Portland Trail Blazers: 5 reasons they miss the playoffs in 2017-18

5. Jusuf Nurkic’s health

I cannot stress the importance of having a healthy Jusuf Nurkic in the frontcourt for the Portland Trail Blazers more than I have already— so I won’t waste too much time on it.

Simply put — having a dominant force in the paint like Nurkic puts the Blazers among the elite teams in the NBA; Therefore, not having him on the floor at all is the difference between being an exceptional NBA team and a bottom-feeder.

In 55 games before Nurkic’s arrival, the Blazers ranked 13th in offensive rating at 106.8 and 26th in defensive rating at 108.9, with a 23-32 record. In 20 games with the Bosnian Beast on the floor, they ranked sixth in offensive rating at 110.6 and 12th in defensive rating at 105.4, with a 14-6 record.

Remember how good the Blazers were when LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy were healthy and in the prime? I can honestly sit here and say that I think Jusuf Nurkic and Damian Lillard can be just as good — if not better — when healthy.

Which brings me to my next point….