Trail Daddy: A Trail Blazers Podcast Hosted by Dave Deckard

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We start with Game of Thrones speculation (not spoilers) and realize how many parallels there are between a series against the Warriors and the winding down of the Song of Ice and Fire. But it is not all doom and gloom as we look at just how tough the competition is, why we can’t say enough good things about Damian Lillard and just how much he and the rest of the Blazers have accomplished. We talk about Meyer’s Leonard’s big night, Zach Collins’ ceiling in the coming years, and Maurice Harkless shooting well. Unlike Westeros, we have next season to look forward to! Tune in to all of this and more on the latest Blazer’s Edge podcast. @tcbbiggs @dmarang @blazersedge Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sports activist, journalist and public speaker Shireen Ahmed (@_shireenahmed_) joined the WHAT podcast to share her experience as a Muslim woman and explain some of the nuances of the religion as it pertains to professional athletes. We learned more about her role as co-host of the Burn It All Down feminist sports podcast, heard how she got started in sports activism, and talked about how people in Toronto (where she is based) are reacting to the Raptor’s trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. Follow Blazer’s Edge on Twitter @blazersedge, WHAT Pod @HoopsAndTalks, Tara @tcbbiggs, and Cassidy @CassidyGemmet. This week’s guest: @_shireenahmed_ Women’s Hoops And Talks (W.H.A.T.)Join the Women’s Hoops And Talks Facebook group to talk about Trail Blazers with others who identify as women who love basketball. Music used in the episode: "Happy Alley" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What a week it has been for the Portland Trail Blazers! Like a lot of Blazer fans, Dan and Tara are still trying to figure out what is real and what is fantasy. Listen to the latest edition of the Blazer’s Edge Podcast, where we answer your questions about a wide variety of topics: will Aminu and Harkless have a bigger impact in the Golden State series than they did against Denver? Who should the Blazer’s bring back, Hood, Kanter or Curry? What kind of defense can we expect to see and what will the Warriors throw at the Blazers? All this and more, thank you to our Twitter friends for all of the questions! @BlazerTagPDX, @DizzyZbo, @jamesonnus, @nnnductle, @JaketheTailg8r, @C_Sabroe, @mighty_JoeSab, @tomwilsonone@DaBrain19, @genelaor@roselharding, @mevans212, @Schmalejandro1, @showmeyourblazr Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sports Illustrated senior writer and co-host of the Open Floor Podcast, Andrew Sharp (@andrewsharp), joined the show to talk about being a long time admirer of the Trail Blazers’ fan community and how he got started writing about basketball. Then Andrew and Tara reflect on the post-season so far, what do the Blazer’s accomplishments look like to the national observers, how disappointing would it be if they exit in the second round, and what should be their biggest concerns? As a long suffering Wizards fan, what does he think are the similarities and differences between the Lillard/McCollum and Wall/Beal back courts? He has interviewed and written about Jusuf Nurkic and Rodney Hood, what did he take away from those conversations? Does he prefer chaos or excellence in his NBA performances? All this and more on this edition of the Blazer’s Edge Podcast. :38 Sharp’s long time late night fascination with Blazer’s Edge. 2:08 Where he falls in the Greg Oden/Kevin Durant debate 5:33 How he got into sports writing 12:20 How the Blazers look in the post-season, from a national perspective 17:20 How would he feel about going into next year if he was a Blazer fan?19:20 Admiration of Lillard and McCollum and their steady improvement year over year. 22:03 Talking with Jusuf Nurkic about Lillard’s ability to lead and help other players find their way 25:17 #EmbraceTheChaos vs #ConnoisseursOfExcellence 31:06 If the Blazers make it to the second round, what would those matchups look like?36:57 Sharp’s fondness for Rodney Hood. Where did it come from? 41:33 Looking forward to finding out what happens in the off season Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

US Senator Ron Wyden joined us to discuss his love of basketball, what he has learned from playing, and why he is speaking up for Enes Kanter. But first we had to react to Friday night’s quadruple-overtime victory. Listen to Dave Deckard, Danny and Tara talk about the first three games of the Western Conference Semi Finals and what the Blazers will likely do to finish out strong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the latest Women’s Hoops And Talks podcast, Tara and Cassidy talk with Kat Jayme, the filmmaker behind Finding Big Country. The movie documents her search for her childhood hero, former Vancouver Grizzles big man, Bryant Reeves. She talks about how she got into basketball, how the movie came about and why it was important for her to find Bryant Reeves. Listen to learn how Jayme came to terms with not becoming a professional basketball player herself, how she combined her loves of basketball and filmmaking and what she is working on next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trail Blazers Television Analyst Lamar Hurd (@L_Hurd) joined Team Mom to give his observations about the Western Conference Semifinals Game 1 and where the Trail Blazers could go from here. Did Denver do something to disrupt CJ McCollum’s early hot shooting? How can Moe Harkless and Al Farouq Aminu impact a game if they are not scoring? And what could be the key factors that determine the outcome of the series? All this plus Lamar’s story of what Damian Lillard’s game-winning shot meant to him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We invited Brendan Vogt from the Denver Stiffs onto the podcast to tell us all the secrets about the Denver Nuggets. We learned more about the guys who play alongside ultra-talented center Nikola Jokic, and how they dealt with a significant lineup change in the middle of the playoffs. A lot of things we learned about the Nuggets--young core built around the career trajectory of their star, solid locker room culture, a coach who is in tune with the players--sound a lot like the Trail Blazers. Will the edge in experience give the Blazers the edge in this series? We’ll find out soon enough! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

00:02 Brooke Olzendam, Trail Blazers Sideline Reporter 05:55 Charlene and Arinze, mother and son, Blazers Fans for life, season ticket holders 11:59 Janis, fan and season ticket holder 14:27 Jamie Hudson, NBC Sports Northwest Trail Blazers reporter 17:01 Michael Lewellen, Vice President of Corporate Communications for the Portland Trail Blazers and the Rose Quarter 22:33 Dillon Sage, Co-host, Holy Backboard Podcast 24:58 Ashwin, long-suffering Timberwolves fan 28:33 Adrian Bernecich Blazers’ Edge writer, Melbourne, Australia 30:50 Vanesa, Bosnian fan of the Trail Blazers 34:14 Shain Brendan, Co-host, Blazers Outsiders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alex Haigh joins Tara and Cassidy to talk about what it was like to be a Blazers Outsider this season. After sharing which NBA players they would want to be stuck in an elevator with, they discuss what NBA awards they would give out. These are not your regular NBA awards, so tune in to find out who will be awarded most vicious fan chant, best performance in a basketball drama, most average player in the NBA, and which team besides the Blazers will be the best team to root for next season. Follow Blazer’s Edge on Twitter @blazersedge, WHAT Pod @HoopsAndTalks, Tara @tcbbiggs, and Cassidy @CassidyGemmet. This week’s guest: Alex Haigh (@owlhix) Women’s Hoops And Talks (W.H.A.T.)Join the Women’s Hoops And Talks Facebook group to talk about Trail Blazers with others who identify as women who love basketball. Music used in the episode: "Happy Alley" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of the Blazer's Edge podcast, Tara Bowen-Biggs and Danny Marang take a look at the last two games against the OKC Thunder and what it means for the Blazers as they look to clinch in Game 5. Danny is actually optimistic, which is terrifying, and Tara tries to temper Danny's expectations- will she be successful? Praising Damian Lillard, breaking down pick and roll changes, the arrival of Moe Harkless, Russell Westbrook being all talk, and much, much more on this week's episode! Intro Opening Comments Feeling good about the Blazers right now 1:30 Businessman like manner 4:00 I'm glad that the sweep bothered them and motivates them even today 6:00 Tara doesn't want to overreact just yet 6:45 This Thunder team looks a lot like the Blazers last year 8:00 Strongly held beliefs! 8:50 Is Schroder trying to be Pat Beverly Jr.? 9:50 So many classic moments from Damian Lillard in this series 11:00 Has Lillard been the best player in the playoffs so far? 12:30 Can we say Dame and CJ can play together now? 13:30 This has been CJ's best performance to date 14:00 CJ has elevated his game 16:00 Danny makes a false claim about Aminu- Aminu is all things awesome and Danny regrets mixing Chief up with Zach Collins. 18:20 The Blazers are struggling around the rim and it's not clear why. 20:00 Dame has been fantastic getting to the rim 21:00 Game 3 recap - Russell Westbrook & Paul George get one! 22:00 Ranking storylines for the playoffs- Dame's play, Stotts game plan and defensive intensity 23:00 Dame and the Blazers being aggressive and going for steals 26:00 Moe Harkless has been fantastic on the defensive end on ball, off ball, helping and everywhere in between. 29:00 Maybe looking ahead to a match up with San Antonio or Denver... MAYBE 32:00 Things, in a weird way seem to be lining up for the Blazers 34:00 Moe Harkless looks like he's having fun and everyone loves it 38:30 Blazers shooting doesn't make a ton of sense right now, will it hold? 41:00 Tara is loving isolation basketball 44:00 Slight tweaks in the pick & roll that are paying off big time Closing Comments Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CJ McCollum got his playoff win and so we called up Jennifer “I’m trying Jennifer” Williams to talk about the Portland Trail Blazers. We learned why she tweeted at McCollum in the first place, what her day was like after the “I’m Trying Jennifer” tweet went viral, why she thinks the sentiment struck a chord with Trail Blazers fans and how life has been since she became internet famous. We also talked about how the first round of the playoffs is going, how far she thinks the Trail Blazers can go, and what she thinks of a potential Golden State Warriors vs Houston Rockets Western Conference Semi-Final match up. We also asked how in the world the Warriors blew a 31 point lead to the Clippers? Jennifer was such a great sport, we hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed talking to her. Follow Blazer’s Edge on Twitter @blazersedge, WHAT Pod @HoopsAndTalks, Tara @tcbbiggs, and Cassidy @CassidyGemmet. This week’s guest: @ChocDelight1980 Join the Women’s Hoops And Talks Facebook group to talk about Trail Blazers with others who identify as women who love basketball. Music used in the episode: "Happy Alley" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blazers’ Edge Podcast takes a look at what is working: why the defense is clicking and how the offense is humming. It might not be the prettiest basketball they have played all season (we miss you Jusuf Nurkic!) but it is effective. Will it work when the Trail Blazers head to the Chesapeake Energy Arena? How will the Trail Blazers handle being in the driver’s seat? We recap notable performances by Maurice Harkless, Meyers Leonard, CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard. So much Lillard. Programming note: the next WHAT podcast will be out this weekend. Follow us on twitter: @dmarang, @tcbbiggs, @blazersedge, @hoopsandtalks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stephanie Ready (, NBA on TNT Virtual Reality broadcaster and host of The Bounce on Yahoo Sports joins the Hoops and Talks podcast to discuss her life-long love of basketball and what it was like being the first woman to be a coach on an mens professional basketball team. She gives us great insight into what coaches do to prepare for games and the playoffs and how she prepares for games that she covers as a sideline report and analyst. Then we get a primer on Virtual Reality broadcasting and what the experience is like. Stephanie will be cover two games of the Portland Trail Blazers vs Oklahoma City Thunder series for NBA on TNT. Find her at game two on April 16 and game four on April 21. Get Social Follow Blazer’s Edge on Twitter @blazersedge, WHAT Pod @HoopsAndTalks, Tara @tcbbiggs, and Cassidy @CassidyGemmet. This week’s guest: @StephanieReady Women’s Hoops And Talks (W.H.A.T.)Join the Women’s Hoops And Talks Facebook group to talk about Trail Blazers with others who identify as women who love basketball. Music used in the episode: "Happy Alley" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

NBA on TNT & NBA TV analyst and former Portland Trail Blazers guard Greg Anthony joined the Blazers Edge podcast to preview the upcoming series between the Blazers and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Anthony breaks down the matchup between Damian Lillard and Russell Westbrook, describes the team as still pretty “formidable” even without Jusuf Nurkic and thinks they have a shot at winning the series. He also talks about what it is like as a player to prepare for the playoffs and gives his take on how the Blazers can defeat the Thunder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of the Blazer's Edge podcast, Tara Bowen-Biggs and Danny Marang are joined by the illustrious Steve Dewald (aka Dave Deckard in Training or DDIT) to take a look at the Blazer's season, how it all feels now that it's coming to a close, expectations and broken hearts, a look at the most likely playoff matchup with the Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, Joe Ingles and the Utah Jazz, what is fair to expect of Enes Kanter and Rodney Hood, a look at the upcoming Nike Hoop Summit and more! IntroOpening Comments2:40 How does this season feel now?4:50 Were expectations met?7:00 Most likely scenario for the Blazers…the Jazz7:40 Damian Lillard wants to rest8:30 Anything to take away from Denver match ups?10:00 Matching up with the Utah Jazz10:40 “We have a Hulk”11:40 Redemption stories in the Jazz series; Rodney Hood & Enes Kanter15:20 When the playoffs start will we see the same things the Blazers have done all year?18:00 New series, same question - will the Blazers role players show up?22:20 What do you think Kanter’s assignment will be?26:40 How will Portland deal with the pick & roll?31:20 Trying to find the positive in the match up32:30 We’ve seen what playoff defenses can do to Lillard36:00 What would you consider success for the team at this point?40:00 Is it fair to ask Lillard to deliver in the playoffs this year?43:00 Lillard gets hit with a “flopping warning” vs Nuggets44:15 Relationships between players and referees49:00 First look at the new crop of future stars at Nike Hoop SummitClosing CommentsOutro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Tara and Cassidy welcomed Kayla Osby (@nuggetchica) from denverstiffs.com onto the show to help Portland Trail Blazers fans get to know more about the Denver Nuggets. Their wide ranging conversation includes talk about t-shirt slogans, NBA twins, Nuggets lack of playoff success and what it is like to be in a town where basketball is the third most important sport. We caught up on how Will Barton and Mason Plumlee are doing and how the Nurkic trade felt to Nuggets fans. Then we talk about the upcoming games and what is the key to beating the Nuggets and who are some of the players besides Nicola Jokic the Blazers need to watch for? Get Social Follow Blazer’s Edge on Twitter @blazersedge, WHAT Pod @HoopsAndTalks, Tara @tcbbiggs, and Cassidy @CassidyGemmet. This week’s guest: @NuggetChica. You can also email us at [email protected]. Women’s Hoops And Talks (W.H.A.T.) Join the Women’s Hoops And Talks Facebook group to talk about Trail Blazers with others who identify as women who love basketball. Our last Blazers WHAT meetup of the year is on April 9, 7:30 at McMenamins on Broadway. Come watch the Blazers take on the Lakers with other women who love basketball! Music used in the episode: "Happy Alley" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we invited Adam Mares, Site Manager for the Denver Stiffs, to join us to talk about Jusuf Nurkic, centers in the NBA and to prepare for the weekend doubleheader between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Denver Nuggets. :50 Jusuf Nurkic, we miss you, big fella.3:45 Thoughts from Adam, only empathy for the fans and best wishes to Nurkic for a full recovery from fans in Denver. 7:15 Where the Trail Blazer season stands right now9:10 Comparison to Wesley Matthews injury.11:45 What are the options for the Blazers moving forward? Collins will play more. When Paul Millsap was out almost all season in Denver, it was a growth opportunity for some of the players. 16:00 With Nicola Jokic as an example, how has the center position evolved in the last few years, or has it? There really is no prototypical center any more. 22:15 Blazers are not in a position to make any big decisions right now. 24:15 The character of the Trail Blazers is that Damian Lillard is loyal to his teammates. And now the team is playing well, it seems less likely they will make any big changes in the off season.26:15 How do the Nuggets go from missing the playoffs to fighting for the number one seed in the west?(27:15 But first a brief digression about Lonzo Ball and LeBron James)28:45 What is Jokic like as a leader? On the court, he truly loves the passing game. He is definitely the person they go to in the clutch.33:00 Locker room leader is tough to identify, in some ways it is the coach, Mike Malone. 35:15 Are there ways that The Blazers and the Nuggets are similar? Jamal Murray and Damian Lillard play in a similar way although Lillard is much better. Both Jokic and Nurkic are excellent passers. Lillard and the Trail Blazers have uncommonly good locker room chemistry.37:45 How is Denver going to fare in the playoffs?41:00 When game planning for and against Denver, what do you look at? 46:15 Find Adam at denverstiffs.com and @adam_mares Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tara and Cassidy have a quick chat about Jusuf Nurkic and add their best wishes to the outpouring of support from Portland fans. Then they are joined by Nitz Bluvstein (@nitzbluv), a frequent guest of the Daily Dings podcast and general Twitter instigator. Get to know Nitz and hear her takes on NBA Twitter and how basketball kept her in touch with friends when she was far away. Then she gives us an outsider perspective on Damian Lillard and how he will perform in the playoffs. Finally she tells us what she really thinks about the Golden State Warriors chemistry and where Kevin Durant might end up. All this plus our very first listener email! Get Social Follow Blazer’s Edge on Twitter @blazersedge, WHAT Pod @HoopsAndTalks, Tara @tcbbiggs, and Cassidy @CassidyGemmet. This week’s guest: @nitzbluv Women’s Hoops And Talks (W.H.A.T.) Join the Women’s Hoops And Talks Facebook group to talk about Trail Blazers with others who identify as women who love basketball. Music used in the episode: “Happy Alley” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

