Nurkic a catalyst for elite offensive basketball against his former team

Photo by Cameron Browne/NBAE via Getty Images“Fit”.

It is the word that Mat Ishbia and James Jones used on Phoenix Suns Media Day when referencing the acquisition of Jusuf Nurkic from the Portland Trail Blazers in late September. While their outgoing center surely possessed great physical attributes and abilities, what they were looking for in return was someone who excelled at using his mind; someone with a high basketball IQ.

On Thursday night at the Moda Center in Portland, we witnessed that vision in action.

I know, I know, it is only the preseason. There is only so much you can take away from a performance that technically doesn’t count. This isn’t the NFL preseason, however, and the…