Denver Nuggets center Jusuf Nurkic has been borderline non-existent in the past seven games, failing to record more than 10 minutes in a contest since the 12th of December.
The sudden benching of Jusuf Nurkic, the Nuggets’ first-round draft selection in 2014, has stirred a pot in the world of Nuggets basketball; however, this is nothing new for the team and the Bosnian beast.
Last season Nurkic faced similar circumstances when he saw a drastic cut in playing time following his return from injury. There was a stretch throughout last season when Nurk was perfectly healthy, but did not appear in eight straight games.
Even after that bizarre eight game span, Nurkic’s playing time was inconsistent for the season’s duration with no real reason as to why he was not playing. Now it seems history may be repeating itself.
Following last season Nurkic hit the gym, slimmed down, and rebranded himself with a ‘Bosnian Beast’ mentality. The hard work and effort payed off as Nurkic got the playing time and starting role he had worked for; however, after a skittish start to the team’s season, his starting spot and playing time were slashed.
Now, a handful of games removed from a reduced role, it is clear tempers are boiling.
“It’s tough. I’m 22 years-old, I’m not here to sit on the bench, I’m here to play basketball,” Nurkic told Harrison Wind. “Tough decision for me, from starting spot for three minutes, to seven, four-straight not play. I’m not accept that. Nobody probably understands my position so even if you don’t know if you’re starting the next game or not. But like I said, you can control what you can control and I let my agent do the rest of the stuff.”
Nurkic’s role with this team has been foggy since the emergence of Nikola Jokic as what could be the Nuggets’ next cornerstone player, meaning things may not be clearing up anytime soon for the other big man – even if he’s been here before.
