Going into Media Day, one of the main points of interest was Jusuf Nurkić’s physical transformation in the offseason. Admittedly out of shape when he arrived in Portland after the trade that sent Mason Plumlee to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for the 7-0 Bosnian and a 2017 first round pick, Nurkić entered the offseason with a renewed dedication slimming down. That goal became even more important after his season ended due to a non-displaced fracture in his right leg, for fairly obvious reasons. So it was no surprise that the first questions Nurkić was asked when he took the podium at Media Day was about his weight loss. While fans and media alike were able to generally track Nurkić progress during the offseason thanks to his prolific use of social media, it was still just short of startling to see the “Bosnian Beast” in uniform for the first time since losing roughly 35 pounds. But while a slimmer, trimmer Jusuf Nurkić might look a bit less beastly, he noted that Portland’s mentality and approach this season, especially an increasingly difficult Western Conference, needs to be anything but.