Portland Trail Blazers: 5 goals for Damian Lillard in 2017-18

4. Strengthen two-man game with Nurkic

Jusuf Nurkic arrived via trade in February and opened up a new dimension of offense for the Blazers. In Nurkic, Portland had an effective post and pick-and-roll threat at the center position.

That came through over the 20 games in which Nurkic and Lillard shared the floor. Of Nurkic’s 120 made field goals with Portland, 46 were assisted by Lillard. According to NBA Math, Lillard averaged 1.02 points per possession on pick-and-roll ball handler plays. Meanwhile, Nurkic averaged 1.14 points per possession on plays where he was the roll man.

Damian Lillard and Jusuf Nurkic instantly clicked on and off the court. That is something that needs to be cultivated as the 2017-18 season progresses.

Nurkic is so dangerous as a roll man because he uses his 7’0″, 280-pound frame to set effective screens then run unencumbered to the rim. However, he can also switch things up by fading after the screen and hitting a midrange jumper.

Meanwhile, Lillard is a capable of doing anything off of a screen. He’s crafty enough to either get to the basket or pull up for a jumper. He also has the vision to find an open man when his offensive options are denied.

The Lillard-Nurkic connection is a potent pick-and-roll combination. It is a part of the gameplan that Lillard and the Blazers should really lean into during the 2017-18 season.