Blazer Focused

The NBA season is finally back! On the latest episode of Blazer Focused, Aaron and Craig talk about what a realistic season looks like for the Trail Blazers. Will this team make the playoffs, and what are the playoffs in the age of the play-in tournament? They discussed: Nassir Little's extremely team-friendly deal What it would take for this team to underperform What it would take for the Blazers...

The Portland Trail Blazers ended the preseason at 1-4 with zero wins against NBA teams. It wasn’t pretty but is the sky falling? The Blazer Focused podcast, sponsored by ZoomCare, provides some hope and answers during its latest episode with hosts, Aaron Fentress and Craig Birnbach. TOPICS: Just how bad was it? Deep look, with grades, at where the Blazers stand in key areas: Is Damian Lillard all...

The Portland Trail Blazers are off and running in the preseason and the Blazer Focused podcast, sponsored by ZoomCare, dissected the goings on with the team through two games. Hosts Aaron Fentress and Craig Birnbach hit on several pressing topics in this latest episode: Damian Lillard looks right. Rookie Shaedon Sharpe struggling. Jerami Grant is having a tremendous impact. Anfernee Simons off to...

Portland Trail Blazers training camp is underway in Santa Barbara, Calif., and the Blazer Focused podcast, sponsored by ZoomCare, is on the case. Hosts Aaron Fentress and Craig Birnbach hit on several pressing topics: Sloppy play with high energy mark the first two days. Rookie Shaedon Sharpe turning heads. Competition at small forward. Jerami Grant and Jusuf Nurkic learning each other’s games. Wh...

The season from hell is in the rearview mirror. Now, what exactly do we make of the Portland Trail Blazers? On the latest episode of Blazer Focused, Aaron and Craig set the stage for training camp next week. They talk about the major themes and issues facing the Blazers. They hit on: Back to the old Dame? What exactly will Jerami Grant's role be? Nurk still in the crosshairs Ant's time to shine Su...

Welcome to this week’s episode of the Blazer Focused podcast with Aaron Fentress and Craig Birnbach. Here are some highlights from this week’s show: Training camp moves to Santa Barbara. Good move? Gary Payton II says he chose Portland for the money. Big deal? Donovan Mitchell leaves the Western Conference and the LA Lakers add Patrick Beverley. Do those moves matter to the Blazers? How does the p...

Welcome to this week’s episode of the Blazer Focused podcast with Aaron Fentress and Craig Birnbach. Here are some highlights from this week’s show: First podcast in a few weeks, what have the hosts been up to? One saw the Yankees play in NY and the other went on college tours with his daughter and retired from roller coaster. To travel the broadcast team or not to travel the broadcast team? That...

Damian Lillard is officially 32-years-old and likely still basking in the glow of the two-year $122 million extension. On this week’s episode of the Blazer Focused podcast, Aaron and Craig discuss that deal a bit more in depth, Jabari Walker turning all sorts of heads and much more. They also hit on: ·     The ripple effect of the Dame deal on the books ·     How effective could Jabari Walker real...

Damian Lillard has no problem getting in touch with Jody Allen. He’ll also have no problem paying the bills anytime soon. The franchise superstar directly refuted a NY Post assertion from this week that Lillard tried, and failed to reach chair Jody Allen. He also signed a two-year $122 million contract extension, ending the speculation of when that would occur. On the latest episode of the Blazer...

The Blazers offseason of intrigue started with a bang. Jerami Grant is headed to Portland and the mysterious Shaedon Sharpe is also headed westward. On this week’s episode of the Blazer Focused podcast, Aaron and Craig discuss what to make of the trade, the draft and much more. Here are some highlights from this week’s show: ·     Shaedon Sharpe is a mystery, and a big swing ·     Jerami Grant hea...

The NBA draft is one week away. On this week’s episode of the Blazer Focused podcast, Aaron Fentress and Craig Birnbach reveal their mock drafts, debate potential viable trades, some of the recent workouts and much more. They discussed: ·     John Collins and OG Anunoby talk ·     Pie in the sky trades ·     Mock drafts for Aaron, Craig, Andrew Subscribe to Blazer Focused on Apple Podcasts, Google...

This episode of the Blazer Focused podcast was already underway with discussion about Pistons forward and potential offseason target Jerami Grant and what to do with the number seven overall pick in this year's NBA draft. Then news intervened. On the latest episode of the Blazer Focused pod, Aaron and Craig react in real time to the ESPN report that Phil Knight and Alan Smolinisky have submitted a...