‘Twas the night before Blazer’s Edge Night and some of the staff’Gathered together to talk Blazers and laugh . . . Join Tara, Danny, Dave, Cassidy, Miles, Steve and Paul of BlazersEdge.com as we go over what we’ve seen from the Blazers so far this season. Have they met, exceeded or fallen below expectations? Which first round matchup would be best for the playoffs? What do the Blazers have to accomplish in the post-season to preserve the core of this team? All this and more on the latest Blazer’s Edge podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amara Baptist, the voice behind Trail Blazer’s twitter, joins the WHAT podcast to talk about being on the road. On the latest WHAT podcast, Tara and Cassidy talk to Blazer’s Digital Content Manager Amara Baptist to find out more about being on the road. Pizza rolls. Fro-yo. Ugly photo vests. Bench reactions. Take a tour of the NBA Arenas with someone who has seen them all! 00:55 Icebreaker: what is your go-to game snack? Tip: Ice cream sandwiches on the 300 level are the best!3:38 How is the first season with the Trail Blazers going?5:25 What was the seven game road trip like? Really (really!) long. Good bonding experience. 6:20 Who does the travel planning?7:30 What are other NBA Arenas like? Are they all pretty much the same or do they have their own personalities?8:31 Looks forward to going to Toronto, Staples Center, Detroit’s new arena is beautiful, but she really judges an area on the quality of their wifi. 11:00 Which arenas have the best amenities? Amara stays very on-brand with praise for Little Caesars Arena, Barklay Center, Staple Center has a frozen yogurt/soft serve station at half time. 14:30 Are there any places that are tough to play in? Philadelphia was really tough on their own team.16:00 Where does media and team personnel sit? Best used to be Oklahoma City but they have moved media farther from the scorers table. Milwaukee seating is really far away.18:29 Usually sit with the NBC Sports Northwest people. Media has to wear photo vests, visiting teams don’t have to wear them.21:00 Close games are the most stressful.22:24 Favorite things to watch for for posting on social media? Bench reactions.23:34 What is the etiquette about saying “hi” to someone who is working at a game? 26:35 Coffee talk: This week’s recommendation is Cinder Cone from Never Coffee Lab.28:00 Check out Amara on social : @amarabaptist and @trailblazers plus, check out her podcast, Social On the Sidelines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Danny out sick, Dave Deckard, Managing Editor of Blazer’s Edge joined Tara to discuss all the implications of CJ McCollum’s injury. How will the starters adjust? Who slides into his spot? Will that disrupt the bench? What are the implications for playoff seeding? Who is their best matchup (hint: anyone but Golden State)? So many questions and Dave his here to answer them all. Get well soon Danny and thanks to Dave for sitting in! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve been speculating a lot this year about what is going on with the San Antonio Spurs. Will they make it to the playoffs without the Big Three? Will Gregg Popovich retire? What is it like since Kawhi left and, of course, how is LaMarcus Aldridge doing? To answer these questions before the teams meet up on Saturday, we went straight to the source and called up Marilyn Dubinski (@alamoaggie) a writer for our sister site poundingtherock.com. We asked Marilyn all these questions and learned so much more: that she loved watching the Spurs with her grandmother, that her dad used to work out with George Gervin, and where she thinks all the wildlife in the arena comes from. Tune in for all of this plus one of Cassidy’s famous icebreakers: in a Zombie apocalypse, which three NBA players would you pick to be on your survival team? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of the Blazer's Edge podcast, Tara Bowen-Biggs and Danny Marang take a look at the week that was, Maurice Harkless' inspired play, CJ McCollum post all-star break shooting revival, Tara cursing the Blazers in Memphis, Anfernee Simons getting minutes, the Blazers missing Evan Turner, Thunder-Blazers, playoff match ups and more! Intro Opening Comments :20 Tara makes a Dan joke 1:00 Tara goes to Memphis 5:30 Chandler Parsons yoga mats 7:15 Looking back at the OKC game 9:00 Ball stopping and lack of player movement 12:30 Thunder are 4-0 vs Portland, do you want to see them in the playoffs? 14:00 Blazers bench looks rough without Evan Turner running things 14:50 Seth Curry and playmaking 17:00 Differences between running sets/plays and shot hunting 19:00 Harkless continues to play well! 21:15 This version of Harkless is what Portland needs 22:30 Tara's Harkless-Nurkic theory 26:00 Blazers as a team, struggling from 3 recently 28:00 Evaluating Kanter (again) 33:00 Will/Should Collins be out there more right now? 35:15 Floor spacing bench units 38:00 ANFERNEE SIMONS TTIME! 39:10 Tara doesn't like Dan to enjoy things 41:35 Facing the Denver Nuggets twice to end the season 44:00 Things are swell in Golden State! 46:00 Looking at seeding and potential playoff match ups 52:00 Closing Comments Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We got real nerdy on this week’s episode of the WHAT podcast and invited Brit Robotista (@britrobotista) onto the pod to go over the basics of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) and the NBA league owners. She helped us understand why it exists, what it holds, what happened in the summer of ‘16, and how we might prepare ourselves to understand what options will be on the table the next time Damian Lillard is up for a new contract. Get out your pencils and your legal pads and take some notes (or not, you can relax with a glass of wine and that’s fine too), we’re diving into some really important stuff, with a wonderful tour guide to help us understand, WHAT is the deal with the CBA? Follow Blazer’s Edge on Twitter @blazersedge, WHAT Pod @HoopsAndTalks, Tara @tcbbiggs, and Cassidy @CassidyGemmet. This week’s guest: @britrobotista Women’s Hoops And Talks (W.H.A.T.)Join the Women’s Hoops And Talks Facebook group to talk about Trail Blazers with others who identify as women who love basketball. Music used in the episode: "Happy Alley" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of the Blazer's Edge podcast, Tara Bowen-Biggs and Danny Marang take a look at the Blazers going 5-1 on the 7 game road trip, taking care of business against the teams you should and coming up just short in Toronto to Kawhi Leonard, Blazers trying new lineups, playing a new style at times, Portland not relying on Damian Lillard to go for 30 a night, Jake Layman's heel turn, the revival of Moe Harkless, Rodney's breakout performance in Charlotte and more! IntroOpening Comments2:00 Thoughts on road trip so far3:10 Rodney Hood and self care5:10 Tara’s favorite part of the Hornets game5:50 Lillard not forcing the takeover of the game7:20 Portland ball movement and ranking 24th in assists9:00 Actively looking to get guys involved11:00 Trying things that they might see in the playoffs11:50 Dame & CJ not having to be THE guys every night14:40 CJ doing more than impacting the points column16:00 Looking at the bigs vs Toronto17:30 Blazers playing with Kanter and Collins19:00 Balancing minutes for development vs going after it now20:30 Different lineups and celebrating the Blazers bench… weird21:40 The revival of Moe Harkless25:00 Tara believes it was positive reinforcement for Moe that made the difference25:20 Moe can’t ever take off the headband28:20 Tendency breakers28:30 Meyers Leonard the Big Ice Cream Scooper31:00 Blazers and defensive changes32:00 Aminu’s adventures in dribbling35:00 Chasing Westbrook, PG & the Thunder38:00 Kanter and trolling Westbrook/Adams41:00 Portland’s desire to go in on offense and let the chips fall43:00 The sweep by NOP really bothered a lot of guys- can it be a motivation46:30 Dan, the eternal optimist49:00 Portland cannot drop the game to the Thunder51:30 Wanting Jake Layman to be a heel53:15 Update on the ‘Intensive Purposes’ commercialClosing CommentsOutro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the latest Women’s Hoops And Talks (W.H.A.T.) podcast Tara and Cassidy get to know one of the newest Blazer’s Edge writers, Lindsay Hostetler (also known as Corvallis Foodie on Twitter). She talks about what it was like growing up a Seattle Sonics fan in a small Washington town, how she became a fan of the Blazers and what she likes about writing about the team. Then we all chime in about what we will be watching for from the Trail Blazers as they close out the regular season. How will the ball move? Will they play some, a lot, or just enough defense? Finally, we speculate about some of the front runners in the Western Conference. Will Denver suffer in the playoffs due to lack of playoff experience? What could we learn about Damian Lillard by watching Chris Paul, and is this really it for the San Antonio Spurs? Follow Blazer’s Edge on Twitter @blazersedge, WHAT Pod @HoopsAndTalks, Tara @tcbbiggs, and Cassidy @CassidyGemmet. This week’s guest: @corvallisonian Women’s Hoops And Talks (W.H.A.T.)Join the Women’s Hoops And Talks Facebook group to talk about Trail Blazers with others who identify as women who love basketball. Music used in the episode: "Happy Alley" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

