SPORTS
Friday, October 13, 2017
East Oregonian
Page 3B
NBA
Nurkic wants Blazers to channel Pistons of days past
By ANNE M. PETERSON
Associated Press
PORTLAND — In the loaded
Western Conference where the
Warriors rule, center Jusuf Nurkic
suggested the Portland Trail Blazers
can be the Bad Boys.
Think of the Detroit Pistons of
days past.
“All we can do is put all we
can together and be Bad Boys,”
the 7-footer known as the Bosnian
Beast said. “I mean, we are Bad
Boys. When you come to Portland
you know you’re not going to have
wins easy.”
Nurkic came to the Blazers in
a trade last February and quickly
developed chemistry with his team-
mates. He averaged 15.2 points,
10.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 20
games with the Blazers, who were
14-5 with him in the starting lineup.
His season was cut short by
a non-displaced right leg fibular
fracture. Now fully healed, Nurkic
is again embracing his role with the
Blazers. He dropped 34 pounds this
summer in an effort to be quicker
and more agile.
Portland finished last season at
41-41 before being eliminated by
Golden State in the opening round
of the playoffs. But a late-season
surge after Nurkic’s arrival was
encouraging.
Portland didn’t make a lot of
changes in the offseason. The team
remains anchored by the backcourt
duo of Damian Lillard and CJ
McColllum. Lillard finished last
season with a career-best average
AP Photo/Steve Yeater
Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic (27) drives past Sacra-
mento Kings defender Willie Cauley-Stein (00) during the first half
of an NBA preseason basketball game in Sacramento, Calif., on
Monday.
of 27 points per game, along with
4.8 rebounds and 5.9 assists.
McCollum finished the season with
a career-best 23 points per game.
Nurkic believes the key to the
Blazers’ success this season is
defense.
“Our defense was trash, to be
honest, before,” he said. “We’re
going to be better. When I came
it was better and we’re going to
keep improving that. It’s simple: If
you want to win, you need to play
defense.”
And he’s correct, last season
Portland struggled at times defen-
sively. Although the D improved
after Nurkic arrived, the Blazers
finished 25th in the league for
average points allowed.
Here are some other things to
watch for with the Blazers:
PEAK PORTLAND: Lillard
revealed that he’s trying out a vegan
diet, an effort that’s got him down
to about 190 pounds — close to his
rookie weight. The idea — much like
it was with Nurkic’s weight loss — is
to be a little lighter on his feet.
There’s just one problem.
Wendy’s. Oh, and Five Guys. Lillard
passes both of them on his way
home. But the benefits outweighed
the drawbacks, he said.
“Not only did I feel lighter
moving around the court, but when
I got winded and I got tired, it wasn’t
the same. I felt stronger. I felt good
on the court. It might have its issues
as far as recovery once we start
really getting into the season, and I’ll
address that,” he said. “But it’s truly
made a difference.”
LOOKING AT LEONARD:
Meyers Leonard knows he didn’t do
well last season so he rededicated
himself to his craft over the summer,
working out in Los Angeles with
respected NBA trainer Drew Hanlen.
Nukic’s arrival takes some of the
pressure off the 7-foot-1 Leonard as
he enters his sixth season with the
Blazers, but he still must prove he’s a
solid reserve.
“At the end of the day he’s going
to have to do it on the court,” Blazers
President of Basketball Operations
Neil Olshey said. “Because at some
point — it is still about develop-
ment — but it’s about production.
I think Meyers knows that and his
commitment in the offseason has put
him in a position where he’s ready to
compete.”
IMPRESSIVE
ROOKIES:
Both of Portland’s rookies have been
drawing praise in the preseason.
Portland acquired forwards Zach
Collins out of Gonzaga and Caleb
Swanigan out of Purdue on draft
night.
Swanigan, the former Big Ten
Player of the Year last season as a
sophomore, was named to the NBA
Summer League First Team after
averaging 14.9 points and 10.4
rebounds through the first seven
games.
LEARNING CURVE: For two
seasons in a row, the Blazers have
had second-half rallies that helped
put them in the postseason. But
coach Terry Stotts acknowledges
that perhaps Portland missed out on
the lesson the first time. “I think from
my perspective last year is that we
forgot how hard it is to do what we
did in the second half of the season,”
he said.
JERSEY PATCH: This is the
first season the league will allow
teams to display sponsor patches on
the left shoulder of their uniforms.
For example, the Cleveland Cava-
liers will feature a Goodyear logo on
their uniforms. But the Blazers have
yet to strike an agreement. Team
President and CEO Chris McGowan
said Portland was very close to a deal
but it fell through at the last minute.
FOOTBALL: Burns grew tired of volleyball, Kiele stopped playing soccer
Continued from 1B
in what she could.
“My mom has always
pushed me to play sports,”
she said. “And if I took a
sport off she was like, ‘No,
you’re playing.’”
That’s what led her to
football.
