10 NBA things to watch for on Christmas Day
1. Jusuf Nurkic vs. Rudy Gobert
Back-to-the-basket centers are becoming endangered species in the NBA, but the Christmas Day nightcap features two such bigs in Jusuf Nurkic and Rudy Gobert.
Nurkic has attempted a career-high 23 triples this season, but he’s still far more comfortable operating close to the hoop. He’s attempting roughly 80 percent of his shots within 10 feet of the basket, and more than half of his attempts come within three feet.
While many teams lack a bruising big man to counter the 7-foot, 275-pounder, the Jazz don’t. Gobert, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, is a 7-foot-1 shot-swatting deterrent for close-range attempts.
In the 94 minutes last season in which both Gobert and Nurkic were on the floor, the Trail Blazers outscored the Jazz by 15.8 points per 100 possessions. Gobert guarded him for 183 possessions in those four games—the most any player defended Nurkic last season—during which time Nurkic scored 45 points on 45.8 percent shooting.
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If Gobert can stifle Nurkic and limit Portland’s frontcourt scoring output, that’ll put more pressure on Lillard and CJ McCollum to shoulder the offensive load. As such, that head-to-head matchup could go a long way toward determining the outcome of this game.
And for those who yearn for a throwback to when big men reigned supreme and 3-pointers were a novelty, the battle between Nurkic and Gobert should satiate you.
Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Basketball Insiders.
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