IntroOpening Comments 2:16 First two games since All-Star Break 2:43 Enes Kanter impressions. Skilled big man who lives in the paint and gets rebounds. 3:14 How the siging of Kanter demonstrates the Blazers are all in on offense. 4:34 There's going to be buckets everywhere. 4:53 48 minutes of Nurkic and Kanter is going to be a lot for any team to deal with. 5:30 Kanter can do things that Nurkic can't do in the post. 6:21 Kanter has more offensive consistency than Nurkic, but less eye popping. 7:14 Why do people say Kanter is bad at defense? He doesn't take up as much room as Nurkic. He's a step slower. 8:03 He's also not the worst defender. They are probably not going to struggle all that much, he doesn't give up more than he gives. 9:03 Is there any kind of defense that he is decent at? He's passable at most, you just want to leave him under the rim and hope me keeps people away. He just needs to be his best offensively 9:39 Will Collins see the court again? 11:33 Collins is better at help side or pick and roll protector. He's still not great at defending the rim. But most people in the NBA are not great at defendin the rim. People are just too good at offense now. 12:50 What if other teams go small? Is Collins a better possibility in those situations? 14:21 Stotts is putting in lineups to push the pace and get up the floor. 15:42 How much time do the Blazers have to experiment with the lineups? 18:35 Offensively, in the first two games back, Damian Lillard has not had to force the issue. 20:03 The ball is moving really well. Dame and CJ don't have to hunt for so many shots. 20:35 Other teams have historically gone after Damian Lillard at the end of games to wear him out. But the last two games Damian Lillard's usage rate has been significantly lower. 21:02 Blazers are 14-1 in games where Damian Lillard's usage rate is less than 25.1 % 22:22 A discussion about players "carrying their weight". 24:02 McCollum has come up big lately in his ability to do more than just score. Rebounding, steals, defense, etc. 24:46 Rodney Hood and Jake Layman have been good at timely production. Moe Harkless too. 26:02 Damian isn't the only one who can spark a run now. Other players like Jake or even Moe lately have stepped up with the key, well-timed energy plays. 27:14 Moe made his presence felt in both games after the All Star break. 29:05 Moe Harkless has tapped into something, lets keep it going. 30:27 Damian Lillard's signature move, the baseline step back fadeaway in traffic. 33:22 Catch-and -shoot guys have signature moves in ways that they get themselves open. 34:41 More praise for Damian Lillard because you can't say enough good things about him. Referencing his interview with Chris Haynes. 35:52 How much better are the Blazers after the new additions and how much credit should also go to continuity? 38:10 Ed Davis praise for Jake Layman. 39:55 Would Bringing in big stas in years past beeen as effectve as the culture that Damina Lillard has grown in portland. 41:23 Looking ahead to Cleveland, Boston and Toronto 42:47 Take care of business in Cleveland. 43:33 What are the Bachup centers like for the upcomin games? What kinds of a challenge will he pose for Kanter? 45:34 Which Blazers has the best opportunity to shine this week? Lets see if Moe can keep it going. 46:36 Jake has become a regular and 47:54 Enes the Menace. Good nickname? 48:26 Nurkic and Kanter trash talk on top of teams having to battle two big players for 48 minutes 49:28 Blazers already made the Warriors melt down before they added Kanter to the roster. 51:32 Thank you to everyone who made Blazers Edge night a reality again! Closing Comments Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dan Marang and Tara Bowen-Biggs discuss highlights from All Star weekend including Damian Lillard’s outstanding performance in Sunday night’s game. Then they compare what happened in the Trail Blazers’ loss to Oklahoma City to how things went down in the win against Golden State. Short answer: Zach Collins. Finally they dig into one of the most exciting things the team has done lately--bringing in Enes Kanter to finish out the season. What are the skills that he brings? How will minutes be redistributed? Who's playing time will suffer the most? We can’t wait for the games to start and see what happens. Join us for all of this and more on the latest episode of the Blazer’s Edge Podcast. Follow us on Twitter: @Blazersedge, @dmarang, @tcbbiggs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Tara and Cassidy talked to Diana Allen from SLCDunk.com to learn more about Rodney Hood and then they talked to China Parmalee from Knicks blog, PostingAndToasting.com, and Rebecca Lawson from MavsMoneyBall.com to hear from both sides of the big Kristaps Porzingis trade that went down last week. Find us on twitter: @hoopsandtalks, @tcbbiggs, @CassidyGemmett, @dianaallen, @Chinqua, @beccaaftersixEmail us: [email protected] COFFEE TALKA blend with mad hops like Jake Layman: Ethiopia Bombe from Dapper and Wise, has hints of an orange creamsicle and caramel candy with a prominent hops flavor. Music used in the episode: "Happy Alley" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Help send kids to a Blazers game, buy tickets for Blazers Edge night Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of the Blazer's Edge podcast, Tara Bowen-Biggs and Danny Marang take a look at the Blazers since adding Rodney Hood, what's new, what's different, what could things possible look like going forward? After that it's a look back at the 4th quarter meltdown in Dallas? What happened- was Luka Doncic too much? Then it's time to whip around the league to review the deals made or not made and where that leaves teams in the pecking order- are there any new threats to the crown? How about in the Western Conference? All that and more on this week's episode! Intro :55 Opening Comments 1:30 Burn the tape and move on 3:00 What was going on there (Dallas getting to the rim)? 6:00 Was Dame going nuclear in the 3rd quarter a good thing? 7:50 I don't think that game is indicative of where they are -Tara 10:00 How much of it has to do with the deadline and adding in new players? 10:20 If I gave you these names could you get 50% of them? 12:30 There is not an argument to be made, Hood is better offensively than Harkless or Aminu 15:00 Turner and Hood- will Turner step on Hood's space? 18:00 Surprised with Hood defensively 18:30 Blazers add Skal Labissiere 21:00 I wish they had a more plug an play, ready to go big man 24:00 Collins playing more center and big man rotations 26:20 It doesn't matter who starts, it's who finishes 28:25 Philadelphia adding Tobias Harris 31:55 Bucks pick up Nikola Mirotic 32:00 Dan pays his bet to Casey 38:00 Mavs taking their time with Kristaps Porzingis 40:00 Ignoring the Lakers all deadline 42:00 Moves made around the Blazers 45:00 Looking ahead to the Thunder and Jusuf Nurkic centered offense 48:00 Blazer's Edge Night reminder!! Closing Comments Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this episode of the Blazer's Edge podcast, Tara Bowen-Biggs and Danny Marang go through the ins-and-outs of the Rodney Hood trade, look to future - are the Blazers done? What could Portland do between now and the deadline, what they hope Portland will do and what will most likely happen as they read the tea leaves. Beyond that they discuss why Nikola Mirotic is not the answer for the next move, Damian Lillard landing as a surefire all-star, Blazer's struggles in all-star events not named the Skills Contest, Puppy Bowl > Kitten Bowl and more!1:00 Danny wanted to talk about Titanic but the Blazers made a trade! 1:20 Nik Stauskas and Wade Baldwin for Rodney Hood. 2:15 Is Hood a shooting guard or a small forward? 3:15 Nik saying goodbye was sad. 3:40 Dan is a jerk to everyone who lives in Cleveland. 4:30 Get to know Rodney Hood 5:41 Drafted by Utah 3.5 seasons. Injured as a rookie. 7:01 Difference between his Utah stint and his Cleveland stint. 7:40 He will probably play the 3 and hopefully do everything Harkless is supposed to do. 8:30 Hood fits the profile of players Neil Olshey likes. 12:20 Are they done? Will they be moving on from Harkless or Jake? 13:56 Making a deal with Sacramento 16:30 Portland doesn't like paying the luxury tax 19:02 Will Hood start? 20:08 This move elevates the Blazers to the top 4 teams in the west ,solidly. 21:29 Hood is not a siloed player, he can cut and shoot and handle the ball. 23:07 Will Mirotic be the next move? 25:33 Seems unlikely that they would make a move that would displace two starters 28:33 Taurean Prince? 30:52 All in all a good deal. 33:10 It seems like Hood believes he is coming to play, so either Harkless or Layman is probably on the way out. 33:55 Dan thinks Harkless looks pouty. 35:29 Playoff experience. how important was it for them to get someone with playoff experience? 37:32 Hood has somewhat checkered playoff experience 39:36 Denver doesn't have much playoff experience. Its not like they just didn't make it, they blew it, two years in a row. 42:58 Damian Lillard an All Star reserve 44:09 San Antonio now has a new crop of Vampires. 47:37 Who will pick Damian to be on his All Star Team first? 48:56 Brook Lopez has remade himself. 53:08 No puppy bowl spoilers! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1:39 Journey from blogspot blog to Blazers Edge 3:36 How did you explain to people what blogging is?? 4:54 What was it like when you went from making all of your own stuff to doing stuff with OregonLive? 6:26 The old days of forums on OregonLive 8:45 Transition from Oregonian to Trail Blazers. Right after Oden draft. The Trail Blazers were going to be good and they wanted to really dive into digital content. 11:30 Imatrailblazersfan.com and other innovations by the Blazers. 