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On this week's episode, host Danny Marang returns after a health related hiatus - but with the help of Steve Dewald they're able to jump back in and take a look at where the Blazers are now, where they were and what we know - or don't know about this team as they get ready to head into the All-Star Break. Hot shooting, poor defense, trade deadlines, rotations, breakout play of Gary Trent Jr, Anfernee Simons and Nassir Little, looking at the 2nd half schedule and the contractually obligated pick 'em team-by-team that is sure to have everyone in agreement and a whole lot more!IntroOpening comments - we're back!Health & homes, the officially washed lifeWhere are the Blazers now, good-bad or otherwise?Is it time to panic? 2:00Bailing water is what needs to happen 4:00Damian Lillard as the best clutch player in the league 5:00Do we know what this team really is yet, two years later? 6:00Looking at how Portland deals around the margins 8:00Anfernee Simons, Damian Lillard and Robert Covington at All Star weekend 11:00Gary Trent Jr showing he's one of the best 3pt shooters in the league 13:00Simons developing as a playmaker 14:00What are we seeing from Nassir Little 17:00Why can't the Blazers do more when Lillard is trapped? 20:00Putting Covington back into the playmaking role 26:002nd Half Schedule pick 'em - how many games does Steve think Portland wins? 30:00Midseason award picks 35:00Utah Jazz are a title contender 37:00Playing the young guys over the vets 38:00Does coaching change the ceiling on this team? 44:00Twitter questions! 45:00Spencer Poole@spencp99Do you think it's still in the Blazers best interests to look at another rotation big? I'm thinking someone with some defensive acumen like John HensonColin Petitt@ColinPetittHave you heard anything on the trade front for us? Feels like this team could use a consolidation type trade, altough our best trade asset may be Trent and losing him would be toughKristian@IllKrillCould Trevor Ariza be the saviour once again? He could get the Hood minutes and he was pretty good with the Blazers last seasonconrad@cxnrvdCj for Middleton. Who says no?Rick S@r_sparberA calf strain didn't sound serious but it's been a long recovery for Giles. Anyone know at eta?Return of Jusuf Nurkic and CJ McCollum 58:00Closing CommentsOutro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

February 24, 2021The Trail Blazers are coming off tough losses 3 games in a row, Dame got snubbed as an All Star Starter, and Dave expects Dia to be positive. The duo discuss Portland's recent struggles along with the 3 point heavy NBA and what that could mean for the future, Carmelo Anthony's hot streak, Derrick Jones Jr and Robert Covington and their place on the team, subway sandwich orders (yes, seriously), how much Dia hates change, and more!Podcast Music CreditsProtofunk by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4247-protofunkLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Blue Ska by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3453-blue-skaLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/chtbl.com/track/3271E/traffic.megaphone.fm/VMP5983745033.mp3 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

February 17, 2021In this week's podcast, Dave and Dia are ecstatic about the fact that the Trail Blazers have won every game since we last recorded! They talk about the Blazers' defense, Damian Lillard for MVP, the All Star game and their thoughts on wether or not it should even happen, Robert Covington, Clutch Damian Lillard, Stephen A Smith's apology and more!Podcast Music CreditsProtofunk by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4247-protofunkLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Blue Ska by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3453-blue-skaLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/chtbl.com/track/3271E/traffic.megaphone.fm/VMP5983745033.mp3 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

February 10, 2021The Portland Trail Blazers six game road trip is over, and Dave and Dia have a lot to say about it! They discuss the huge win against the 76ers, and CJ Elleby's breakout performance as well as other young players who reveled in the spotlight while most of Portland's starting line up was injured. Dia has a Knicks trade up her sleeve and Dave avoids talking about the Knicks game as much as possible. Then, due to technical difficulties with the podcast, there's a surprise ending even Dia doesn't see coming! All of this and more!Podcast Music CreditsProtofunk by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4247-protofunkLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Blue Ska by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3453-blue-skaLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/chtbl.com/track/3271E/traffic.megaphone.fm/VMP5983745033.mp3 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

