - Page 6

The Portland Trail Blazers brought the early energy they needed to make up for a massive rest deficit against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Once the jumpers stopped falling and the clock started winding, though, they looked every bit a depleted, veteran team playing a much younger, fresher foe on the back half of a road […]

The move the Portland Trail Blazers are more likely to make than any other at the trade deadline won’t address their most obvious, big-picture need. But shedding just over $3 million worth of salary by February 10th to duck the luxury tax and receive part of the most lucrative distribution from taxpaying teams in league […]

The Portland Trail Blazers used isolation basketball to pull away from the worst team in the Western Conference on Friday night. After the Houston Rockets suddenly pulled within six as the game clocked ticked below five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, C.J. McCollum and Anfernee Simons mercilessly matchup-hunted for Garrison Mathews in pick-and-roll, clearing […]

Chauncey Billups called timeout with 5:29 remaining in Friday’s game, his team at real risk of squandering what seemed like an insurmountable lead after Jalen Green’s step-back three pulled the Houston Rockets within six. The Portland Trail Blazers hadn’t encountered much trouble running roughshod over the Western Conference’s worst team, but some ugly turnovers and […]

Damian Lillard isn’t going anywhere. But as the February 10th trade deadline fast approaches, the prevailing assumption had been that the Portland Trail Blazers would actively seek deals for pretty much any other player on the roster—especially the veterans that have long comprised this team’s core. Don’t tell that to Jusuf Nurkic, though. In a […]

The Portland Trail Blazers earned one of their most impressive wins of the regular season on Friday, beating the Boston Celtics 109-105 at TD Garden. The win is Portland’s fourth in six games, all of which have come without Damian Lillard. Anfernee Simons continued staking his claim as one of basketball’s most intriguing young guards, […]

The still-depleted Portland Trail Blazers used one of their most well-balanced performances of the season to earn a rare road win Saturday, beating the Washington Wizards 115-110 in the nation’s capital. The Blazers’ victory was just their third away from home all season and moves them to 17-25 overall, still tenth in the Western Conference. […]

Just because Damian Lillard may miss the remainder of the regular season hardly means the Portland Trail Blazers aren’t open for business as the trade deadline fast approaches. The uncertain status of the six-time All-Star in wake of Thursday’s surgery, in fact, could make it even more likely Portland emerges as basketball’s biggest seller leading […]

Damian Lillard finally gave in to what his body had been telling him since the summer, undergoing a procedure on Thursday to address nagging abdominal tendinopathy. The Portland Trail Blazers announced that Lillard would be re-evaluated in six weeks, though his potential return to the floor this season depends largely on where the team sits […]

On Wednesday night, the Portland Trail Blazers and Miami Heat played a contentious basketball game in Oregon. Late during the fourth quarter of a tight game, Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic and Heat guard Tyler Herro got into a physical altercation. It was announced on Friday that the NBA has fined both players $25,000 for their […]

There’s a possibility Damian Lillard returns to the court in a few days after seeking further consultation for abdominal tendinopathy. It seems only a matter of time until C.J. McCollum suits up again, now fully healed from a collapsed right lung that’s caused him to miss a full month of the regular season. Even if […]

There was still time left in the fourth quarter when Jusuf Nurkic laid a bone-crushing screen on Tyler Herro Wednesday night at Moda Center. But with just over a minute remaining and the Miami Heat leading 101-92, the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers were well on their way to another frustrating loss. There’s no debating that […]

With no Jimmy Butler and Damian Lillard, the stars sat tonight in the Wednesday night tilt between the Miami Heat and Portland Trail Blazers – but there was no shortage of fireworks on the evening. Tyler Herro and Jusuf Nurkic got into it late in the fourth quarter with the game seemingly out of hand. The […]

Anfernee Simons played the game of his life with a heavy heart. The Portland Trail Blazers guard poured in a career-high 43 points and doled out seven assists in his team’s thrilling 136-131 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night, going toe to toe with Trae Young as an injured Damian Lillard watched from […]

The Portland Trail Blazers are hardly the only ones who hope to start again when the calendar flips to 2o22. Suddenly almost halfway through a tumultuous regular season marked by Damian Lillard’s early struggles, Neil Olshey’s eventual ouster and a roster ravaged by injuries and then COVID-19, Portland finds itself at 13-21 heading into Friday’s […]

The holiday season is in full swing, but the Portland Trail Blazers haven’t exactly enjoyed much good cheer. They’re 13-19 over the first nine weeks of the regular season, tumbling to 11th in the Western Conference after losing 11 of the last 14 games. Even Portland’s recent hopes of a quick turnaround proved short-lived. Chauncey […]

The Portland Trail Blazers are not having a good season. The team from Oregon had high hopes in the last couple of seasons. Unfortunately, while they made the playoffs in the last eight seasons, that only resulted in passing the first round three times. This year, they also had high expectations coming into the year. […]

The Portland Trail Blazers are going to have one of the more interesting trade deadlines in all of the NBA.  They have made it known that they are potentially going into a rebuilding process so many of their current players are not going to be in Portland for much longer. They could decide to do […]

The New Orleans Pelicans have had an underwhelming first quarter of the NBA season. There were massive expectations for this squad, as they were considered prime and ready to go into the postseason. Unfortunately for Pelicans fans, many things have gone against them. Among others, the most relevant one was the constant uncertainty about Zion […]

With the Portland Trail Blazers looking to shake things up and make some roster altering moves this season, one name that’s come up in recent trade rumors is Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic. As a sneaky good center in the NBA, Nurkic has definitely made his mark as a well-rounded big that would bolster any frontcourt […]

