National Basketball Association

Portland Trail Blazers: Team Hitting Its Stride As Long March Begins

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 5:01 p.m. ET

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The Portland Trail Blazers are 4-0 this March, their best stretch of the season. What is the team doing that's making it all come together?

It has been a great March so far for the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Blazers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 114-108 in overtime Thursday night. The win helped Portland improve to 4-0 in March. It also gives them their first four-game winning streak of the season. They are the only remaining undefeated team this month.

The team is getting hot at the right time. This is a huge turnaround from their 2-7 February. The streak puts them within a half-game of the eighth-place Denver Nuggets and the final Western Conference playoff spot.

Several factors can be attributed to the Blazers's current success. Hot shooting is the biggest.

The Portland Trail Blazers are shooting a league-high 51.8 percent from the field this month. That's 2.1 percent better than the second-place Phoenix Suns. They shot 57.0 percent on their best night, a 130-116 win over the Brooklyn Nets on March 4.

Mar 7, 2017; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum (3) shoots the ball over Oklahoma City Thunder guard Victor Oladipo (5) during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Great nights beyond the arc also bolster their high field goal percentage. The Blazers are shooting 45.7 percent from three this month. That's 2.5 percent higher than the second-place Sacramento Kings.

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Portland shot 40 percent or better from beyond in three of their last four games. They shot an outrageous 64.0 percent (16-for-25) on three-pointers in their win over the Nets.

Oddly enough, that isn't their best shooting performance of the season. That distinction goes to their 68.4 percent (13-for-19) night in their 113-104 season-opening win over the Utah Jazz. That mark is tied for best in the league this season.

Portland has also been great at getting to the line this month. Their win over the Sixers saw them shoot 28.6 percent on three-pointers. That was their worst three-point shooting night since Jan. 25.

To compensate, the Trail Blazers were able to draw 29 fouls and 33 free-throw attempts.

Portland has drawn a league-high 25.3 fouls per game in March. By extension, the Blazers average 29.3 free throw attempts per game. That's fifth-most in the NBA this month.

But the Blazers's success can not be discussed without mentioning center Jusuf Nurkic.

Nurkic had his best game ever on Thursday against Philadelphia. He finished the evening with 28 points, 20 rebounds, eight assists and six blocks. All of those marks are career highs.

Jusuf Nurkic has fit like a glove since joining the Blazers. Portland is 5-2 since placing Nurkic in the starting lineup. He has a 24.0 player efficiency rating and has accumulated .175 win shares per 48 minutes. Both of those figures are best on the team.

The rapport between Nurkic and Damian Lillard has been highly beneficial. Nurkic has 19 made field goals off of Lillard's assists. That ties Denver's Will Barton for second-most this season and is three baskets behind leader Emmanuel Mudiay.

It should be noted Barton and Mudiay picked up those numbers over 45 games this year. At the same time, Lillard has jumped up to a second-place tie in only eight games.

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The Denver Nuggets knew what they had with Jusuf Nurkic. However, there simply wasn't any room for him with the ascendance of Nikola Jokic. So they dealt him for a player in Mason Plumlee that was more willing to be a backup.

In turn, Portland received a player that was hungry to prove what he had to offer. Nurkic seems to be improving with each passing game and has been great in the locker room. Now Blazers fans have come down with "Nurkic fever."

Despite this great stride, it's still early in the month with plenty of work to do. For instance, their defense hasn't been up to snuff despite the wins.

The Blazers have scored a league-high 119.7 points per 100 possessions this month. However, they've also allowed 112.2 points per 100 possessions, fourth-worst in the NBA.

They've allowed opponents to shoot 46.7 percent from the field and 40.7 percent from three this month. While the field goal percentage allowed is the league median, they're allowing the sixth-worst three-point percentage this month.

Mar 9, 2017; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic (27) knocks the ball away from Philadelphia 76ers forward Rican Holmes (22) during the overtime at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports

Portland will have to continue to shoot well and get to the line consistently to maintain their success. They will also need to continue exploring what they have in Jusuf Nurkic. He has proven to be a major piece of the team's turnaround.

But defense will also be key. It will be hard to continue their hot shooting against the likes of the Washington Wizards and San Antonio Spurs. The team will need to make more stops if they want to keep pace with Denver in the playoff race.

The Trail Blazers take on the Wizards on Saturday. That's followed by the final big road trip of the season, a five-gamer, starting Sunday. The trip features games against the Suns, New Orleans Pelicans, Spurs, Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat.