The Brief Case, Episode 78

On this edition of The Brief Case podcast, Trail Blazers beat reporter/Insider Casey Holdahl discusses...

• The Trail Blazers' record with a  month to play in the 2023-24 regular season

• The play of Deandre Ayton and Scoot Henderson since returning from injury

• The last days of the Rip City Remix's inaugural season and how you can see them in person before the end of Year One 

• The debut of the Unofficial Matisse Thybulle Book Club

• Offensive/Defensive/Net ratings remaining unchanged and Portland's record versus the spread last week

And the show ends with an interview with Dewaybe Hankins, Trail Blazers' president of business operations, about how the season has gone from a business perspective, the recently-signed lease deal with the city of Portland, the Rip City Remix, the prospect of the WNBA in Portland after a bit of a setback and TV deals in Portland and the NBA broadly. 

On this edition of The Brief Case, Trail Blazers beat reporter/Insider Casey Holdahl discusses...

• Chauncey Billups comments after Portland's loss to Oklahoma City on Wednesday

• The wins versus the Grizzlies leading to close losses to the Timberwolves and Thunder

• The Trail Blazers recent improvement in offensive rating, defensive rating and net rating

• Portland covering in four-straight games after failing to do so in seven-straight games

And the show finishes up with the second part of a two-part interview with Ian Karmel about his new book, T-Shirt Swim Club, being a "fat" person, his podcast, All Fantasy Everything, what beach he thinks of when drafting "the beach" and his considerable contribution to Beaverton High School. 

On the latest edition of The Brief Case podcast, Trail Blazers beat reporter/insider Casey Holdahl discusses...

• The Trail Blazers breaking an extended losing streak with a pair of wins versus the Grizzlies in Memphis last weekend

• Moses Brown returning to action while the rest of the injured Trail Blazers have remained out of the lineup 

• Portland covering in back-to-back games after losing seven-straight versus the spread

And the show ends with the first of a two-part interview with Comedian/Writer/Podcaster/Trail Blazers Fan Ian Karmel about, amongst other things, the origins of his fandom, being a Trail Blazers fan living in Los Angeles, NBA/Hollywood labor solidarity, Toumani Camara, who wouldn't want to be Jerami Grant and Ian's photo that has become a local meme. 

On the latest edition of The Brief Case podcast, Trail Blazers beat reporter/insider Casey Holdahl discusses...

• Portland's loss to the Heat on Tuesday to finish off a winless month of February

• Staying motivated during a nine-game losing streak

• Deandre Ayton suffering a right hand sprain and the status of Portland's injured players

• Portland's offernsive, defensive and net ratings with a month and a half to go

• The Trail Blazers failing to cover in seven-straight games and the increasingly unlikely prospect of hitting the over on their season win projection

And the show wraps up with an interview with Trail Blazers guard/forward Dalano Banton regarding his first few weeks in Portland, the difference between playing for his former team and his current team, whether a "perfect situation" exists, how he would describe his style of play, growing up in Toronto, the state of basketball in Canada when he was growing up compared to where it's at today, his journey from Rexdale to New England to Western Kentucky to Nebraska and what his hopes are for himself and the Blazers in the last month and a half of the season.

On this edition of The Brief Case, Trail Blazers Insider Casey Holdahl discusses...

• Where the Trail Blazers stand coming out of the 2024 All-Star Break

• Center Duop Reath having his two-way contract converted to a full NBA contract

• Ashton Hagans reportedly getting the two-way contract vacated by Reath

• Scoot Henderson's thoughts on All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis 

• And an update on Portland's offensive/defensive/net ratings and what they need to do in order to surpass their Las Vegas win projection of 28.5 wins

On this edition of The Brief Case, Trail Blazers beat reporter/Insider Casey Holdahl discusses...

• Joe Cronin's comments about Portland's relative inactivity at the 2024 trade deadline

• The lack of significant moves league-wide 

• The loss to the Detroit Pistons Thursday night

• Shaedon Sharpe undergoing surgery and his timeline for return

And the show ends with a conversation with Trail Blazers rookie guard Kris Murray about his first season with the Trail Blazers, his time playing with the Rip City Remix, what's been more difficult than he expected, improving defensively and his life off the court. 

On this edition of The Brief Case, Casey Holdahl discusses...

• The Trail Blazers besting  Damian Lillard and the Bucks in his return to Moda Center

• Portland playing well but losing both games to the Nuggets in Denver on  Friday and Sunday

• The recent play of Scoot Henderson

• Kris Murray getting the first start of his career

 • The upcoming trade deadline, which expires on Thursday

•  The  Trail Blazers covering the spread in their last four games

On this edition of The Brief Case, Trail Blazers beat reporter Casey Holdahl discusses...

• Damian Lillard's return to Portland with the Milwaukee Bucks Wednesday night

• Portland's recent play in a loss to the Bulls and a win versus the 76ers

• Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson being invited to play in the Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star Weekend (and why Duop Reath SHOULD get an invite if Sharpe can't play)

• An injury update on Shaedon Sharpe, who has missed the last two weeks with an abdominal strain 

• The Trail Blazers being back down to 13 players with Taze Moore's 10-day expiring

• Slight improvements to Portland's offensive and defensive ratings

• The Trail Blazers' 1-2 week versus the spread

And the show ends with an interview with Damian Lillard regarding the response from the community to his return, coming back to not just the city, but his home, his first few months in Milwaukee and what is next for the future Hall of Famer. 

On the latest edition of The Brief Case podcast, recorded from the Trail Blazers' team hotel in San Antonio, Casey Holdahl discusses...

• The Trail Blazers' overtime victory versus the Rockets in Houston

• Thoughts from Jerami Grant, Anfernee Simons and Chauncey Billups regarding Grant's shot to send the game to overtime in Houston

• Having two players in Jerami Grant and Anfernee Simons who can close games offensively 

• Wednesday's game being a team win

• Getting the short end in the final moments of Tuesday's loss to the Thunder in Oklahoma City

• A five-game winning streak for the Rip City Remix

• The Trail Blazers signing Taze Moore to a 10-day

• Maintaining flexibility and the possibility of a quiet trade deadline for the Trail Blazers

• Drops in both offensive and defensive rating

• The Trail Blazers covering in five of their last six games

On this edition of The Brief Case, Casey Holdahl discusses...

• The Trail Blazers getting their second win in 10 days versus the Brooklyn Nets

• Anfernee Simons adding another game-winner to his resume

• Deandre Ayton's difficulty getting to the game Wednesday night and the uninformed (and idiotic) analysis of the situation 

• Chauncey Billups switching up the starting lineup (as previewed on the last edition)

• Shaedon Sharpe being sidelined at least two more weeks with a lower abdominal strain

• Portland's recent record versus the spread

And the show wraps up with a brief conversation with rookie Rayan Rupert regarding his recent play, splitting time between the Remix and Trail Blazers, the areas in which he's improved and what kind of player he believes he can become.