Jusuf Nurkic did all he could to account for the absences of his team’s two leading scorers on Monday night. Unfortunately for the depleted Portland Trail Blazers, it just wasn’t enough to get Chauncey Billups’ crew a much-needed victory. Portland fell to the Los Angeles Clippers 102-90 at Moda Center, its third straight home defeat […]

Chauncey Billups, in an increasingly common postgame refrain during the season’s early going, saved his harshest criticism for Portland Trail Blazers’ starters after a dispiriting blowout loss. The bench was a lone bright spot for Portland in its ugly 145-117 loss to the short-handed Boston Celtics on Saturday night at Moda Center, an especially damning […]

The Portland Trail Blazers fired Neil Olshey on Sunday, just short of a month after the team launched a probe into allegations that he fostered a toxic, hostile working environment. Olshey’s reign as general manager in Rip City comes to an end after nine seasons, the last eight of which the Blazers have made the […]

Regardless of when the investigation into allegations of Neil Olshey fostering a “toxic” workplace was finished, Jody Allen almost certainly wasn’t going to find a better time to fire the Portland Trail Blazers’ longtime general manager than Friday morning. The Blazers included no conclusions from that probe in their announcement of Olshey’s dismissal, simply specifying […]

Chauncey Billups touched on the pitfalls of Damian Lillard’s abdominal tendinopathy well before it was officially announced the Portland Trail Blazers superstar would be sidelined for at least the next 10 days. Lillard was clearly more affected by his nagging core injury than normal during Portland’s blowout loss to the Utah Jazz on Monday. He […]

The Portland Trail Blazers beat the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers 118-111 on Saturday night at Moda Center, stringing together three straight wins for the first time this season behind a dominant performance from Damian Lillard. Convincing double-digit victories would obviously be the most ringing endorsement of the Blazers’ long-shot title hopes. But a trio of consecutive […]

All summer long, Neil Olshey appealed to the strength of the Portland Trail Blazers’ starting lineup as a major reason for optimism in 2021-22. Chauncey Billups parroted those talking points almost immediately upon being named Terry Stotts’ successor. When Media Day finally came in early September, multiple players extolled the virtues of Portland’s opening quintet, […]

Jusuf Nurkic was instrumental to the Portland Trail Blazers’ thrilling 112-107 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night at Moda Center, playing arguably his best game of the season. The Bosnian Beast had 18 points and 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the season, exploiting a Bulls squad that often went small while […]

All offseason long, rumors were running rampant about the Portland Trail Blazers and the future of franchise star Damian Lillard. Many thought he would end up being traded, but the Blazers were able to keep him in town. Since then, Lillard has made it very clear that he is still loyal to Portland, but that […]

The Portland Trail Blazers were outclassed in the early going against the lowly Houston Rockets on Friday. Three days earlier, they trailed the LA Clippers by double-digits less than three minutes after tipoff. And on Sunday versus the depleted Denver Nuggets, Portland fell behind 24-8 in the first quarter, never coming closer than nine points […]

The Portland Trail Blazers lost their fifth straight road game to open the regular season on Friday, falling to the LA Clippers 117-109 at Staples Center. After the game, Chauncey Billups bemoaned his team’s penchant for losing focus on defense away from the friendly confines of Moda Center, remarks echoed by Damian Lillard. The numbers, […]

The Portland Trail Blazers put forth another stellar team-wide effort on Friday night at Moda Center, defeating the LA Clippers 111-92 despite Paul George going off for a typically smooth 42 points. Not bad for a Portland team that fell to the Clippers by 30 points earlier this week in a performance that Chauncey Billups […]

The Memphis Grizzlies put up 57 points in the first half of Wednesday’s game, slicing and dicing the Portland Trail Blazers’ half-court defense en route to a stellar 116.3 offensive rating. More discouraging for Portland going into intermission? Ja Morant was underwhelming compared to the sky-high standard he set over the season’s first three games, […]

Spurred by an utterly dominant second-half performance on both sides of the ball, the Portland Trail Blazers routed the Memphis Grizzlies 116-96 on Wednesday night at Moda Center. Here are four positives from the Blazers’ impressive victory, which moves them to 2-2 for the 2021-22 season. The Entire Second Half Portland trailed 57-51 at halftime, […]

Forty-eight hours after reaching their peak, the Portland Trail Blazers hit rock bottom. Chauncey Billups’ new team was embarrassed by his old one on Monday night at Staples Center, falling 116-86 to the LA Clippers. Here are three takeaways from the Blazers’ 30-point drubbing, one every bit as ugly as the final score indicates—if not […]

Rip City’s wait is over. In wake of the most dramatic, controversial offseason in team history, the Portland Trail Blazers finally open the 2021-22 regular season on Wednesday night against the Sacramento Kings at Moda Center. Here are three keys to watch for as Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum and company look to tip off the […]

Candidacy for individual awards couldn’t be further from the Portland Trail Blazers’ minds as they prepare to host the Sacramento Kings. But just because Chauncey Billups, Damian Lillard and company are singularly focused on the task at hand doesn’t mean Blazers fans have better ways to kill time before tipoff of Wednesday night’s game than […]

The Portland Trail Blazers labored through Wednesday’s rare matinee matchup with the Phoenix Suns, falling 119-74 despite Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic playing well into the third quarter. Chris Paul didn’t suit up for the Suns at all, while Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges watched the second half from the bench. […]

PORTLAND — The Portland Trail Blazers tipoff the regular season against the Sacramento Kings back at Moda Center next week, but don’t expect Monday’s game—fortunately for Chauncey Billups’ team—to prove a barbinger for the 2021-22 opener. Here are four observations from the short-handed Blazers’ 107-93 loss to the Kings. Anfernee Simons (Kind Of) Looked The […]