You win some, you lose some. Now the pressure is on for Joe Cronin and the Portland Trail Blazers’ front office. On this week’s episode of the Blazer Focused podcast, Aaron Fentress and Craig Birnbach discuss the disappointing (but mathematically spot-on) NBA Draft lottery and what comes next for the franchise. Here are some highlights from this week’s show: ·     Fentress describes the scene from...

Starting Tuesday, Blazers fans will suddenly become big fans of the ol’ bouncing Ping-Pong balls. The NBA’s draft lottery is Tuesday and the franchise’s short-term future may hang in the balance. Or is that hyperbole? On the latest episode of Blazer Focused, Aaron Fentress and Craig Birnbach discuss the lottery odds, Joe Cronin officially getting the general manager gig and which players from last...

After years of toiling away in apparent obscurity in Portland, CJ McCollum enjoyed rave reviews during his first-round exit as a New Orleans Pelicans guard. Kinda funny, isn’t it? On this week’s episode of the Blazer Focused podcast, Aaron Fentress and Craig Birnbach discuss CJ’s exit, the fawning national media attention, losing the second draft pick the looming draft lottery and much more Here a...

The Blazers bid adieu to a dreadful season and gave a lovely goodbye to the legendary broadcaster and ambassador, Bill Schonely (aka The Schonz) in recent days. Now the hard work begins. On the latest episode of the Blazer Focused podcast, Aaron Fentress and Craig Birnbach dissect the exit interviews and look ahead to the critical offseason. They hit on: What Cronin and Billups had to say Thoughts...

CJ McCollum sure felt the love Wednesday night from the Rip City faithful. On this week’s episode of the Blazer Focused podcast, Aaron Fentress and Craig Birnbach recap the overwhelming standing ovation fans gave to McCollum in his first game back at the Moda Center since the trade. They put the moment in perspective and discusses its meaning and much more. They also hit on: ·     CJ’s place in fr...

There’s not a ton to enjoy in the end of this NBA season here in Portland, but Aaron Fentress went deep with a three-part story looking at Anfernee Simons’ childhood and rise. On the latest episode of Blazer Focused, Fentress and Craig Birnbach dove into that feature story and analyzed the latest mock drafts. They hit on: - Fentress called for the tank but is complaining about how hard the tank is...

The tank is on in spectacular fashion, but what do the young Blazers get out of the beatdowns? That's a point of discussion on the latest episode of the Blazer Focused podcast. Aaron and Craig break down the young players, their performances so far and whether it's time to shut Ant down. Also, Aaron rains on many parades. They discussed:   What is Ant getting out of this at this point? Can we lear...

Jusuf Nurkic is out for a month (at least) and the suddenly quite youthful Blazers were blasted off the court by the Golden State Warriors on Thursday. On this week’s episode of the Blazer Focused podcast, Aaron and Craig discuss the reemergence of the presumptive narrative that a high draft pick is unavoidable. Well, it sure is. Here are some highlights from this week’s show:   Why the Nurk injur...

It's a question that would have been ludicrous a few weeks ago: Will the Trail Blazers lose again? It's sort of a joke, but the Blazers are in a groove now and the tank appears to be in jeopardy. What's it all mean? On the latest episode of the Blazer Focused podcast, Aaron and Craig discuss the Red Hot & Rollin' squad, the draft implications and much more. They discussed: Will Dame come back this...

Now Blazer fans have nothing to do but wait -- for the Ping-Pong balls, for the draft, and for free agency. On this week’s episode of the Blazer Focused podcast, Aaron Fentress and Craig Birnbach look back at the riveting week that was in Rip City. They discussed: ·     Joe Cronin and Chauncey Billups' comments ·     Josh Hart's arrival ·     What actual options exist in free agency ·     Fact or...

The Dame and CJ era is officially over in Rip City. On the latest episode of Blazer Focused, Aaron Fentress and Craig Birnbach dissect the two big deals in the past few days and give their takes on the overall direction of the franchise. They discussed: ·     The Norman Powell and Robert Covington move ·     Josh Hart and Keon Johnson ·     McCollum with the Pels ·     How Cronin is trying to stra...

The Portland Trail Blazers were steamrolled by the woeful Oklahoma City Thunder this week despite the Thunder being without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Tough nights happen in the NBA, poor shooting nights do as well, but it was a rough performance. On this week’s episode of the Blazer Focused podcast, Aaron Fentress and Craig Birnbach discuss the pre-trade deadline doldrums and what to make of Anfern...

The injury bug has, at this point, burrowed itself into the Portland Trail Blazers roster. Nassir Little is likely out for the season. On this week’s episode of the Blazer Focused podcast, Aaron Fentress is joined by his new co-host, Craig Birnbach. You may recognize Craig from his many years as a sports broadcaster at KATU-TV. He now works part-time as a studio host for the Trail Blazers during r...