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Trail Blazers' Jusuf Nurkic: Will start at center Thursday

Nurkic will start at center for Thursday's game against the Magic, Casey Holdahl of TrailBlazers.com reports.

Analysis:

Nurkic was traded to Portland just prior to the All-Star break and had a strong debut against the Jazz, posting 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists and a steal in just 21 minutes. With that strong performance and another week to get acclimated with the team, the Raptors are now comfortable entering him into the starting lineup. Look for Nurkic to act as the team's starting center moving forward and should push for a much bigger role now that he's with the top unit. Meyers Leonard will likely move back to the bench in the corresponding move, which should mean a decreased role for him as well.

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