Centers
Starter: Jusuf Nurkic
In retrospect, it almost seems unfair that a chain of trades allowed the Portland Trail Blazers to convert Mason Plumlee, Shake Milton and Justin Jackson into Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins. It also seems a bit unfair the Blazers were able to lock Nurkic down on a four-year, $48 million deal at just 23-years-old.
So far, he’s been worth every dollar. For example, Nurkic pumps out more points, assists, blocks and steals while grabbing the same amount of rebounds as Clint Capela per 100 possessions. Nurkic also has much higher BPM and VORP ratings. The catch? Capela is getting paid twice as much to do less work. Nurkic has a lot of work to do to continue recuperating from his injury, but I have a strong feeling it won’t be long until the Bosnian Beast unleashes his wrath on the league once again.
Key Reserve: Robin Lopez
While passing up on Marcus Camby for this position wasn’t an easy call, Robin Lopez gets the nod for having a more versatile offensive set of skills and still being an elite rebounder that boxes out for his teammates. Robin endeared himself to the people of Portland awfully quick with his goofy nature and consistency on the court. He averaged 10.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per contest with the Blazers.
The fans’ love for RoLo was probably reciprocated, considering Lopez achieved career highs with the Blazers for rebounds and blocks, two milestones that still stand today. Portland also holds the distinction of the city where the Great Mascot War began, as RoLo tormented opposing teams’ mascots and established an undeniable psychological edge.
Thanks for giving us so many fond memories Robin, it’s too bad you’ll have to go through the Blazers to get that long awaited championship ring.