She had basketball down
and was one of the leaders
on the softball team, but it
was the fall sports season that
threw the confident varsity
star for a loop. She had tried
volleyball but didn’t take a
liking to it, and in her final
year at Irrigon she knew she
had to make a change.
Burns had played football
before, during her eighth
grade year at Armand Larive
Middle School in Hermiston.
She starts on Irrigon’s junior
varsity team and has made
appearances with the varsity
squad, which are often later
in the game.
Burns said football has
brought something out in her
that no other sport had.
“You have to be mentally
into it because you’re always
getting hit and sometimes
you just want to take a break,
but you can’t,” she said. “It’s
just all mental, you have to
have mental stability to be
able to withstand the hits or
hit somebody.”
When Burns made the
decision to join the football
squad before the start of her
senior year, the possibility of
being hit was what concerned
her parents, coaches and
extended family. Now that
she is more than halfway
through the season and has
stayed healthy, their concerns
have turned into excitement.
Hunter Kiele was practi-
cally an honorary member
of the Pendleton Buckaroos
football team before she was
officially on the roster. Now,
halfway through the season,
head coach Erik Davis boasts
that she is the best extra point
kicker on the team, as Kiele
is 6-for-8 on the season.
She had been spending
the past two summers
weightlifting with the boys,
but it was never her intention
to join the squad. She played
soccer in the fall followed
with basketball in the winter
— her junior year athletic
schedule was already set. But
a bad experience with soccer
left her looking for something
else to fill her fall slate.
So, when a coach from
the Bucks asked her “Hey
can you kick a football?” her
immediate response was: “I
don’t know, I kick a soccer
ball.”
Eventually,
Kiele
swapped cleats and went for
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Irrigon quarterback Jada Burns throws grounders during special teams practice re-
cently at Irrigon High School.
the pigskin instead of the ball
she was used to.
The transition wasn’t the
easiest, and it took Kiele
awhile to find her footing.
After trial and error, she
realized her kicks were more
successful when she started
closer to the ball.
Like Burns, the most
difficult part of the game was
the mental grit needed.
In Kiele’s case, it required
her to be ready take the field
on a moments notice and put
points on the board.
“I’m only in the game for
what, five seconds, and I have
to be on the whole time and I
have to be ready whenever
just to go in,” she said.
Kiele’s varsity experience
in other sports gave her some
confidence for handling high
pressure moments. But what
she wasn’t ready for was
how she would feel running
onto Pendleton’s Round-Up
Grounds for the first time.
“I have done it all [before
with different teams], but out
on the Round-Up Grounds,
that was the coolest thing,”
she said. “I have always been
watching the games from
the stands but getting to be
a part of it was so cool. The
environment, how everything
works, and how we treat each
other and everything it’s just
so cool.”
The kicker has fit right
in with her Buckaroo team-
mates and has drawn praise
from everybody, from the
coaches to the captains.
“We were a little bit
surprised she actually came
out for the team, but we’re
glad she came out,” senior
captain Shaw Jerome said.
“She’s always positive and
always bring a smile to every-
one’s face when she shows
up to the field. She has a great
attitude towards everything
even if she doesn’t make the
field goal she still walks off
the field with her head up and
she just works hard every
day.”
The culture and camara-
derie from both schools has
made tackling this new sport
easier for both girls. As their
regular seasons wind down,
their decision to join their
respective football teams has
impacted the lives of other
young girls who one day
hope to do the same.
“A lot of little girls have
come up to me and just kind
of latched onto me and I
think it’s really cool that I can
be a role model for them,”
Kiele said. “That’s one of
my favorites part about it, is
(being) that.”
———
Contact Alexis at aman-
sanarez@eastoregonian.com
or 541-564-4542.
EASTERN OREGON
marketplace
Place classified ads online at www.eastoregonmarketplace.com
110 Announcements
204 Automobiles
360 Garage Sales
501 Open Houses
504 Homes for Sales
2014 GMC Terrain FWD 4cyl,
Loaded SLT, Leather, Bluetooth,
Sunroof, more. 29,400K Ex-
cellent Condition, $18,950. NO
Dealers! Call 541-962-5467
Cleaning out sale!
Lots of Christmas, camping,
fishing, golf clubs, gardening,
clothing, athletic wear.... lots of
misc.
1610 SW 18th Pendleton.
Friday & Saturday 8am-1pm
Open House Oct.14
1-4pm
642 NW 7th
Fully remodeled 3 bed 2 bath
1800 sq ft. $179,000 or
Call Heidi at (541)206-9588
For private showing
$142,000- 1160 +/- sq.ft. 3 bed-
room 1 bath on one level. Newer
siding, roof and many other up-
dates. Call 541-379-7802.
Garton & Associates
(541) 276-0931
JUSTIN AND BURKS
Moving and Estate Sale
DOWNUNDER???????!!??
