On Monday, March 25th, Jusuf Nurkic's leg crumbled simultaneously with the Portland Trail Blazers' playoff hopes.

Without their third best player, interior anchor and one of the most league's underrated bigs, the Blazers have a large void with just two weeks before the postseason begins. The gruesome injury resulted in compound fractures of the tibia and fibula for Nurkic, who is undoubtedly done for the year. His season averages of 15.6 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 3.2 assists are difficult to replicate.

The Blazers' long-term concerns lie with Nurkic's health and rehabilitation, but in the interim, they face winning a playoff series. Replacing Nurkic will be done by committee, with head coach Terry Stotts relying on the tandem of 2017 lottery pick Zach Collins and scoring center Enes Kanter. The outcast Meyers Leonard could have a role to play as well.

Whoever steps in will have the responsibilities of anchoring the Blazers defense: Cleaning the Glass estimates they were 5.2 points per 100 possessions better defensively with Nurkic on the floor, a top-ten percentile impact across the NBA.

Kanter, in particular, seems to be Stotts' choice to eat the lion's share of minutes since the injury. He's started all three games and played an average of 27 minutes in those contests. His signing was once thought to bolster their bench scoring but is now crucial to their survival.
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Yet, Kanter has a woeful defensive reputation, particularly once postseason play rolls around. He can be a positive force in games when he scores and rebounds, but his fit with this Blazers group is less than ideal.

Each year, the Box and One does in-depth coverage of the NBA Draft, with mock drafts, big boards, and player analysis. The coverage grows annually, with more in-depth breakdowns, and the hope to some day expand through video.

Check out our big board for 2019 here

You can venture over to the Box and One and see several changes to the landscape and formatting this season, updating not only our analysis but our presentation. Since the site is run via Google Sheets, all categories and statistical measures are sortable, giving you the opportunity to do your own research based on the advanced stats and analytics, physical profiles, position, or team.

Innovation is never easy. It requires an understanding of what has already been done, a willingness to possibly fail and a vision for something new. The game of basketball is not rocket science, nor do the X's and O's innovations that take place have massively important consequences.

But understanding the changes and new concepts in a game can help coaches stay ahead of the curve and run some pretty sweet sets.
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Today, we look at three such tweaks to how an offense is run for players with elite skill sets. Such innovations are propelling teams to consistent success, while others provide an "ace in the hole" for whenever a quick bucket is needed. Basketball junkies will fall in love with some of these the same way I have.

​The bottom half of the Western Conference playoff picture is a cluster. Four teams separated by a half-game are all competing to avoid the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets in the first round.

Scheduling, health and streakiness will play a large role in the final three weeks of the season in determining where teams are seeded.

Perhaps the least talked-about team among that group are the Los Angeles Clippers, a rag-tag collection of cast-off veterans and upstart youngsters scrapping for all they have earned. Despite trading best player (Tobias Harris) at the deadline and shipping away another veteran perimeter defender (Avery Bradley), the Clippers are 10-3 since the All-Star Break.

What makes them so dangerous?

Nikola Jokic has emerged as one of the league's top offensive big men. His rise has helped the Denver Nuggets become one of the top two Western Conference teams all season despite numerous injuries and changes to their rotation. Jokic special is as unorthodox as they come, combining fancy and unique passing with a soft touch near the basket.

He anchors an NBA offense all while looking like a YMCA post.

The Nuggets have a top-three offense in terms of efficiency, and a lot of that comes from how coach Mike Malone deploys his Serbian big. Few teams utilize back-to-the-basket situations as much as the Nuggets, revolving around Jokic's inside-outside game.
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But pounding it inside to an All-Star seven-footer averaging 20.5 points and 7.7 assists is just the beginning.