The preseason gave us the peaks and…
Reviews of the Phoenix Suns’ 123-100 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers to close up the preseason have been largely positive. As they thrashed the Lakers second team squad in the second half, the team’s depth was evident. The squad continues to shoot well from three-point range, as evidenced by their 38.3% three-point shooting percentage through five preseason games. Rebounding has gone quite well. In each of the preseason games, the Suns outrebounded the opposition.
The performance of Jusuf Nurkic, which served as a reminder of what Phoenix lost when they moved Deandre Ayton to the Portland Trail Blazers in late September, didn’t go as planned.
The game’s pivotal encounter takes place on the interior, where Anthony Davis will be guarded by Jusuf Nurkic. AD is among the NBA’s most gifted centers in terms of athletics. His length makes him almost impossible to guard, his jumper is silky and pushes you away from the cylinder, and his paint movement gets you both buckets and fouls. Since Nurkic consistently commits fouls when playing defense, we may anticipate that the Lakers will attack him frequently.
It will be difficult to slow down AD or neutralize his impact, as Phoenix no longer has a five-man lineup with athletes as physically gifted as AD. Even though a victory is meaningless, we should be watching Nurkic’s defensive position victories versus Davis.
That’s just how the game unfolded, with the Lakers realizing they had the upper hand when it came to Anthony Davis vs. Nurkic. His natural ability to block shots and his athleticism were clearly evident. To his credit, Nurkic returned time and time again for more. However, he failed to secure a clear shot or a fruitful possession despite his repeated efforts. He shot 1 of 11 from the field for 3 points at the end of the night.
Thus far in the preseason, Nurkic has received nothing but positive feedback. With three excellent and productive scorers on either side of him, his offensive connectedness makes him a dangerous player for opposition teams to try and contain. His physicality and ability to rebound are advantages for a squad that plays in the world of finesse.
However, Jusuf will struggle if the other team has a large player who is more offensively capable. That’s the aspect of his game that we were aware of—his ability to be a big, burly defender. That was on full display on Thursday night.
Which preseason grade would I give him? I’ll grade it with a B. Nothing extra or less—just a B, nothing at all.
During his four games, he averaged 8.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 18 minutes per night of play. The performance versus Los Angeles, when he shot 56.3% in his first three games, had a significant impact on his 37 FG%, and even for a career 29.2% three-point shooter, 16.7% from deep isn’t always a good thing.
I will approach this season with the word “fit” as my guiding concept, since it continues to explain how he will fit in with the Suns club. There will be matches similar to the one we had with Los Angeles. It is hoped that those instances are the exception rather than the rule and that other teams won’t use that as a model for how to approach Phoenix. Granted, not every team can attack like that, and not every team has an Anthony Davis on the roster.
We shall keep asking ourselves, “Will what he provides be good enough?” Does he sufficiently complement what Phoenix needs in order for this squad to win—not just win—but win the championship? We need to witness it for ourselves, but I think we are headed in the right direction. Fortunately, that will take place when Phoenix takes on Golden State the following Tuesday.
What are your expectations for Jusuf Nurkic this season, and how would you rank his preseason performance?
