Rip City Project
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Jusuf Nurkic Will Start for Game 3 and Ignite Rip City

By Spencer Gordon

Mar 9, 2017; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic (27) reacts against the Philadelphia 76ers during the overtime at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 9, 2017; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic (27) reacts against the Philadelphia 76ers during the overtime at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 9, 2017; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic (27) reacts against the Philadelphia 76ers during the overtime at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 9, 2017; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic (27) reacts against the Philadelphia 76ers during the overtime at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports /

Despite the risk, Jusuf Nurkic believes that his injury is worth the risk to come back and try to steal momentum in this series.

Wow. in the last hour the Portland Trail Blazers and Jusuf Nurkic have made Rip City believe again.

Sure, his return may result in nothing, another loss for the Blazers and a 3-0 deficit. However, if there was a time for the Blazers to come back and steal momentum in this series, it’s tonight in the Moda Center.

Think about everything that seems to be breaking Portland’s way to win this game. Durant is out again, still recovering from a left calf strain. Matt Barnes and Shaun Livingston will not play as they battle their own injuries.

Then finally, Steve Kerr will not be on the sidelines due to an illness.

This last omission is key, especially with Nurk returning. The Warriors already showed that they don’t need the injured players to put a beat down on Portland. However, the Bosnian returning to this team adds another threat that the Warriors haven’t seen before this year from Portland. Not only do the Warriors have to change their game plan an hour before the game, but they have to do it without the man that has led them to all of their success these past few years.

This is huge. Sure, Nurk won’t play his regular amount of minutes. He will be rusty and probably won’t have the statistical dominant performance like we want him to. But his return will spark probably the loudest Moda Center crowd in years. They will be rowdy, and they will rival the noise of Oracle.

One side note to keep in mind, Draymond Green has been the heart of the Warriors and has led them to victories the past few games. He will be fired up to silence the crowd more than anyone else on Golden State. However, he has has a history of playing dirty. If Green looks to exploit Nurkic’s injury in anyway then the rest of the Blazers need to step in and stop him.

Strap in Rip City, tonight could be one of those nights that we remember for years.

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