12:40 Blazers were ready for social media. 16:00 the case for letting guys fight. 16:15 Team Mom was ready to punch Greyson Allen. 18:15 Utah game and Meyers Leonard stepping up! 19:45 This was the Meyers Leonard everyone has been wating for . 21:55 Dame and Meyers played some of their best pick and roll coverage. Meyers and Dame's defense was impressive. 22:58 Zach Collins was robbed of a block. 23:40 should Seth have grabbed Damian's rebound? 24:20 What change did Terry Stotts make defensively from the first two Utah games to the last two? 26:05 Tara: Waiting to announce that Nurkic was out was a masterful move 27:17 Trail Blazers history of being cagey about injuries might be bad for fantasy sports players but really pays off for the teams in cases like this. 29:05 What was with the Nik Stauskas tribute video during the Utah game? 30:21 Who turns to conspiracy theories whenever someone sits out? 32:34 This team has always held everything very close to the vest. 35:10 When you look at rumors about Portland, who benefits the most? 36:55 What is trade deadline like when you work for the organization? 39:05 When you work for a team you have to be more cautious about what you put out there as a representative of a team. 40:09 Even guys like Peter Vescey get rumors wrong. 41:20 More bets by Dan that the Blazers will be under the Luxury Tax line. 42:04 Casey: if they can do it without losing a key piece, but more likely they will be trying to add. 44:50 Dan is on TV, Casey is not, Dan is going to have Casey on the show when their schedules allow. 46:05 Knicks/Mavericks trade 50:01 Has anyone ever dove so enthusiastically into the tank as the New York Knicks right now? 51:27 For the Knicks sake, Kevin Durant better be coming to New York. 52:46 The whole situation is wonderfully Knicks. 53:05 Neither Casey nor Dan think AD will be moved before the deadline. 55:24 Why this matters. 56:27 Laker's everything--is it really anything? 57:46 Tara: you guys are so boring! 1:00:07 Pelicans will sit Anthony Davis for the rest of the year. 1:01:46 Will Wesley Matthews end up back in Portland? 1:06:05 Melo: why won't national media stop talking about Melo coming to Portland? 1:10:15 Outro. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of the Blazer's Edge podcast, Tara Bowen-Biggs and Danny Marang take a look at the Blazer's recent run of play, Jusuf Nurkic against top competition, CJ McCollum possibly rounding into form, the never ending Jake Layman v Moe Harkless debate, trade rumors that do and don't matter and more!1:44 How Did the Blazers play against two strong centers? Rudy Gobert? 3:00 It was nice to see Nurkic really get after Gobert and the Jazz 4:19 In almost every game you can poinpoint the moment Nurkic "engages" 6:06 Nurkic had a 6X5 against the Jazz if you count turnovers and Fouls 8:04 How did OKC limit the ball going through Jusuf Nurkic? Steven Adams backed off him and said "go ahead and shoot" and cut off his passing lanes. 9:34 State of assists for the Portland Trail Blazers 12:39 Anything to be learned from Phoenix and Atlanta games? 13:46 Atlanta game was a good night for CJ McCollum who has been looking a lot more like himself over the last 10 games. 16:53 CJ has always been able to do a lot of these things but he hasn't done them because he's alongside Damian Lillard, for example pick and roll and playmaking. 18:31 How much did CJ's triple double matter? It was fun being in the arena. 19:29 Vince Carter! The older you get the more stuff you have to wear. 21:28 Harkless vs Layman, who should start? 21:58 Dan's frustration with Moe is about effort every night. With Jake you know he's there every night 23:21 Layman is one of those guys who works off screens and almost never stands still. Plus he dunks! 24:25 Moe is more a spot up shooter who runs to his spot and waits. 25:21 Jake is key to the "Warrior-izing" of the Blazer's offense. 26:31 It is a hard to decide which one is better as a starter because they are so close. The team record with the two of them as starters is basicall the same and their scoring numbers are nearly identical. 28:44 Jake doesn't get to the line much yet, can he get better at it? 29:40 Moe should probably start but may play fewer minutes 30:12 The good news is there are choices. 30:39 Layman probably has a wider ranges of things he can do offensively. How many guys can go off for 20 points in a quarter. 32:10 What to make of rumors that Portland has shown interest in Memphis' players either Garrett Temple of JaMychael Green. 34:00 Dan wants "cool guy" deals only. 34:28 Mike Conley would look nice next to LeBron in Los Angeles. 36:42 A trade involving one of these guys would be doing something for the sake of doing something.. 37:54 What games are you going to be watching when the Blazers are not playing this week? 40:46 Update on Tara's pledge to buy a Blazers Edge ticket for every alley-oop in December and January. 41:22 Meyer's Leonard's almost dunk over Vince Carter! 42:34 Choosing between Alley-oop dunks and alley-oop layups 44:14 In addition to the weird travel schedule there are also some early games so there may be some Outsiders shows and WHAT meetups in our jammies and slippers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we are checking in with folks in Phoenix and Sacramento to find out how the number one and number two draft picks are living up to expectations. First we talked to Gina Mizell of the Athletic about DeAndre Ayton, chosen first by the Phoenix Suns. What is Ayton like? How is he getting along with first time NBA head coach Igor Kokoskov? Will he and Devin Booker be a powerful force in Phoenix? Then we reconnect with Jill Adge who joined us right after the 2018 draft to tell us about how fans felt about Marvin Bagley III. The Sacramento Kings are off to one of their best starts in years and people are still mad that they didn’t pick Luka Doncic. Join us as we catch up with Gina and Jill and learn more about some of the league’s rising stars. Along the way we talk about LEGO robotics, NBA and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) We speculate about a possible Bagley and Dame Dolla collaboration, and ask how former Trail Blazers pick Harry Giles (traded along with Justin Jackson for Zach Collins) doing in Sacramento? 3:30 Sports and technology 7:45 Introducing Gina Mizell of the Athletic9:10 Path to covering the Phoenix Suns: Houston, Oklahoma, Oregon, Denver and Phoenix12:00 What is it like working with people you grew up watching in the media?16:20 How is the DeAndre Ayton experience going in Phoenix? Ayton is a double double machine so far, plus he's shown growth. Nowhere near his ceiling but there are flashes.18:20 Background on Ayton. Grew up in the Bahamas, moved to Arizona. Spent high school, college and his NBA start all in or around Phoenix. 20:15 Big and open personality. She is writing a series about what he has learned from match ups against veteran centers. 22:00 What he is learning about the game from players like Jokic and Embiid. 1567.710665 26:00 Fans knew the young roster was going to have to grow together and there would be growing pains. 27:05 They only have a few wins but they have beaten Nuggets, Celtics and Milwaukee.28:40 Booker and Ayton's chemistry is developing. Booker is trying to learn how to be a point guard or at least distribute the ball more.32:30 Cassidy thought she was over the Trail Blazers picking Greg Oden over Kevin Durant but maybe she's not . . . 33:40 Talking to Jill Adge about the Kings. Marvin Bagley's ultra quick jumping abilities are real!39:30 Does it sting at all not to have Luka Doncic? It is still a daily conversation. Not sure how he would have fit in with the style the Kings are playing now? 41:10 Bagley is easy to root for.46:35 It is fun to actually hear people around the league talk about that the kings are fun. Nice to not be the laughing stock of the league.47:30 Outro Some of the STEM stuff we talked about:Oregon Robotics Tournament Outreach ProgramNBA Math HoopsNBPA Internships at Google and FacebookChris Bosh Coding the Future Get Social Follow Blazer’s Edge on Twitter @blazersedge, WHAT Pod @HoopsAndTalks, Tara @tcbbiggs, and Cassidy @CassidyGemmet. This week’s guests: Jill Adge (@jilladge) and Gina Mizell (@GinaMizell)Women’s Hoops And Talks (W.H.A.T.)Join the Women’s Hoops And Talks Facebook group to talk about Trail Blazers with others who identify as women who love basketball. Music used in the episode: "Happy Alley" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Trail Blazers are coming off of a 2-2 week and Tara and Dan dive into what we learned from the losses and the what we can take away from the wins. How bad was it losing to Denver and Sacramento? Does having only 4 turnovers against the Cleveland Cavaliers really tell us anything? Will Jake Layman average 20 points a quarter from here on out? Will there be someone else playing alongside Nurkic if the Blazers make a move at the trade deadline? We weigh in on the Ringer’s proposed CJ McCollum-for-Aaron Gordon trade that has gotten so much buzz this week--you can guess Dan has some thoughts--and then list our choices for the All Star starters. Join us for all this and more. 1:45 Recapping the week that was. Denver and Sacramento6:10 Cleveland and New Orleans7:30 Is this the Nurkic who is going to be there in the future? 8:40 What can we take away from the League's the lowest turnover game on record? Less bounce passes to seven footers. 12:50 Oral history of the Jake Layman experience against New Orleans16:10 Jake is fun to watch and he's got some attitude too.21:50 CJ McCollum for Aaron Gordon trade proposal 33:10 Is Jake Layman one of the top five guys in the league at running? 34:20 Advantage to Orlando is they have a clear number one guy. 36:40 In the existence of the luxury tax the Blazers have only paid it three times. 38:30 All Star Voting returns39:10 Who are our picks for the All Star Game? Western Conference first43:30 Eastern Conference players45:25 Let Zion Williamson be in the Dunk Contest48:00 What to watch for with Utah and OKC coming up. 49:10 vs Utah, don't go away from Nurkic. 50:40 Zach Collins alongside Jusuf Nurkic, will we see more of that this road trip?52:10 Phoenix and Atlanta games53:00 Casey Holdahl’s laugh54:30 Outro Find Tara (@tcbbiggs) and Dan (@dmarang) on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of the Blazer's Edge podcast Tara Bowen-Biggs and Danny Marang take a look at the upcoming trade deadline and explore what Portland is possibly doing in the lead up to the midseason break. Will they be looking to add to the roster? Will they opt to fall inside the luxury tax and make moves on the periphery? Why would Jeremy Lin's name pop up out of nowhere? Beyond that, they take a look at the past week of very business-like basketball where Portland went 4-1 on a 5 game home-stand, Nurkic v Jokic, what we know now about this team that we didn't to start the season and more! Intro Opening Comments 2:00 Taking care of business 5:00 Tara doesn't like to call teams good or bad 6:30 Reviewing the Blazers-Nuggets game 7:45 Jusuf Nurkic v Nikola Jokic 9:00 Why you don't double-team Jokic 10:30 Thoughts after Denver game 12:00 Tara doesn't like Jokic because there's no flash... is she wrong? 15:00 What do we know now about this team that we didn't know to start the season? 19:00 They ran a post up for Jake Layman 20:30 Breaking down shot opportunity 23:30 Auditioning Collins for a starting role? 26:30 Will this Blazers roster look the same after the all-star break? 30:20 Every team is making and taking calls to find where other teams sit 33:00 Teams know what other teams are looking for 35:00 Reading the tea leaves around Jeremy Lin and Atlanta... Taurean Prince 39:00 Buyout candidates and the Blazers - a rabbit hole 47:00 Upcoming schedule - padding some wins before the break 51:00 Jusuf Nurkic and the Blazer's new style- how will it do vs AD and the Pelicans 56:00 Closing Comments Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Trail Blazers have reached the halfway point in their season and the NBA is weirder than ever. Tara and Cassidy take a look at the last three Blazers games, wonder if Jake Layman should get a starting role and if Noah Vonleh would still be making an impact in Portland. Then we turn to the big question: can NBA players be friends? And how do friendships unite fans? We spoke to some superfans who have bonded over their love of the Trail Blazers even though they are 67 years apart in age! We had a wonderful time talking to Arinze and Charlene McGee and Soosie of The Golden Girls Who Love the Portland Trail Blazers. 1:30 Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets, a rare home and home back to back: what did we learn?6:00 More Jake? Moe Fun? What to do with the Jake Layman Maurice Harkless debate?10:30 Basketball is full of hard decisions.12:00 An easy decision, firing Tom Thibodeau. Players don’t need to be yelled at. 13:00 If the Trail Blazers didn’t have Terry Stotts (and they couldn’t have Gregg Popovich) who would be a good coaching fit for the team?15:00 Noah Vonleh was a good teammate and he’s doing well in New York19:00 Basketball friendships! Can players be friends?21:00 The ultimate basketball friendship: the Banana Boat gang.22:00 Other basketball friendships: Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum, Gerald Henderson, Wayne Ellington and Ed Davis, the Three Goggle bench mob, Rudy Fernandez and Sergio Rodriguez25:30 PSA: Don’t forget to vote for Damian Lillard for All Star26:00 Fan friendships, how basketball unites us. 29:00 Talking with Charlene and Arinze McGee and Blazer Fan Soosie of the Golden Girls Who Love the Portland Trail Blazers. 31:30 How they all met34:30 Who are the Golden Girls Who Love The Trail Blazers?36:30 Arinze diplomatically refuses to name a favorite Trail Blazer40:00 Soosie’s house is Trail Blazers Disney World43:00 Charlene became a Blazer fan when her family moved here from Liberia46:00 Being friends and bonding over the Blazers allows us to see life in different ways and from different perspectives48:30 Friendships formed around sports cross all sorts of boundaries52:00 Game day routines53:30 Arinze gives us a report on young prospects and star sightings at the Les Schwab Invitational57:00 What would you tell your friends to get them to watch basketball?1:04 Basketball bringing families closer too1:07 Outro and reminders: donate tickets to Blazers Edge night, come to the next #BlazersWHAT meetup on January 13, vote for Damian Lillard for All Star!Get Social Follow Blazer’s Edge on Twitter @blazersedge, WHAT Pod @HoopsAndTalks, Tara @tcbbiggs, and Cassidy @CassidyGemmet. This week’s guests: Charlene McGee (@CAddyMcGee), Arinze McGee@ArinzeMcGeePDX and Soosie of the Golden Girls Who Love The Portland Trail Blazers. Women’s Hoops And Talks (W.H.A.T.)Join the Women’s Hoops And Talks Facebook group to talk about Trail Blazers with others who identify as women who love basketball. Music used in the episode: "Happy Alley" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of the Blazer's Edge podcast Tara Bowen-Biggs and Danny Marang have an off day pod to take a look at the night that was for Jusuf Nurkic, Damian Lillard's All-Star odds, the Blazers going back in time, resorting the Blazers offense, where does CJ McCollum fit in now, storylines to be left in 2018 and more! Intro Opening Comments 2:00 Lillard All-Star odds 4:00 The schedule gets "less bleak" after a brutal December 5:20 "I don't under stand how the Blazers are playing every other night" 6:20 You can run the offense through Jusuf Nurkic 8:00 Takeaways from the Nurkic 5x5 performance 9:10 How would Nurkic react without having the ball? 11:00 Nurkic picking and choosing his moments better this year 12:30 Harkless has the ability to be THAT guy nightly, that's what's frustrating 16:20 "Moe is filling that 3rd option." 17:30 "I love it when he (Aminu) brings the chaos." 20:30 "Right now I think it's best that Dame is the 1st option and then Nurkic (with the ball) as the 2nd option." 23:00 "I love the bounce pass...but please throw one over the top." 24:40 Have the Blazers found something to counter what teams will throw at Dame? 29:00 Thoughts on Seth (Curry) and the 2nd unit's performance lately 34:35 I worry that the match ups have favored Nurkic recently, how will h e do 35:00 Nurkic has spent the last few years figuring out his skills and what it all means within the context of the team 38:00 CJ McCollum and his evolution within this new offense 42:00 What are the storylines you want to see left behind in 2018? 43:00 Zach Collins should start 46:00 Feeling sorry for the Warriors 47:10 Saying Meyers Leonard isn't good 50:10 It's not how much the Blazers pass, it's where they pass to Closing Comments Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After exchanging holiday baking stories, Tara and Cassidy briefly discuss Portland Trail Blazers highlights from 2018. They wonder why the can’t remember anything before last season’s playoffs and look forward to the Blazers getting through this really tough stretch. Then stay tuned for our conversation with KOIN TV sports reporter and anchor AJ McCord. She grew up an athlete, learned about sports from her mom and grandma (Go Chargers!), and has great stories about covering the Blazers including talking to Damian Lillard about the shoes he wore opening night in honor of Paul Allen, traveling to New Orleans to cover the NBA Playoffs, and how she is able to relate to the players after a big loss. 1:00 Pastry talk2:45 Why can't we remember anything that happened before the playoffs?6:30 Go vote for Damian Lillard for All Star! We'll wait. 11:00 How are we feeling about the rest of the Blazer's season.13:20 Relax everyone, LeBron is intact. 15:05 Introducing AJ McCord, sports reporter and anchor at KOIN 6. Grew up in San Diego. College in San Diego, internships and adventure sports in Colorado. Sports reporter in Fayetteville, Arkansas. 21:05 Growing up, her Mom and Grandma were the ones who explained sports to her. 23:50 Covering the Olympic qualifying events in the run up to the 2014 Olympics. Discovering the excitement for and her love of the Paralympics. 29:00 How did being an athlete prepare her for her job covering sports?31:05 Blazers game day routine. The most important parts for her are the pre-pregame warm-ups and the post game locker room. 33:45 Highlights from her time in Portland: Traveling to cover the NBA Playoffs in New Orleans, talking to Damian Lillard about his opening night shoes that he wore in honor of Paul Allen, and getting to know the players. 38:00 Thoughts on Blazers locker room and what is good about good chemistry. 41:00 Having guys get along in the locker room is important, but does a locker room need some fire to really succeed?44:30 Find AJ on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. She would love to hear you ideas for local sports stories: [email protected]. Get Social Follow Blazer’s Edge on Twitter @blazersedge, WHAT Pod @HoopsAndTalks, Tara @tcbbiggs, and Cassidy @CassidyGemmet. This week’s guest: AJ McCord (@AJ_McCord) Women’s Hoops And Talks (W.H.A.T.)Join the Women’s Hoops And Talks Facebook group to talk about Trail Blazers with others who identify as women who love basketball. Music used in the episode: "Happy Alley" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of the Blazer's Edge podcast, Tara Bowen-Biggs and Danny Marang try to make sense of the last few weeks, why the Blazers suddenly can't defend the 3-point line, weird starts and bad endings to games, firing up the trade machine, the turn "against" CJ McCollum Intro Opening Comments 0:20 Why can't the Blazers defend the 3-point shot? 4:00 What is Kyle Korver known for doing? 4:25 What should you never do on Kyle Korver? 5:25 Tara agrees that Danny is objective, kind of 6:15 The lack of effort makes me want to pull my hair out 7:00 Doncic had to redeem himself after Aminu dunked the life out of him 9:30 I want to come up with a reason, but there's not a lot of stuff outside of effort & decision making 9:55 Who are we to know what is creating this perceived lack of effort? 12:50 Portland hasn't won a game trailing heading into the 4th quarter this season 13:50 Damian Lillard scores a lot in the 2nd half but what's going on in the 1st? 15:50 Starting the game through Harkless or Nurkic 17:40 and now.... Back to back with the Warriors 20:40 Asking around about trade value in Portland, it wasn't pretty 21:40 I've never heard the cries for a trade, this loud 23:30 Twitter questions! 24:00 Fire up the Trade Machine! 25:50 The way people talk about trading McCollum now is different 28:40 What are the options for Jody Allen or a prospective owner going forward 29:20 Spotting the next up & coming player and making the move 30:40 The team that keeps popping up around the league as a landing spot for CJ, Dallas 31:00 Does Harrison Barnes move the needle for CJ? 34:10 The market is not aligned for Portland to capitalize right now 39:50 Article on Ed Davis and being shocked about Ed Davis being let go... 40:30 How letting Davis go gave more opportunity to Leonard and Collins 44:50 Getting wrapped up in the role players and not seeing the bigger picture 45:20 Maximizing Leonard and Turner by optimizing their skills 50:20 Tweet for the optimists... what are you excited about? 54:00 Demanding more from the organizations 56:20 Tired of the same hamster wheel... I want a new wheel. Closing Comments Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of the Blazer's Edge podcast, Tara Bowen-Biggs and Danny Marang are joined by Blazer's Edge alum, formerly of Sports Illustrated and the Washington Post's newest national NBA writer - and all around great guy, Ben Golliver. Together they hit on the state of the franchise from ownership, the ties that Portland has through their fans, looking forward to the trade deadline, trading for Jabari Parker, Jusuf Nurkic's growth, the future for Damian Lillard and much more! Intro Opening Comments 2:30 Pro-"Danny" stance 4:30 ELI5, a Blazer's fan 8:50 Relationship between front office & ownership with the fanbase previously & going forward 9:20 Taking Paul Allen for granted 12:15 Stability of the franchise 14:20 Looking forward to new ownership 17:15 Does the uncertainty of ownership effect players? 19:20 Top tier players and "ownership" of the franchise 20:30 Damian Lillard's future 22:15 Jabari Parker and the Blazers 24:50 Parker as a basketball fit and another chance 28:30 Is this the year that Portland makes a deadline move of consequence? 31:00 Portland "green lighting trades" right now 33:00 Jusuf Nurkic a year after Ben's feature piece 34:20 Nurkic vs Anthony Davis and going forward 38:00 Can Nurkic hold up in high-level playoff situations 38:30 Is this a make or break postseason for this Blazer's team? 44:10 Parity in the NBA 46:20 Aminu Appreciation Society 50:20 Portland making a pivot and trading someone like Aminu 55:00 How does the upcoming trade deadline look? 55:20 Wildcard trade possibility for Chris Paul? 58:00 Ben's newsletter at the Washington Post Closing Comments Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s WHAT podcast features a hypothetical playoff scenario (that the Blazers would win), who would be the best retired Trail Blazer to have on the broadcast team, and what should Santa bring for the team this season? Then Tara and Cassidy are joined by Anna Jane Smith of Raptors Twitter for a tutorial on getting started with basketball statistics. 0:45 Come to the Blazers WHAT meetup watch party!5:45 If the playoffs started today. (which has already changed) the Blazers would play OKC, how do you think the Blazers would do in a seven game series against them? 8:45 Which former Blazer would you like to have as a broadcaster 10:30 A bit about Clyde Drexler on Dancing with the Stars12:00 What should the Blazers ask santa for this year? 16:30 How do you watch a game? 19:30 Introducing Anna Jane Smith how she got into basketball.21:45 Helpful stats for evaluating individual players? Simplest stats are often the best. 23:30 In real time you often see what you expect to see. Sometimes it takes watching a second 25:15 time to figure out what is really going on.25:30 What do you look at to figure out what is going on with a player vs what is going on with a team? Look at lineup data. What combinations are working and what combinations are not working? 27:45 Regularized Adjusted Plus Minus adjusts for teammate quality and opponent quality.32:15 Jacob Goldstein's Player Impact Plus Minus, Luck adjustment. 34:00 Defenses used to have less control over 3-point make rates, but that is changing as teams are learning how to be more effective guarding against the 3-point shot. 36:00 Would you prefer your team take more 3-pointers with a lower success rate or a fewer 3-pointers with better accuracy?39:30 Do you think the league might use stats to make policy changes? 44:30 We can use numbers to bust through narratives a bit, to check assumptions about what we think is going on. 49:30 Some basics to get us started. Player Impact Estimate (PIE) from nba.com, watch for productivity vs impact stats, Cranjis McBasketball for Points Over Expectation (tutorial),ESPN’s Real Plus Minus, Player Impact Plus Minus, BBall INdex, Basketball Reference, NBA.com 53:45 Writers to follow: Jacob Goldstein, Jeremias Englemann, Cranjis McBasketball56:45 Follow Anna on twitter @AnnaJaneSmith4 57:15 Just kidding, not really done! When is a sample size not small anymore? And don't forget to pull the Phoenix game (or Bulls) stats out! Music used in the episode: "Happy Alley" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Blazers have won two in a row, are they back on track? Will Jusuf Nurkic get a triple double this year? Why have Damian Lillard's numbers trended upwards these last few weeks? Has the team turned over a new leaf or are those just turnovers? All this and more on the latest edition of the Blazer's Edge Podcast. 1:20 Intro/Dan's new Toy/Placing a bet in Vegas 7:00 Blazers vs Phoenix, a "must not-lose" game 10:00 What did we learn from the Minnesota game? 13:00 Physical Nurkic is tough to guard or score on. 14:30 Turnover troubles 16:30 Dan wants Nurkic to have the ball more. Alright then, who loses touches? 19:40 Damian Lillard is on pace to get the scoring average record, surpassing Clyde Drexler. 20:45 Blazers went a whole game without giving up a 30 point quarter. 21:45 Debating Jake Layman vs Maurice Harkless in the starting lineup? 23:50 Seth Curry's minutes needed to go to Jake Layman 27:50 Layman runs and runs and runs. 29:15 Lillard's minutes have trended up lately. With the difficult stretch coming it would be good for those to go back down. 35:00 Will point-Nurk get a triple double? 36:40 Have we seen the best and the worst of this team? 38:00 What is behind Nurk's transformation this season? 42:50 Is the bench in a funk? 46:15 Have the Blazers turned the corner? 48:15 Jake Layman's mustache story and random Sinead O'Connor talk. 51:45 Would you make a trade for Trevor Ariza "There's not good reason for Ariza". 54:30 What type of owner do you want to buy the Blazers? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We search for answers to why the Portland Trail Blazers are losing and what they can do to break out of this funk? Is their poor defense really just about effort? What can coaches and players do to get them back to their early season success? Plus, lots of your twitter questions! 2:45 Effort really seems to be the problem with the defense: Lack of communication, late for rotations, giving up on plays, dying on screens . . . You can't waste a 37 point 10 assist night from Damian Lillard. 6:00 What has happened to communication? 8:00 Zach Collins appears like he's in his own head, like he is trying to fight through these last few weeks of sub-par play. 9:30 Even Al-Farouq Aminu is getting caught out of position. Need to get back to the basics of communication. 10:30 Meyers Leonard and Collins playing together, is this a change to pair Collins up with someone. 12:30 Is it time to shake up the lineups, or try something new. What would you try? 13:20 What about adding Wade Baldwin to the lineup? Or moving Aminu to the bench and Collins into the starting lineup. 15:45 Twitter questions: Where do we go from here? 16:30 Tara: try mixing up the lineups or putting Jake Layman back in. 19:30 Dan: Team needs a swift kick in the . . . and Tara volunteers to have individual conversations with each of them about how they need to win so Dame can be a starter on the All Star team. 20:45 What happened to the flow of the bench unit? They only attempted 11 shots on Sunday night. Is it time to give Anfernee Simons minutes? 23:30 Jusuf Nurkic seems to be finishing inside well this season. Should he be getting more shots? 25:30 When Aminu is missing, why do they keep giving him the ball? That is the scouting report, telling other teams to leave him open. 26:30 Is C.J. McCollum getting more heat than he deserves? Dan thinks the heat is probably just about right. 27:45 Nurkic is putting up career high averages in most categories. What more can you ask for from him? 28:30 Why don't the Blazers play Nik Stauskas more in the second half? 30:00 C.J. vs Gary Harris, on the court and in theory. 34:30 Its frustrating right now not to be able to talk about potential trades. The team is still in limbo after Paul Allen's death. 36:15 The schedule this season seams weird. Is there a different rhythm to it this year that might be behind the lack of focus? 38:05 Why do the Blazers hate us? Is it time to panic? 38:30 Why is every team exceeding their three point percentage average against the Blazers this season? 42:00 If effort is the problem isn't that the coach's job? 43:30 Why has Layman fallen completely out of the rotation? 47:30 Coaches can't tinker too much with lineups because then it looks like they don't know what they are doing. 49:00 Everyone should get a 100 lb hammer to walk around with. 50:00 How do you take care of yourself after a Blazer loss? 52:30 There isn't one thing we can pin the recent slump on. We just have to wait for the team to figure it out. 54:30 New play in the Blazer's play book, the Damian Lillard/Meyers Leonard special 3 second pin-down on Patty Mills. 55:30 Wrap up. 57:30 Blazers Edge Night, March 27 against the Brooklyn Nets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We check in with our friends Sabreena Merchant from Silver Screen and Roll and Clipps Nation and Jannelle Moore from Bball Index to find out how the Clippers, Lakers and Golden State Warriors are doing so far this season. 04:09 What were the expectations for the Clippers this season and how are people thinking about them now? 07:30 Fan favorites of the Clippers: Montrezl Harrell, Boban Marjanovic 09:45 How are things going since Doc Rivers lost his role as the GM? 12:00 Clippers weaknesses: need someone who can score a lot when they face a really good defense. And they need a defensive center for the future. 16:00 What is the difference between Clipper fans and Laker fans? 17:45 What are the expectations for the Laker fans? 23:00 How is the M.U.D. Lineup playing? 26:30 Jannelle Moore 27:00 It is hard to three-peat 28:00 Weaknesses are the bench and the Center position. 28:45 A few gems on the smaller contracts that the Warriors have been forced to use because they spend their money on the big stars: Quinn Cook, Damian Lee, Alfonzo McKinney 30:30 The journey of guys like McKinney is fun to watch, even for casual fans. 31:45 How will DeMarcus Cousins fit in? 34:40 What do you make of Steve Kerr's comment that this is the real NBA? 34:30 Is Kerr the Milli Vanilli of coaching? 35:15 Did Luke Walton leaving the Warriors have an effect on Kerr's coaching? 36:30 The Warriors take a lot of time to let injured players back on the court, sometimes it feels like they are too conservative. 37:40 If the Warriors are going to be a dynasty, who are the younger players that they are developing to take over once their current roster ages out? 41:00 Draymond and Kevin Durant situation. 43:00 What is the deal with the team suspending Draymond? 44:30 Did KD need an extra large hard hat when he toured the new arena construction site? 45:20 3 reasons why Jannelle thinks KD is going to stay. 48:50 What is the formula for beating the Warriors? 51:10 Some Seth Curry talk Get Social Follow Blazer’s Edge on Twitter @blazersedge, WHAT Pod @HoopsAndTalks, Tara @tcbbiggs, and Cassidy @CassidyGemmet. This week’s guest: Sabreena Merchant @sabreenajm and Jannelle Moore @jannelle12 Women’s Hops And Talks (W.H.A.T.)Join the Women’s Hops And Talks Facebook group to talk about Trail Blazers with others who identify as women who love basketball. Music used in the episode: "Happy Alley" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we try to figure out which is the real Trail Blazer’s Team? The team that jumped out to a fast start or the one we have seen the past few weeks which looks remarkably familiar to the Trail Blazer’s we’ve seen over the past few seasons. We also answer twitter questions, thanks to @jackfrank_jjf, @lazchance, @KodyTarbe11, @NervousOrca, @Burlacious_M, @GoldnerPDX for sending those in! 0:15 Meyers Leonard and Evan Turner: why are people still complaining about them?2:20 How Zach Collins can work on getting fewer foul calls. 4:40 Thanksgiving5:30 Paul Allen interlude8:15 Blazers are probably thankful for many things like playing on a team full of good guys with a coach they love and respect. 9:50 Rehashing the last 3 losses. How did they happen?11:30 Golden State: They let Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson both get loose. 12:45 Blazers continue to struggle against teams with length.15:00 What has been different for the Trail Blazers over the last few weeks?16:40 In 8 losses, Portland has won the 3rd quarter only one time. 18:10 What would the scouting report say about the Blazers right now?18:50 Golden State Warriors Blitz Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum19:10 Clippers: Drop their bigs back.20:00 Dame is getting the bulk of his assists to Nurkic this year. 21:10 Dan doesn't like the bounce passes through two defenders to the rolling big. Tara disagrees, those passes are the best!23:20 Please guards, throw the ball UP to the big guys so they can catch it above people!25:30 Tara is convinced that the problem in the Clippers game was almost entirely the fact that they lost Jusuf Nurkic in the second half. 27:50 What happened to the Blazer's bench? Is this just a rough patch? 28:30 Rotations have changed a little bit, they have moved away from Evan Turner as ball handler. 30:45 Why aren't we seeing much of Nik Stauskas lately? 32:30 Despite recent struggles this is still be best bench Portland has had in years. They might be doing things in the short term like giving playing time to Seth Curry that will pay off in the long run. Not sure why Stauskas is not getting more playing time. 33:40 Seth Curry is really good at running a pick and roll.34:50 Meyers is scoring efficiently, but how has his rebounding improved? Offensive rebounding is a new development.38:50 Could Al-Farouq Aminu's offensive woes be transferring to his defensive play? He seems to be a little less sharp in that department!39:50 How frustrated is Dan with the team right now? 40:30 The Warriors have ruined the NBA in that they make 65 wins look too easy. 44:40 Seth Curry hasn't hit a groove yet. He's been in some three guard lineups but the Blazers give up a lot of length which they don't really have to give/ 46:20 Dan swears up and down that Seth is phenomenal in the pick and roll. Swears. Like Lillard. Suggests getting Seth into the early offense. 47:30 What happens to Layman now that Harkless is back? Moe will need to prove that he should be getting the minutes. We will learn a lot over the next 1- games because the schedule will be really tough and Stotts will likely solidify his rotations. Harkless could really add defense to the bench. 51:50 If Nurkic is out, should Collins or Meyers Leonard start? 53:40 It is a scary line of bigs coming up. 56:10 Nurkic has matured beautifully into his role. 1:02:30 Dan hoping for a 2-1 road trip, most likely is probably 1-2. 1:04:30 Blazers Edge night, March 25 vs the Brooklyn Nets! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the time of this recording, the Portland Trail Blazers were alone at the top of the mighty Western Conference. 20 minutes into the recording they were tied with the Memphis Grizzlies and the LA Clippers, but the important thing is, the Blazers continue to play well. Even coming off of a 1-2 week, things are still looking pretty good for the Blazers and the Blazers’ Edge weekly podcast has the rundown for you. How does Anfernee Simons look in real NBA minutes? Why didn’t Coach Stotts play Meyers Leonard much at all in the Minnesota game? How much is the bench missing Seth Curry? Just how good is Jusuf Nurkic playing this season? Many players are really hustling this season. Evan Turner is great at finding players in their spots. What about that 15 second, nine-pass play? Is that "real" Trail Blazer's basketball? Would the Trail Blazers want to trade for any of the Washington Wizards players? All of this and more on this week’s edition of the Blazer’s Edge podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the latest Women’s Hoops And Talks (WHAT) Podcast, Tara Bowen-Biggs (Team Mom) and Cassidy Gemmet are joined by Anne Peterson of the Associated Press to talk about how things have changed in the media over the years. It has been an exciting start to the NBA season, with plenty to talk about in just under a month of regular season play. First we talk about what has surprised us like punches thrown, early season trades and Warriors intrigue. Of course we have praise for the surprising Trail Blazers bench who are in mid-season form. Then we talk about how overwhelming the media has become, with so many big personalities, so many choices and so many platforms for fans to follow. We share some of our favorite media resources for following the NBA. Finally we talk to our favorite media resource, Anne Peterson. Anne tells us how things have changed since she was a young reporter. What is easier? What is more challenging? Finally, she gives us the inside scoop about what it was like on press row the first time LeBron James came to town in a Lakers uniform. Follow Blazer’s Edge on Twitter @blazersedge, WHAT Pod @HoopsAndTalks, Tara @tcbbiggs, and Cassidy @CassidyGemmet. This week’s guest: Anne Peterson (@anniempeterson) Women’s Hops And Talks (W.H.A.T.)Join the Women’s Hops And Talks Facebook group to talk about Trail Blazers with others who identify as women who love basketball. Music used in the episode: "Happy Alley" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices