Portland Trail Blazers: 3 goals for Jusuf Nurkic in 2018-19

3. Add the 3-point shot to his game

Heading into the 2018-19 season, Nurkic should look to add the 3-point shot to his arsenal. A lot of big men in the league today have the ability to space the floor and knock down shots when they are open. Nurkic has not proven he’s able to do that so far in his four-year career.

For his career, he is 0-for-13 from 3-point rnge. He went 0-for-7 from the 3-point line last season. Nurkic is mostly just a back-to-the-basket center who scores in the post, but has shown he’s able to knock down mid-range jumpers. He has a good-looking jump shot. Now it’s time for him to increase his range.

Adding the 3-point shot would open up the Blazers’ offense a ton more and would make life more comfortable on the backcourt players. Nurkic could draw his defender out of the lane and onto the wing, which would allow more open looks at the rim for Portland. This team could have five shooters on the court at all times.

At 7’0” and 280 pounds, Nurkic moves well for his size and is very skilled on both ends of the floor. Being able to knock down some 3-point shots would elevate his game and maybe enter him into the top tier of big men in today’s NBA. He doesn’t need to be an elite shooter, just be around 30-33 percent from deep.