Nurk on Three! The Portland Trail Blazers Kept Injured Jusuf Nurkic in their Hearts during their First Game Without Him

Although the injured Jusuf Nurkic could not take the floor against the Chicago Bulls, he remained very present throughout the Portland Trail Blazers victory.

Life moves on. After being dismayed by starting center Jusuf Nurkic‘s sudden leg fracture on Monday against the Brooklyn Nets, the Portland Trail Blazers took the floor for the first time on Wednesday without their two-way Bosnian Beast. However, he wasn’t totally absent from the team…

Before demolishing the Bulls 118-98 in Chicago, the club FaceTimed with Nurkic in the visiting locker room. The Oregonian’s Joe Freeman reported on the connection before tip-off, saying the team broadcasted the big man on a TV for all to chat with him directly from his hospital bed.

And as the team left to take the floor, one Blazer made Nurkic into a rallying cry.

Freeman writes:

"And then, just before departing the locker room to face the Chicago Bulls, the Blazers stood up for a final pregame huddle and gathered next to Nurkic.“Nurk on three,” someone shouted. “One. Two. Three.“Nurk!”"

Afterwards, members of the club spoke about how seeing him just prior to facing the next nine games of the regular season and the postseason gave them feelings of closure and positive motivation.

Enes Kanter, who replaced Nurkic in the starting lineup on Wednesday, told Freeman:

"“Just to see his face and just to hear his voice gave us so much positive motivation. It meant a lot to us.”"

Even without his massive presence on the floor, he remains just as huge in the Blazers’ locker room.

Of course, there remains several questions over the team’s outlook going forward – especially at the four and five positions.

Kanter had a solid night filling in, recording 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting to go along with six boards. Second-year big man Zach Collins got some increased time at both power forward and center and performed well, putting up 13 points and two blocks. And Meyers Leonard, who had been essentially dropped from the rotation before the All-Star Break, looked impressive and aggressive during his first couple minutes. Unfortunately, he ultimately fizzled out later, failing to hit a shot.

Still, it’s hard gleam anything from a game in which the Bulls sat half their roster due to injury. The Blazers had more talent on the court at all times; heck, they’re likely still the favorites had even Damian Lillard been forced to sit out.

With such a disparity in talent and context (the Bulls are probably best served losing, anyways), the blow-out win should be read more as positive momentum rather than the start of finding permanent solutions.

Although the puzzle is far from being solved, the victory kept the Blazers on track. The pregame huddle with Nurkic helped the team hit the gas pedal.