This Friday, Jusuf Nurkic confirmed his excellent form by single-handedly breaking the Boston racket. Her good hands proved to be her best teammates, helping her to punctuate an XXL performance in the most beautiful way, with the victory basket. It’s good to be a fan of « Bosnian Beast ». Debrief.
The pretty homemade boxscore is HERE!
If they were desperately looking – and rightly so – for an argument to watch the games, Portland fans now have it. On his last outings, Jusuf Nurkic shines with forty-two thousand lights. After 23 points and 14 rebounds in Washington, 21 points and 22 rebounds against the Magic, 18 points and 14 rebounds against the Heat, the Bosnian Beast has just released a new performance from Cro-Magnon: 29 points, 17 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 interception and 1 block at 56% shooting including 1/1 from the parking lot. The top of the top? This victory basket with 15 seconds left, from a small tear drop on offensive rebound. The dagger almost went blind, but the millimeter whipping and the dose of success allowed this result. This last action by Jusuf Nurkic is only the shortened synopsis of the hell lived by the interiors of Boston this Friday. Under the projectors of his room, Al Horford saw his vis-à-vis swallow him – more directly than indirectly – 17 rebounds on the head. The comparison with his only 4 rebounds is cruel. Although the pair of Williams – Robert and Grant – have caught up with the blow with 18 cumulative rebounds, it is hardly acceptable for a coach to have his interiors tasted by an opponent who is the only boss of his racket. Yes, Robert Covington not being the most dangerous of attackers, it seemed obvious to centralize the interior defense on Jusuf Nurkic, even if it meant trapping, if only to restrict his activity. This failure in the racket is the failure of the evening for Ime Udoka and his big dadets.
Jusuf Nurkic wins it for Portland pic.twitter.com/sqrRPRpT6Q
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) January 22, 2022
Unfortunately for Jayson Tatum, our obsession with Jusuf Nurkic’s dedication hasn’t dampened interest in his personal situation. Pointed out for his irregularities at the time, the C’s winger asserts himself less and less as a franchise player able to win his own. Tonight ? A 0/6 at 3-points which feeds his black series, bringing his distant address to… 0/17 over the last three games. But the performance of the Green Mamba is however not to be thrown away: 27 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists with a nice 2-point percentage of 62%. All he lacks is the consistency, the leadership that will turn that 0/6 into a 4/6 – and thus that setback into victory. Not every night of course, it’s impossible, but often enough for the Celtics not to be tenth in the Conf ‘Est. Same topo for his little comrades in Boston. Around Jusuf Nurkic, Anfernee Simons (21 points) and CJ McCollum (24 points) showed themselves to their advantage. On the contrary, none of the guys from Massachusetts deigned to accompany Jayson Tatum in his quest for scoring. Only Jaylen Brown – awkward as hell – and Grant Williams showed signs of frequent activity. Pointing the finger at the boss is good, but be careful not to forget to assist him.
The stat of the match: 48.5% 3-point side Blazers, against 29.7% in Boston.
Jayson Tatum has not made a three-point shot in his last three games, and is now shooting 3/29 (10.3%) over his last five pic.twitter.com/SKqPRY7ooH
— ProCity Hoops (@ProCityHoops) January 22, 2022
And Jayson Tatum had put on that last step-back, the paper would look quite different. In short, it’s time to roll up our sleeves in Boston because even if Jusuf Nurkic is in good shape, the Bosnian is far from being the most dominant guy in the NBA. Far.