Jusuf Nurkic Articles - Page 7

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 […]

Barely three minutes had elapsed since tipoff of the Portland Trail Blazers preseason opener, and Jusuf Nurkic already found himself standing alone beyond the arc. He readied his hands, took a pass from C.J. McCollum and let fly from the right wing with zero hesitation as Kevon Looney offered a half-hearted close-out. Clank. Nurkic went […]

One of the most consequential seasons in Portland Trail Blazers history tips off in exactly two weeks. Chauncey Billups’ team had the day off following its loss to the Golden State Warriors in the preseason opener, the second off-day Portland has enjoyed since training camp officially began September 28th. After a full week of practices—at […]

The Portland Trail Blazers’ defense in their exhibition loss to the Golden State Warriors wasn’t quite as porous as it often appeared on the floor, at least statistically. The Warriors’ point total was juiced by the high pace of Monday’s affair. Their offensive rating was just 110.0, well below league average last season, and wasn’t […]

Damian Lillard’s pointed calls for the Portland Trail Blazers to make significant roster changes this summer went unanswered. His team enters 2021-22 with last season’s same core in place and an unchanged starting lineup. Portland’s four offseason additions come mostly on the margins, with Larry Nance Jr. the only one among them guaranteed to make […]

The Washington Wizards have been in the NBA gutter for a couple of years now. While they were able to make the playoffs last year, the teams have been unconvincing and some personnel decisions were odd. John Wall, even though he has a massive injury history and some glaring flaws, was given a massive extension […]

The Golden State Warriors are far past their glory years in the NBA. After winning three championships in four years, the team is now hoping to get back to the playoffs. They will have Klay Thompson back from injury and Stephen Curry will be back as well. When Draymond Green is added to the mix, […]

The Dallas Mavericks are entering this season with a ton of expectations. They have MVP candidate Luka Doncic and he is now committed to the franchise long term. However, while Luka is a superstar talent, the Mavericks will still need valuable contributions from their other players going forward, or some new players coming in. There […]

There were times last season when Jusuf Nurkic took matters into his own hands defensively for the Portland Trail Blazers. Terry Stotts didn’t outright forbid Nurkic from veering outside Portland’s ultra-conservative defensive scheme, even encouraging his random forays to the perimeter with a simple caveat. “Sometimes Nurk goes rogue,” Stotts said after the Blazers beat […]

The Portland Trail Blazers held their first collective media availability in nearly four months on Monday, since an utterly disappointing playoff exit sparked the most dramatic offseason in franchise history. A lot has changed for this team since we last heard from it en masse on June 3. On the eve of training camp in […]

Jusuf Nurkic, entering a crucial contract year that could double as Damian Lillard’s swan song with the Trail Blazers, isn’t feeling the pressure as 2021-22 fast approaches. The seven-year veteran has never looked forward to an NBA season more than he has this one, in fact, despite an immediate future in Portland that seemed uncertain […]

The Portland Trail Blazers didn’t make a lot of changes this offseason to really boost their title chances with Damian Lillard, but new head coach Chauncey Billups remains confident about their odds. After all, they have a slew of players like Jusuf Nurkic whom Billups believes can elevate their games. As Jason Quick of The […]

The Milwaukee Bucks won a championship last season behind the MVP-level play of their star Giannis Antetokounmpo. After defeating the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals, Bucks turned a 2-o deficit around against the Phoenix Suns to win the title. While Giannis did lead, it was great team-play that got Milwaukee to the title […]

The Portland Trail Blazers were expected as one of the teams to make major moves in the offseason. But aside from acquiring a few role players, the team hardly tinkered with the roster. One of the guys linked to trade rumors in recent months is big man Jusuf Nurkic. Nurkic has been hampered by a […]

The Portland Trailblazers have made the last eight postseasons, and they became a very consistent team in the volatile and strong Western Conference. Unfortunately for Blazers fans, the team has only made it to the Conference Finals once, and past the first two rounds 2 other times. Their success came during the peak years of […]

Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic is having a field day trolling reporters who were pumping up the Damian Lillard trade talks. After Lillard himself denied the speculations that he has decided to ask for a trade, Nurkic took it again to Twitter to fire back at those who made the false reports. His latest […]

The rumors surrounding Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard have circulated ever since they were eliminated in the first round of the NBA Playoffs at the hands of the Denver Nuggets. On Friday came a report that Lillard was going to request a trade in the “days to come” and the buzz picked up once […]

After being eliminated by the Denver Nuggets in their first-round series matchup, it was made abundantly clear that the Portland Trail Blazers are in dire need of added reinforcements if they hope to remain competitive over the next few years. As it turns out, this might just come in the form of Minnesota Timberwolves star […]

The Portland Trail Blazers lost Game 6 to the Denver Nuggets on their home floor, meaning their season is now over after a first-round series defeat. It was a disappointing end to an up-and-down season for the Blazers, who seemed prime to potentially make a run after a hot close to the regular season. But […]

Damian Lillard is the heart and soul of the Portland Trail Blazers franchise. They’ll only go as far as he can carry them. In Game 4 against the Denver Nuggets, Lillard didn’t exactly carry them very far. He was absolutely putrid in that game, scoring just 10 points on a ghastly 1-for-10 shooting from the […]

Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic isn’t letting Kendrick Perkins’ criticism of his defensive play slip by. To recall, Perkins was critical of the Bosnian big man’s lockdown ability following the Blazers’ loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 3. Mike Malone flat out coached Terry Stotts!!! Nurkic and Kanter are the worse defensive bigs […]

Game 3 between the Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers came down to the wire on Thursday night with the Nuggets going up 2-1 in the series. It was a hard-fought battle and Portland has to make an adjustment soon, or else they’ll fall 3-1, which could be detrimental to their playoff hopes. Portland knew […]

The Denver Nuggets travel to the Pacific Northwest to take on the Portland Trail Blazers for Game 3 of this series. It’s time to continue our NBA odds series with a Nuggets-Blazers prediction and pick. Nikola Jokic led the way for his team on Monday night and plans to do the same on Thursday. They […]

Things got heated early on in Monday’s Game 2 tilt between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Denver Nuggets. There was no love lost between Jusuf Nurkic and his former Nuggets teammates, as the Blazers big man featured in a heated scuffle at mid-court. As both teams were heading to the bench during a timeout, […]

The Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers series is going to be a fun one throughout. These two teams match up well against each other which makes for thrilling basketball. Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers lit it up on Saturday night and stole game one away from Denver. Denver played tough throughout the game […]

The Portland Trail Blazers are set to take on the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. It should be a solid matchup as both teams tend to play well against each other. This series will have a plethora of star power as well, as Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, and Jusuf Nurkic […]

Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard has recently been linked with the New York Knicks, with the ‘Bockers reportedly looking for an opportunity to steal the superstar guard from Rip City. However, Jusuf Nurkic is not buying it. After the rumor trended online, Nurkic made sure to mock the news and the claim that the […]

Jusuf Nurkic of the Portland Trail Blazers really tried his best to defend Kyrie Irving one-on-one. Unsurprisingly though, it was the Brooklyn Nets star who came out on top as Irving left Nurk dazed and confused after this nasty move. For good measure, Kyrie even went for the reverse layup to finish this awesome play […]

Memphis Grizzlies stud Ja Morant has developed a reputation as one heck of an athletic guard. Most fans have witnessed how Morant has used this ability in offense. But against the Portland Trail Blazers big man Jusuf Nurkic, Morant showed it off with an emphatic block. Note that Morant is a guard who stands just […]

Portland Trail Blazers big man Jusuf Nurkic sneaked in a huge highlight before the first half ended against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday. Nurkic rose up and dunked on Marcus Smart and Robert Williams to tie the game. This is definitely a good sign for the Blazers, who lost Nurkic at the start of the […]

The NBA trade deadline has come and gone. But before it ended, the Toronto Raptors and Portland Trail Blazers reached an agreement. In the deal, the Raptors sent Norman Powell and received Rodney Hood and Gary Trent Jr. Since the trade, Trent Jr. has been going off. In the nine games he’s played so far, […]

Jusuf Nurkic may have recently returned to the Portland Trail Blazers lineup after a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to injury, but his career has taken yet another road bump of late. The 26-year-old has is now reportedly facing legal charges from one of his neighbors because of a trash dispute. According to Aaron […]

With Damian Lillard returning from an injury that had him briefly sidelined and the acquisition of Norman Powell at the trade deadline, Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts is faced with an overflow of options to roll out with his starting lineup for the remainder of the season. Add on that CJ McCollum and […]

Portland Trail Blazers centers Jusuf Nurkic and Enes Kanter were hoping that LaMarcus Aldridge would return to Rip City and join them in the frontcourt. While nothing was set in stone just yet, they were also left astonished by the 35-year-old’s decision to sign with the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday after being bought out by […]

The Portland Trail Blazers are getting a big boost in the frontcourt for the final month-plus of the regular season. Center Jusuf Nurkic said he will be in the lineup for Portland’s showdown with the Orlando Magic on Friday. Nurkic had missed the last 31 games with a fractured right wrist. Portland Trail Blazers center […]

The Portland Trail Blazers announced Monday that 12 players received their first doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine through the Confederate Tribes of Grand Ronde. Jusuf Nurkic was among those to be vaccinated, and he has a simple message for fans and peers: get vaccinated when eligible. I got my vaccine 💉 today. I can't […]

Portland Trail Blazers fans, rejoice. After almost two months since breaking his left foot on January 16th, guard CJ McCollum told The Athletic that he “would bet” on a return next week. “If I was a betting man, I would bet on next week, but I can’t bet on sports,” McCollum told The Athletic on […]

Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic has given an update on his wrist injury that has kept him sidelined for close to two months. In response to a question from The Jump on ESPN about his injury, the Bosnian star said his wrist was “doing great” and that he could return in “a week or […]

Despite CJ McCollum and Jusef Nurkic sidelined with injuries, Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers remain competitive in a tough Western Conference. Additionally, the team has also been without Zach Collins and Harry Giles, spreading the Blazers’ roster thin. After a four-game losing streak, Portland got back on track after achieving a much-needed win […]