6 High-volume NBA stars who are holding their teams back from greater success
Jusuf Nurkic, Phoenix Suns
The facts: The Phoenix Suns have a -4.1 net rating with Jusuf Nurkic on the floor
The case for Jusuf Nurkic: It's a shame that Kevin Durant got injured because the Phoenix Suns were off to a great start to begin the season. In fact, you can make the case that the Suns are still in a pretty good position even with the injury to KD, especially if he's able to return sooner rather than later. When it comes to their frontcourt issues, they are still very much present. Even though the Suns have added to their frontline, the argument has to be made that Nurkic is still the team's most reliable big man on the roster.
But at least to start the season, that belief could be beginning to fade. To say that Nurkic has gotten off to a bad start to the season would be an understatement. At this point, the hope for the Suns is that because of his reputation throughout his career, he'll be able to recover over the next couple of months of the season. However, without that guarantee, it does bring some serious questions about Nurkic's role with the team.
The case against Jusuf Nurkic: Through the first month of the season, Nurkic is only shooting 39 percent shooting from the field and 29 percent from 3-point range. The good news is that Nurkic is still rebounding at a high level but his overall offensive struggles are very much a growing concern. To make everything all the more complicated, the Suns are a better offensive and defense team with Nurkic off the floor. That speaks to his slow start offensively and the fact that he isn't a versatile defender.
Without much better options, I'm not really sure what the Suns' move is even if they wanted to limit Nurkic's minutes. They're kind of "stuck" with him as the starter for now. Historically speaking, especially for a center, it would be surprising if his shooting percentage didn't bounce back in a huge way over the course of the season. But if it doesn't and these early-season trends continue, the argument could be made that Nurkic will be holding this team back from even greater heights.