{"id":109726,"date":"2024-11-29T15:55:01","date_gmt":"2024-11-29T20:55:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=109726"},"modified":"2024-11-29T15:55:01","modified_gmt":"2024-11-29T20:55:01","slug":"jusuf-nurkic-fan-criticism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/29\/jusuf-nurkic-fan-criticism\/","title":{"rendered":"Jusuf Nurkic Responds to Fan Criticism"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/30\/the-phoenix-suns-have-major-issues-at-the-center-position\/\" target=\"_self\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Phoenix Suns <\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">center<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/n\/nurkiju01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jusuf Nurkic<\/a> has hit back at fan criticism regarding his performances for the team. It has been <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.co.uk\/nba\/story\/_\/id\/38505763\/sources-blazers-trading-damian-lillard-bucks-3-team-deal\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">14 months<\/a> since the Bosnian was traded to the Suns. He was a smaller part of the deal that sent <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lillada01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Damian Lillard<\/a> to the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/24\/milwaukee-bucks-bench-leading-november\/\" target=\"_self\">Milwaukee Bucks<\/a>. However, it seems he has not been as embraced as he would\u2019ve liked, amongst just over a year of instability and inconsistency for the franchise.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Jusuf Nurkic Responds to Fan Criticism<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Nurkic Makes Odd Claim<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">After<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> the Suns&#8217; <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.co.uk\/nba\/boxscore\/_\/gameId\/401703408\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">127-100<\/a> victory over the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/29\/lakers-can-be-thankful-they-figured-out-lineup-puzzle\/\" target=\"_self\">LA Lakers<\/a> on Tuesday night, Nurkic made the odd claim that people expect him to play the \u2018KD role\u2019. Not only is that a bizarrely high expectation of him, but it also comes across as a poor attempt at deflecting accountability. <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;I feel like I\u2019ve been judged since I got here, it feels like everybody wants me to play the KD role, but with two shots. It\u2019s not how it works.\u2019\u2019<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">He also made clear his thoughts on social media scrutiny saying,<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8220;They\u2019re not real fans. \u00a0The internet <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">ain\u2019t<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> the real world. People are going to hate regardless.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&quot;I&#39;ve been judged since I got here the most. Everybody wants me to play the KD role.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Jusuf Nurkic after Suns win vs. Lakers.<\/p>\n<p>On <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GeraldBourguet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@GeraldBourguet<\/a> question about criticism on social media: &quot;They&#39;re not real fans. The internet ain&#39;t the real world. People are going to hate.&quot; <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Suns?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Suns<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1w7X3yFjKD\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/1w7X3yFjKD<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DuaneRankin\/status\/1861660171199750444?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">November 27, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">This came after one of Nurkic\u2019s better performances of the season. He recorded 12 points and 12 rebounds, though most of this work came in the second half. Overall, it has been a disappointing campaign, with the stats to back it up. His average of <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.co.uk\/nba\/player\/_\/id\/3102530\/jusuf-nurkic\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">8.9 points<\/a> through 16 games is the lowest since his 2015-16 season with the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/28\/do-nuggets-still-have-shot-winning-nba-cup\/\" target=\"_self\">Denver Nuggets<\/a>. Nurkic&#8217;s efficiency has also taken a significant hit, his 42% from the field is the lowest since 2015-16. This is the <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/stats\/players\/traditional?CF=GP*GE*10&amp;PlayerPosition=C&amp;StarterBench=Starters&amp;dir=D&amp;sort=FG_PCT\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">second-lowest<\/a> FG% amongst all NBA starting <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">centers<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> who have played at least 10 games.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">So, to suggest the standards set upon him are \u2018KD-like\u2019 is either a misunderstanding on Nurkic\u2019s part or a reluctance to take responsibility for his shortcomings. While fans\u2019 discontent with the player dates back to last season, they would sure be more satisfied with a repeat of what he delivered in his debut campaign with the franchise rather than what is on show at present.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Suns Fans Are Losing Patience<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">After a strong start to the season, injuries have led to a big slump in form. The Suns are 3-7 in their last 10 games, which have coincided with the absences of <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/duranke01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kevin Durant<\/a>, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bealbr01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bradley Beal<\/a>, and briefly Nurkic. He has been dealing with an ankle injury in recent weeks, even revealing he had hurt <a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DuaneRankin\/status\/1859477634272591920\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">both ankles<\/a>. However, that has not given him much grace with Suns fans, with his latest comments only increasing their frustrations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">A period that had perhaps peaked their angst toward the 30-year-old came center in a <a  href=\"https:\/\/statm.us\/e\/qCziSG0Hu\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">four-game stretch<\/a> in which he scored just 12 points overall. This included a scoreless outing against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/05\/2024-25-nba-betting-preview-sacramento-kings-win-total-odds\/\" target=\"_self\">Sacramento Kings<\/a>. He shot a woeful 3-23 across the four games, all defeats. The only game they won during Durant and Beal\u2019s absence was one that Nurkic also sat out, against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/20\/utah-jazz-coach-calls-out-team-over-lakers-sharpshooter\/\" target=\"_self\">Utah Jazz<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">For now, in a Suns team brimming with top-end talent, Nurkic appears the weakest link. There is no need for him to be as good as the <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jokicni01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nikola Jokic<\/a> and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/davisan02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Anthony Davis&#8217;<\/a>\u00a0of the world, the Suns have enough <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">offense<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> to cover some of his offensive deficiencies, from deep for example. However, what they cannot make up for is his lack of fundamentals. His job is to make things easier for <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bookede01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Devin Booker<\/a>, Durant, and Beal, not hold them back. Set screens, grab rebounds, and<\/span> <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">finish at the rim. Maybe the rapport between Nurkic and the (online) fans is too far gone. Whether he remains on the team past the trade deadline is another question. But in the meantime, there is a simple solution for him to regain some trust at least \u2013 get back to the basics.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkic has hit back at fan criticism regarding his performances for the team. It has been 14 months since the Bosnian was traded to the Suns. He was a smaller part of the deal that sent Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks. However, it seems he has not been as embraced [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5293,"featured_media":109764,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,62,28],"tags":[311,352,135,69],"class_list":["post-109726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nba","category-suns","tag-bradley-beal","tag-devin-booker","tag-jusuf-nurkic","tag-kevin-durant"],"modified_by":"Eamon Cassels, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5293"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109726"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109726\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}