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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION MEDIA CONFERENCEMarch 21, 2018Jusuf NurkicNew York, New York Q. I know the winning streak is over now, but is there any point recently which you realized you guys were legit? JUSUF NURKIC: No, man. We don't feel the winning streak is over. We just feel it was a good game. We had our chance to win, but I thought we really competed and had a close game. It was really close. We believe in what we have here, and we believe we can play against this team. We have another chance in Houston soon, so we're really excited about that. Q. What has be the key to your recent success? JUSUF NURKIC: We believe in what we have, man. Like I said, there are a lot of good teams in the West. We know it's going to be difficult to win this in this conference. So we really need to compete and be at your best to win games, especially with how tight all the teams from the 3rd to the 8th spot. So it's really going to be until probably the last game to see everybody be in their position. But we're excited with what we have here. Q. A lot of teams go small, but you are more of a traditional post-up center. How can your game help your team to be successful the rest of the season, and especially in the playoffs against a team like Golden State or Houston? JUSUF NURKIC: The league has changed a little bit, and everybody tries to play small ball, like you said. But there is a lot of ways I feel the big man in this league matters. I think every couple years it's going to change, and it's going to come back to the tradition of big man. But right now Houston's trying to follow Golden State and play small ball. Q. Here in Puerto Rico we have special interests from the Trail Blazers, given the fact that Moe Harkless and Shabazz Napier are of Puerto Rican descent but have not yet played with the National Team. What do both of them bring to the team, and do you recommend them to have the experience, one that you've certainly had? JUSUF NURKIC: I mean, definitely something they need to see and look at how they feel about that. But they bring the team a lot. This team needs them every night to compete. What they bring to the table is huge for us. But everybody needs to recognize how important playing for their own country is, and how much could they bring [to playing in international competition]. So I believe at some point they're going to play for Puerto Rico, but right now they're just focusing on the Blazers and playoffs. Q. Do you feel your team has taken a step forward and can win in playoffs? JUSUF NURKIC: Yes, definitely. We have a goal. We believe in what we have. Hopefully our health can be good and everybody can contribute in the playoffs. So we're really excited about what we have. Q. Coming out of Bosnia, are there any athletes in Europe that you've looked up to growing up? JUSUF NURKIC: Not really. I mean, my idol would be Kobe [Bryant], but he's not playing anymore. But I started playing basketball really late, when I was almost 15 years old, so I didn't have many idols growing up. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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