February 4, 2021The Trail Blazers are on a road trip and still struggling through injuries, and defense problems. The internet is abuzz with who to blame, and this week Dave and Dia don't agree--not even a little. Words are exchanged, voices get louder, and nothing is solved, but lots is talked about. They also talk abour Charles Barkley, Nassir Little and his record 30 point game, Melo's joy and pain, and more!Podcast Music CreditsProtofunk by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4247-protofunkLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Blue Ska by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3453-blue-skaLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/chtbl.com/track/3271E/traffic.megaphone.fm/VMP5983745033.mp3 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s Blazer’s Edge podcast, Danny Marang sits down to talk with The Athletic’s NBA Anlayst (and former Milwaukee Buck’s Director of Basketball Research) Seth Partnow about; how to look at shot quality (and quantify it) why it matters, what to do with it, the ideas behind how Portland defends opponents and where breakdowns occur, the idea of Carmelo Anthony as a “sineater” for the offense, whether or not you should be worried about Robert Covington’s shooting struggles and should the Blazers be taking a look at the young guys on the roster while there are so many injuries and a whole lot more!NOTE: This was a really great/fun discussion I got to have with Seth about a lot of top level ideas and how teams fundamentally look at things. If you want to get a better understanding on how things are looked at from inside an organization, listen to this pod and definitely seek out Seth’s work.IntroSeth Partnow!What is Second Spectrum tracking data? 2:00Using tracking data and algorithms for shot quality 4:00Limitations of what’s currently available by manual tracking 6:00Seth’s introduction to Shot Quality on The Athletic 8:00Why Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum and other stars have “higher shot difficulties” and “lower shot quality” 9:30Limitations of tracking and how to categorize things for an individual player 11:30Understanding scoring area of the floor and how to capitalize on those things 14:00Are book keepers fudging long 3’s in the books? 16:30The Price is Right with midrange shots 18:00The set up for a midrange shot has gone away with the 3-point revolution 19:00The idea of moving through space vs occupying space 20:00Looking through the lens of Carmelo Anthony post ups in shot quality theory? 21:00“Anthony works as the Sineater for the offense” - Partnow 22:00Understanding shooting luck/variance 24:00Why do corner 3’s come open so often? 26:00“Giving up the corner 3 is much more about a breakdown somewhere else” - Partnow 28:00How Portland tries to walk the line of “Four Factors” but falls short 29:00Why does Portland’s defense breakdown so easily? 31:00“Failure to guard an initial action (point of attack)” 32:30“Portland doesn’t have sufficient defensive acumen to be much more than an average defense” 34:00Looking at Robert Covington and where he fitsDame and CJ as point of attack defendersPlaying good offense is hard workDerrick Jones Jr & Covington - disappointment in production 36:00Are you “worried” about Covington’s shooting? 40:00“He (Zach Collins) is more - projects to be more of a rim anchor than Nurkic could be” - Partnow 46:00“If you’re operating at a talent deficit, you don’t win.” 47:00Why Portland should look to experiment with so many injuries 48:00Looking at the idea of sunk cost 52:00Coaches as control freaks and leaning on veterans 55:00The relationship between coaching, personnel, time on floor and organizational demands 58:00“lineup card is yours - but you can’t play Pena at 1st base... I traded him” - Moneyball Closing CommentsOutrohttps://theathletic.com/2351786/2021/01/29/nba-introduction-to-shot-quality-and-expected-results-seth-partnow/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

January 28, 2021The Trail Blazers are once again, beaten and bruised and broken down. Now down six players from a 14 man roster, is it time to dust our expectations as Blazer fans? Dave and Dia discuss this, Damian Lillard's new twin babies and his record breaking game, The Blazers' young players stepping up and what that could mean for trades, the Oklahoma City shoe controversy and more Trail Blazers related topics. As the podcast was recorded on the one year anniversary of Kobe Bryant's death, Dia tells a story about that and talks about how human decency and kindness in the face of tragedy makes all the difference.Podcast Music CreditsProtofunk by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4247-protofunkLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Blue Ska by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3453-blue-skaLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/chtbl.com/track/3271E/traffic.megaphone.fm/VMP5983745033.mp3 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of the Blazer’s Edge podcast, Danny Marang takes a look at the Portland Trail Blazers after 5 days off due to the NBA postponing two games against the Memphis Grizzlies and how that impacted their first game back to action against the New York Knicks and going forward.What can we take from the new defensive looks? Can the bench be counted in to score like it did in the first half vs New York? Is this a building block for Anfernee Simons? Will they continue to use Derrick Jones Jr more in the pick & roll? Which changes will stick and which will they throw away? There’s a lot to get into in this shortened, quick hit, podcast so buckle in and get your week started right! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

