I’m still going to stand by what I wrote just three days ago: the Portland Trail Blazers are a mess — aside from Damian Lillard, of course — and the front office has to decide whether to hit the gas and attempt to make the playoffs in the West or make a deadline deal that will help them reload for 2020-21.
But there is one scenario I keep replaying in my head: with Jusuf Nurkic participating in his first full-contact practice on Wednesday since a horrific broken leg he suffered last March, can he help steer the Blazers to a playoff spot and, then, maybe some upsets in the postseason?
Nurkic left a gaping hole in the Blazers front-court — the hope was free-agent-to-be Hassan Whiteside could fill it, and he mostly has (15.5 ppg, 14.0 rpg, 3.0 bpg), while Zach Collins played just three games before undergoing shoulder surgery, leading the franchise to sign Carmelo Anthony.
"He went through practice…first time it was 5-on-5…he's been progressing to this point, i guess it's a milestone, but it's part of his progression…he played basketball." Blazers Terry Stotts on Jusuf Nurkic practicing today #RipCity pic.twitter.com/Wb8AfqiSd0
— Orlando Sanchez (@orlandokgw) January 22, 2020
When Nurkic played last year, the Blazers looked like title contenders. He scored down low, defending in the paint and did all the dirty work — remember that 5×5 night a year ago?
Lillard continues to be one of the most underrated superstars in the league, scoring 47 points Thursday night after that 61-point outburst, but in a losing effort to the Dallas Mavericks. When he and C.J. McCollum are healthy, they form one of the best backcourts in the NBA, and there are signs the bench has really good depth when Nurkic returns — you get the newly acquired Trevor Ariza (or does he start at small forward?), Rodney Hood and maybe Melo heads there when Nurkic comes back. That’s not bad!
I would also assume the Blazers trade Whiteside and his expiring contract. I don’t see a way Portland puts both him and Nurkic on the floor together, or that they’ll lose Whiteside’s contract for nothing. Whatever they get back could help as well.
That all sounds great … but I still think the Blazers have dug themselves into a humongous hole, one that Nurk might not be able get them out of: as of Friday morning, they’re 19-27, 2.5 games behind the San Antonio Spurs (who are surging) and right there with the upstart Memphis Grizzlies. The seven seed — currently the Oklahoma City Thunder — is a distant 7.5 games away. Nurkic could help them go on a run for that final seed. But it’s a tall task.
Still, if there’s any hope for the Blazers doing anything this season, it rests on the enormous shoulders of Nurkic when returns.
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