Kanter will more than likely not overtake Jusuf Nurkic as the Blazers’ starting center, but so far, he’s been outperforming him despite his status on the team’s depth chart. Through nine games, Nurkic’s averages stand at 10.3 points through nine games, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.4 assists, an immensely disappointing follow-up to his 17.6-10.3-4.0 bubble showing. Kanter this season sits at 10.9 points and 9.7 rebounds, shooting 65.6 percent to Nurkic’s 50.0, despite averaging five fewer minutes. The issue with Kanter is he’s still a shade under 20 minutes per game, but much like Hassan Whiteside (minus the blocks), that’s all he’ll need to approach a double-double on many nights. For his career, Kanter has posted 19.2 points and 12.6 rebounds per 36 minutes, which is up to 20.8 points and 14.2 boards in his last six seasons. You watch games, you look up, and Kanter has 10 and 10 in 18 minutes; it’s just what he does. In the absence of many Boston Celtics, Daniel Theis is another decent choice here.
This article is auto-generated by Algorithm Source: deadspin.com
