2019 NBA Playoffs: Portland Trail Blazers vs. OKC Thunder preview

1. How do the Blazers replace Nurkic?

Prior to his spirit-crushing injury, Jusuf Nurkic was having the best season of his five-year career. The hulking Bosnian big man was averaging 15.6 points, 10.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game as a go-to interior presence and a desperately-needed third option for the Blazers.

His absence forced head coach Terry Stotts to tinker with his lineup a little bit, going small with Al-Farouq Aminu at the center position and forcing both Lillard and McCollum to take on even more of the burden offensively.

Luckily, Portland isn’t totally left for dead, having signed center Enes Kanter off the buyout market in mid-February. He’s performed admirably as a member of the Blazers so far, averaging 13.1 points and 8.6 rebounds in only 22.3 minutes a night.

Kanter’s skill set compares favorably to Nurkic’s. At roughly 250 pounds he’s excellent at throwing his weight around near the rim and finishing with a soft touch in the restricted area.

However, he’s also proven to be a liability on the defensive end, slow-footed guarding on the perimeter and vertically-challenged when it comes to protecting the rim.

He’ll see an increase in opportunities, but he won’t fully takeover Nurkic’s role. Instead, the Blazers will have to find smaller contributions across the roster, and hopefully, it will be enough to keep them above water.