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Portland Trail Blazers: 3 goals for Jusuf Nurkic in the 2021 NBA season

By Stevie Cozens

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - AUGUST 18: Jusuf Nurkic #27 of the Portland Trail Blazers shoots the ball during the second quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game One of the Western Conference First Round during the 2020 NBA Playoffs at AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 18, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - AUGUST 18: Jusuf Nurkic #27 of the Portland Trail Blazers shoots the ball during the second quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game One of the Western Conference First Round during the 2020 NBA Playoffs at AdventHealth Arena at ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 18, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

Goal #2 – attempt 3 three-pointers a night

The next step in Nurk’s game’s growth is to consistently stretch his range out to three while growing his overall shooting efficiency.

We saw him begin to attempt three-pointers in the bubble seeding games, and the trend of his shooting over the last few years shows that he is ready to make a big jump in this regard.

In the seeding games, though he only attempted 10 threes in 8 games, the defense wasn’t guarding him at all out on the perimeter when he did attempt them. It will take a while for NBA defenses to respect Nurk’s shot from three, but his midrange and free throw growth should show that he will need to be respected if he starts attempting more.

When you watched Nurk shooting in the Bubble, it was clear that he had worked a lot on his form. There weren’t any major changes, but his release was quick, and his form was great. He shot it when he was wide open too, using the opportunity of wide-open space to work on his three.

Now playing with a team with shooters up and down the roster, Nurkic will likely be left open to take these shots as he is a relative non-shooter.

In an ideal world, this would be 3 three-pointers a night. Though this doesn’t sound like a lot, if he could hit 30 percent of them this regular season, this would open up his game and increase the team spacing as he would have to be guarded out there.