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Jusuf Nurkic is one of the darkest scenarios I could imagine for this iteration of the Portland Trail Blazers. In a season that seemed to be going exactly as the Blazers hoped, things would not have gone wrong. However, it's not about the team as a whole, nor about Nurkic; instead, he talks about his opponent, Enes Kanter.
Added to the Blazers as a free redemption agent appearing out of nowhere, Kanter was recruited to complete the field before the Blazers. Where the teams were looking for help in the field, Portland knew they were not candidates to add depth. She offered Kanter the entire enchilada – all the important minutes in reserve – in the hope of zigger where all the other teams playoff zagged. By adding Kanter, the Blazers could club the teams to death in the paint with 14 feet and 600 pounds of center. No league team could fight that night, let alone a playoff playoff of seven games.
The ideas were good and the application was a resounding success until a series of the most unfortunate events occurred. Kanter did more than anyone could legitimately ask him. In six games as a starter, the Blazers lost 4-2 with Kanter in the center. Admittedly, some of these games offer alignments that could be a modern version of the board game "Guess who," but Kanter still played well.
One of the main reasons for Kanter's incorporation is that it allowed Portland's first and second units to carry out the same basic offenses with a variety of personnel. It also allowed Kanter to save a few minutes if Nurkic found inexpensive mistakes. Although Kanter still does not know all the sets of Portland, he started to make a hellish report with Damian Lillard. You can see everyone anticipate the movements of others and ride a little faster each night. Kanter also facilitates post imbalances by accessing the playing field early and often with a deep pole position to get a straight up position instead of playing perhaps a game with which he is less familiar.
The results are paying off quite quickly. In addition to this 4-2 record, Kanter averages 19 points and 10 rebounds, and achieves 65% success. He has collected 20 points or more in four of six games and two 15-rebound games in this sequence. The fact that the Blazers are getting this kind of "back up big" production is really amazing. We can talk about the man following everything we want. This type of production does not fall from the tree, what Portland is currently getting from Kanter is quite special.
With the results of Friday night action in the books, it is now more than likely that the Blazers face Rudy Gobert and Utah Jazz in the first round in the first round. Things could become completely crazy and another match could be obtained, but for now, it's the most likely scenario. It was designed to test several narrations and / or questions: Can Kanter be played in a playoff series against a pick and roll team?
Gobert and Donovan Mitchell are arguably the sportiest combo that the Blazers could face. Do not let the defensive player of the year make noise around Gobert, but do not forget that he is about as sure of two points as everyone else in the league. Let's put this in perspective here: Nurkic attempted 7.3 shots per game in the restricted area, making it 15 of the biggest goals in the NBA, and he achieved 58.8%. Gobert attempted 7.7 shots in the restricted area per game and finished with 72%. So, Gobert gets MORE looks than Nurkic at the Rim per night and ends up PLUS. Gobert is a problem and asking Kanter to solve this problem with Damian Lillard is not an easy task.
There is a glimmer of promise on the hills. If the defensive weaknesses of Kanter are noted, it is not for lack of effort. He got Nikola Jokic to work on both sides of the game on Friday night in Denver, and although it's not the same kind of pick and roll ploys he's going to face against Utah, this is the last as of a growing volume demonstrating cares about working on the defensive side.
Although – let's be honest – it sucks something horrible that Portland does not have the chance to go to the big show without the full cast, Kanter and his production give them a chance more than they would have had without him. I know I'm not usually the only one looking good, but in this case, take a minute and enjoy what the Blazers get from Kanter. Abandon your expectations for the series and enjoy what can come out or not. Enjoy at least Enes Kanter's play while Portland has it.
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