Sign up for your Tour to Aus-
tralia in April 2018. This will be
your trip of a lifetime. The tour is
made to fit the group! Referenc-
es available! Call Kerry 541-377-
6855 or email your questions to
kjcbaird@gmail.com
Turn Here Realty
541-377-6855
166 Good Things to
Davis Orchards Fruit
Stand
9am-5pm
Closed Saturday
Apples: Gala, Golden &
Red Delicious, Honey-
crisp, Granny Smith;Italian
Prunes
53285 Appleton Road
Milton Freewater, Oregon
541-938-7093
181 Lost & Found
Tri Color Corgi missing since
10/6 from my fenced yard in
the Overlook development in
Pendleton. We miss her dear-
ly! (541)969-9743
1-800-962-2819
2011 Ford E-350 Van
Good condition
$6900/ OBO
541-276-2211 ext. 215
360 Garage Sales
Two yard sales on the same
street! A little bit of everything...
household items, womens,
mens and boys clothing, outdoor
items,and much more!
1530 and 1328 SW 44th St
Pendleton.
Saturday October 14
8-3
Downsizing Sale
Glass top, wicker, iron-chair din-
ing set, antique dresser with mir-
ror, w/d, refrigerator, twin beds,
sofa, chair, ottoman, John Deere
lawnmower, pressure washer,
pictures, men’s and women’s
clothing, household and yard
tools. MUCH MORE Great Bar-
gains!
1021 Skyline Dr.
Fri. Sat. 8-2
CLASSIFIEDS GET RESULTS!
Living estate sale. Our client has
sold their Mill Creek cabin of 45
years.
Rustic, interesting collection.
If you like rust, you will love this
sale!
50’s naugahyde sofa and chair-
excellent condition, Coca-Cola
sign and thermometer, huge
collection of crumbers, beer
signs and mugs, rusty tools and
outdoor decor, bird houses and
feeders, great old lanterns, nu-
merous brass blow-torches, 20’s
icebox, huge whale bone, record
albums, black iron lamp post,
snow plow for Honda 4-Wheeler
This sale is being held in our
back barn.
85137 Tum A Lum Road
Milton-Freewater
Saturday 9am-3pm
Sunday 10am-3pm
Credit/debit cards and cash.
No checks please.
No early sales.
Classified Ads work hard for you!
NEW LISTING 5.2 acres of
mountain property 3 b/r 2 bath
manufactured home with de-
tached garage and large shop.
Year round living. Secluded.
$212,900 Call Cathy for more
info (541) 215-0103.
Garton & Associates
(541) 276-0931
Ione-$360,000
For Sale By Owner
364.01 Acres with 164.80 acres
currently enrolled in CRP.
541-422-7485
How Much is your Home Worth?
Call Matt Vogler, The Week-
end and After Hours Realtor,
for a free Market Analysis.
541.377.9470. More Listings
needed to meet current buyer
demand!
John J. Howard & Assoc.
(541) 377-9470
Attention Investors! Reduced
Price, Modern Duplex built in
2012, Stucco Exterior with great
city views. 3 bedroom and 2
bedroom units.Now $179,900.
Call Matt Vogler, 541.377.9470.
John J. Howard & Assoc.
(541) 377-9470
Pendleton - $105,900- NEW!
Sherwood Sweetie!! Great 1st
home or rental! 2 bedroom on
one level. F/A heat. Covered
patio.Storage shed for those ex-
tras! MLS#16530010
CALL: MARGE LAPP
Pendleton Southgate Realty
(541) 276-1957
504 Homes for Sales
$129,900- East end CONDO
IN CLIFFDWELLERS. 3 bed-
rooms, 1.5 baths. Deck over-
looking river. Condo complex
includes swimming pool. Vicki
541-969-9441cell. #17141137
Coldwell Banker Whitney
541-276-0021
Pendleton - $105,900- NEW!
Sherwood Sweetie!! Great 1st
home or rental! 2 bedroom on
one level. F/A heat. Covered
patio.Storage shed for those ex-
tras! MLS#16530010
CALL: MARGE LAPP
Pendleton Southgate Realty
(541) 276-1957
504 Homes for Sales
$194,500- Views!
Classic
mid-century, daylight base-
ment home. 3bedroom, 2bath,
hardwood floors, full basement.
Large deck, fenced private
backyard. Great location! Jef
541 969-9539cell. #17092551
Coldwell Banker Whitney
541-276-0021
$165,000- Investment special 2
homes totally refurbished, w/2
bay shop. 4 bed, 2 bath, com-
pletely redone. Small house
all updated. Large double bay
shop. Marsha 541-377-5152cell.
#17596771
Coldwell Banker Whitney
541-276-0021
$152,000- Pilot Rock!
New
paint on interior, exterior, old
garage. New tile, new vanity and
light fixtures. 2 bonus rooms in
basement. Shop/garage insu-
lated. Cari 541-377-5058cell.
#17283885
Coldwell Banker Whitney
541-276-0021
FIND IT in the
East Oregonian Classifieds