Portland Trail Blazers: 5 bold predictions for 2017-18 NBA season

3. Jusuf Nurkic earns an All-Star bid

Barring any long-term injuries, I think Damian Lillard is a shoo-in for an All-Star bid.

But between C.J. McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic, I think Nurkic has the best chance of earning the second bid for Portland. Playing the numbers, there are simply more chances of earning an All-Star bid as a frontcourt player than as a backcourt player.

Similar to Lillard’s case, however, Nurkic HAS to play the majority of the season leading up to All-Star selection. Assuming he does, I think we can all expect Nurkic to be averaging close to the 15.2 points and 10.4 rebounds he averaged in the 20 games he played for Portland last season, thus solidifying his All-Star bid.