Jusuf Nurkic can't seem to catch a figurative break when it comes to literal breaks.
The 7-0 center out of Bosnian and Herzegovina suffered a broken right wrist in the third quarter of Thursday’s game versus the Pacers Thursday night at the Moda Center.
It looks as though the injury occurred around the 8:40 mark of the third quarter, as Nurkic attempted to swipe the ball away from Pacers guard Malcom Brodgon on a drive attempt. Nurkic immediately grabbed his right had, though he was able to contest a drive by Mylers Turner, with the collision sending the Portland center to the floor. fell after contesting a drive attempt by Pacers center Myles Turner. Nurkic tremained on the deck for some time before getting up and immediately heading to the locker room with members of the team’s medical staff.
X-rays taken taken during the game showed a fracture to his right wrist, which, depending on the severity and location of the break, could sideline the center for the foreseeable future.
“Obviously it’s very disappointing for (Nurkic) and for us,” said Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts. “He had a long road back from his other injury, he had a rough start of the season, looked like he was getting back on track. Obviously this is a big setback both for him and for us.”
Thursday’s game was the 20th regular season game Nurkic had played since returning from a broken leg suffering in a win versus the Nets back in March of 2019. His status going forward is to be determined, though he is almost certain to miss significant time with a fractured wrist.
“(Nurkic) is our starting center, we ask him to do a lot of things,” said Damian Lillard. “He plays a major part in our team and our success. So obviously you’re not going to have one person come in and just turn into Nurk, but it has to be by committee. And in the past we’ve always been able to count on guys to come in and fill those holes collectively. That’s what we’re gonna be looking at now.”
Nurkic is averaging 10.3 points on 51 percent shooting, 7.6 rebounds. 2.8 assists, a steal and a block in 23.6 minutes per game this season.