January 20, 2021The Trail Blazers injury curse is running rampant with both Jusuf Nurkic and CJ McCollum suffering injuries within a week of each other. So what do the Trail Blazers do now? Do we still have a chance at the playoffs? The Western conference Finals? The Championship? The situation seems dire, but is it bad enough to finally crush Dia's sense of optimism? Dave and Dia get into the nitty gritty of what the season looks like now, plus the Blazer's defense, Damian Lillard's role in all of this, Gary Trent Jr, Harry Giles, and more!Podcast Music CreditsProtofunk by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4247-protofunkLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Blue Ska by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3453-blue-skaLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/chtbl.com/track/3271E/traffic.megaphone.fm/VMP5983745033.mp3 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of the Blazer's Edge podcast, host Danny Marang takes a look at what Portland could/should do with Jusuf Nurkic out for 8+ weeks, the re-emergence of Rodney Hood, the value of Robert Covington and Derrick Jones Jr, Enes Kanter's ability to fill in as a starter, how to get more our Gary Trent Jr and optimize Carmelo Anthony, as well as adjustments with the late breaking news about CJ McCollum being out for 4+ weeks when further tests reveal more extensive damage.IntroOpening commentsRodney Hood starts & looks... great? 2:00What does Hood's play mean - if anything? 4:00CJ McCollum status update 7:00Will Portland add another body? 8:30Can the Blazers Stay Afloat While Nurkic's out? 10:00Enes Kanter is fine as the fill in guy 12:00How has Robert Covington looked so far? 14:00Derrick Jones Jr/Covington leading to good things on both ends 16:00What changes are actually showing up in the adjustments? 18:00Balancing Carmelo Anthony's role & possessions 20:00The inconsistency of Gary Trent Jr's place on the team 22:00How can Portland get more out of the bench? 24:00Establishing the pecking order 27:00Listener Questions!mathew@MathewPurcellWill Little see the court Monday? Who starts at the 2 Monday and beyond with cj out? When will our D finally click? Loving the steals and finger tips on balls but our 3pt d seems to be let them shoot their average and deal with it on the offensive end.Slater Smith@slaterjsmithWill Giles off the bench fit better with Melo off the bench? (Vs. the Kanter pairing)Dion and the Belmont Goats@CulcordiaHow much time you think Giles is going to get while Nurk is out? Is it time to develop his talent, or do we play it safe?Closing commentsOutro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No catchy headlines, no breakdown, just some unfiltered thoughts about Jusuf Nurkic suffering another injury and what it means for the Trail Blazers right now and in the future. Do they roll out Enes Kanter as the starter? How about going the way of Noah Vonleh and giving Harry Giles token starts before the veteran Kanter comes in to play 30 minutes a night? Could they pursue a low level trade with a smaller piece of the roster to get an extra body with both Nurkic and Zach Collins down and who could they look at? Could Terry Stotts get really weird and opt to play small ball and begrudgingly move Robert Covington to the center spot defensively while utilizing Derrick Jones Jr as the 5-man offensively?There’s so many different questions with so many answers and ways things could end up going that I couldn’t touch on all of them, but with so many questions sent my way tonight - I wanted to address as many as I could right now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

January 14, 2021On this week's episode, Dave and Dia break down the Trail Blazers 3 game winning streak--what Portland is doing well and what we hope to see going forward. Dave can't wait to talk about the Toronto win, and Dia is feeling pretty justified in her don't-trade-CJ-McCollum take. Can CJ continue this level of play while Damian Lillard plays like Damian Lillard? Will Jusuf Nurkic tie everything together? Can the Blazers make a run for the Western Conference Finals? Dave and Dia discuss all of this and more.Podcast Music CreditsProtofunk by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4247-protofunkLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Blue Ska by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3453-blue-skaLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/chtbl.com/track/3271E/traffic.megaphone.fm/VMP5983745033.mp3 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

January 6, 2021The Trail Blazers are 7 games into the regular season and Dave and Dia have feelings about it--and they don't necessarily agree. Dia tries to come to terms with the current state of the team, and feeling like something is off, while Dave tries to get to the bottom of it. There are some references to putting on pants, unicorns coming out of a cup, and a whole lot of back and forth. This season has been weird and it's still anybody's season. At least one of us thinks so.Podcast Music CreditsProtofunk by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4247-protofunkLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Blue Ska by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3453-blue-skaLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/chtbl.com/track/3271E/traffic.megaphone.fm/VMP5983745033.mp3 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

December 30, 2020Regular season games are here and Dave and Dia react to the Trail Blazer's first week of games: Utah Jazz, Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers. We discuss Carmelo Anthony and his role with the team going forward. Gary Trent Jr. came out and put on a show and we have feelings about it. We talk about the rest of the players as well as giving them grace and remembering they're humans before they're basketball players. Dave also brings up an issue with media, and just like most things, we have opinions.Podcast Music CreditsProtofunk by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4247-protofunkLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Blue Ska by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3453-blue-skaLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/chtbl.com/track/3271E/traffic.megaphone.fm/VMP5983745033.mp3 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's Blazer's Edge podcast, host Danny Marang is joined by Blazersedge.com Associate Editor, Steve Dewald to take a look at:James Harden adding the Trail Blazers to his list of potential destinations and why Portland needs to act now, Portland's first two games vs the Utah Jazz and the Houston Rockets, Carmelo Anthony's rough start with the second unit, Enes Kanter doing Enes Kanter things, Jusuf Nurkic getting back in the groove, Damian Lillard is still REALLY good and the upcoming road trip that will see Portland take on Lebron James, Anthony Davis, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and Steph Curry.That and more on this week's episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

December 23, 2020The NBA is back, and Dave and Dia are ready to talk about it.They glaze right over the Denver pre-season games (because lets be honest, that was tough), chat about brainwashing their children into Blazer fandom (that's how it works, right?), discuss Zach Collins' future with the team (Dia gets really honest about this one), touch on Damian Lillard's MVP talk (he's always been our MVP), and propose a challenge to the listeners (with a reward--kind of).Podcast Music CreditsProtofunk by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4247-protofunkLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Blue Ska by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3453-blue-skaLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/chtbl.com/track/3271E/traffic.megaphone.fm/VMP5983745033.mp3 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

December 16, 2020The Preseason is underway! Dave and Dia talk about the first two preseason games against Sacramento. How is Carmelo Anthony looking as the 6th man? Is Rodney Hood back to his pre-injury self? Do the Blazers stand an actual chance at a Championship this year? Does Dave still have a job at Blazers Edge? these questions and more are answered as Dave and Dia discuss all things Trail Blazers basketball.Podcast Music CreditsProtofunk by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4247-protofunkLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Blue Ska by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3453-blue-skaLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/chtbl.com/track/3271E/traffic.megaphone.fm/VMP5983745033.mp3 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

December 9, 2020Melo vs BRoy?Harden to Portland?Ant as backup Point Guard?Dave and Dia discuss some of the hot topics amongst Trail Blazers fans going into the Pre-Season. Should Melo wear number 7? Should Portland make a move to get James Harden? How will Anfernee Simons be as back up Point Guard? Can Dia keep her cool while discussing these topics (spoiler alert: Nope). Join us this week for all the chit chat leading up to the Pre-Season start up!Podcast Music CreditsProtofunk by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4247-protofunkLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Blue Ska by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3453-blue-skaLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/chtbl.com/track/3271E/traffic.megaphone.fm/VMP5983745033.mp3 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of the Blazer's Edge podcast, Danny Marang is joined by new Portland Trail Blazer's wing - Derrick Jones Jr! Together they hit on; the rapid cross country move from Miami to Portland, how he's getting acclimated to the region, if he's talked with Carmelo Anthony about their back and forth during the season last year (Jan 5th, 2020) , playing basketball "without chains," putting the ball anywhere near the rim and he'll go get, what his role will be, breaking down his defensive versatility, building up a 3-point shot and a whole lot more!IntroOpening CommentsGetting acclimated with Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum and Carmelo Anthony immediately 2:00Going back and forth with Melo - have you talked to him about that at all? 4:00With you and Robert Covington on the team together - you're two of the most successful G-League pairings yet, what would you tell those guys that are still grinding down there? 7:30Who is/are the guys you want to cover- that you want to take on the challenge of guarding? 9:30Breaking down film with Derrick and his defensive versatility and how it impacts a night to night basis? 11:00Guarding the pick and roll and knowing my job 14:00Learning from veterans like PJ Tucker and Jared Dudley on how to have active hands 16:00What part of your offensive game are you most looking forward to developing? 17:30Where do see your confidence at now? 19:00When you're playing off of guys in the starting lineup- where do you find you role? 21:00Have you had the discussion with Dame about lob passing/timing? 22:00What have you done/are you doing to develop that 3-point shot? 24:00Taking a look at defensive versatility and how Jones Jr can be effective up and down the lineup? 26:00Coming to Portland and getting the chance at a "green light" 28:00"I can't wait!" 29:30Have you and Anfernee Simons had a little dunk off yet? 30:00Closing CommentsOutro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

December 2, 2020Starting lineups, win projections, and the ways in which social media shapes our modern sports experience. Listen to hear Dave and Dia discuss these topics and more. Or, just come to hear the explosion of Mount St. Dia. Nope, we are SO not kidding.Music:Protofunk by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4247-protofunkLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Blue Ska by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3453-blue-skaLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/chtbl.com/track/3271E/traffic.megaphone.fm/VMP5983745033.mp3 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices