Trail Daddy: A Trail Blazers Podcast Hosted by Dave Deckard

Your Blazers’ Edge starting lineup of Tara and Dan recap recent news and take a deep dive into the Trail Blazer’s defensive outlook this season.  With a roster much like last year’s, we attempt to set a baseline by which to judge if we see improvement. What areas of the floor do they defend well? In which areas do they allow the most scoring? What is the key to improving defense against the pick a...

We squeezed as much information as we possibly could out of the first three preseason games and came up pretty excited about some new offensive wrinkles. The bigs are taking--and making--mid range shots. The team is operating at a faster pace than last year, using nearly 11 more possessions per game. They are relying on fewer pick-and-rolls and relying on more transition and spot up shooting. With...

Hopped up on a combination of Fan Fest euphoria and cold medicine, Dan and Tara discuss which training camp stories have fans talking, what did we learn from the intra-squad scrimmage, and what will we watch for in the preseason. Is this the season Meyers Leonard makes the leap and what exactly does that mean? Will C.J. McCollum surpass Damian as the leading scorer? What does contract-year Ed Davi...

Its media day and we have the lowdown on a slimmer Jusuf Nurkic, vegan Damian Lillard, impressive Caleb Swanigan and an animated Meyers Leonard. Will this team be the new Bad Boys? Nurk thinks they could be! David MacKay spent the day at the Moda Center with the Trail Blazers and he drops by the Blazer’s Edge podcast for a full report plus a rant about the homogonization of uniforms and a little M...

Dan and Tara finish up previewing the Western Conference with @hoopcityhellcat Aimee Stiegemeyer, co-founder of All Heart in Hoop City, a Memphis Grizzlies blog written and run by women. We find out how things are going in Memphis where its been an eventful summer with several key Grit-n-Grind players moving on to new teams. Then we discuss the five teams in the division that appears to be, at lea...

We are previewing the Pacific Division with Anthony Irwin of Locked on Lakers. What is the timeline for the Phoenix Suns and how patient are their fans? Do Laker’s fans believe in Magic? What is the identity of the Sacramento Kings? Will the Clippers thrive without Chris Paul and how much Patrick Beverley talk does it take before Dan loses it? Finally, Kevin Durant . . . hyperbole . . . yada, yada...

Dustin and Sage from the Holy Backboard podcast join FANalysts Tara and Jo to preview the Northwest Division.  Find out what they think about the uber-competitive Northwest Division and all the newest arrivals like Jimmy Butler, Ricky Rubio, Paul Millsap and Paul George. What about the stars who are still here, like Karl Anthony Towns, Nicola Jokic, Rudy Gobert, and Russell Westbrook? How will the...

News! Yay, let’s go over some news! Damian Lillard is zip-lining and he's a vegan now. and  Jusuf Nurkic is number 69 on the SI top 100 players. What does all this mean? Lets get caught up on some personnel moves--Pat Connaughton is sticking around, Archie Goodwin is coming to training camp and CJ Wilcox is another 6'5" guard. Finally, how do we put this all together to determine, what is the iden...

James Holas of BBallBreakdown.com joins Tara Bowen-Biggs and Dan Marang for this episode of the Blazer's Edge podcast to discuss James' theory that Damian Lillard is posed for a breakout year which will lead the Portland Trail Blazers to the playoffs.  Along the way they discuss the Cleveland Cavaliers trade with the Boston Celtics that was supposed to send Kyrie Irving to the Celtics for Isaiah T...

Ep. 231. Dan and Tara start by talking about which Trail Blazer they thought most exceeded expectations before taking a look a what we might expect from this year’s team. What can Damian Lillard do to take his game to another level? Can C.J. McCollum continue the defense that he showed during the playoffs? Will Jusuf Nurkic have an outside shot? Will 2015-16 Ed Davis return from injury? What can A...

Ep 230. Dan and Tara dive into new news from the Portland Trail Blazers. They go over the recently released schedule and take a look at the Kevin Pelton’s NBA 2018 Season Projections for ESPN. Dan talks about how he approaches previewing teams and Tara talks about getting seduced by continuity last year. All this and more the latest Blazer’s Edge podcast. Download the podcast. Learn more about you...

Ep 229. Fanalysts Tara and Jo are joined by Evan McCarthy, artist and graphics and clothing designer for EvanemPdx to talk all about the new Trail Blazer’s uniforms and remember uniforms of the past.  The direct .mp3 link of this week’s podcast is here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Po...

Dan and Tara talk about how the Trail Blazers might fill the gap created by trading away Allen Crabbe: What did Allen Crabbe do for the Blazers? What can be made up for with the current roster? A case for Gerald Henderson. What might the front office do next? Download Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...

Ep. 227 Just when we thought it was safe to turn off the Twitter notifications, the Trail Blazers have made a move. Tara Biggs and Eric Griffith dig into the specifics of the Allen Crabbe for Andrew Nicholson trade, talk about what they will remember most about Cool Breeze, come up with an algebra quiz question and guess what the future holds for the Trail Blazers. All this and more on a special A...

Ep. 226 At NBA Summer League we got a look (admittedly abbreviated) at rookies Zach Collins and Caleb Swanigan. How did their performance hold up to Dan’s initial assessment of their talents? Will they get minutes? Who has a higher ceiling of the two? Dan and Tara recap summer league, talk about what “athleticism” means, wonder about Pat Connaughton’s future, and briefly chat about the merits of M...

Ep. 225 Tara is joined by David MacKay, Brian Freeman and Steve Dewald to talk about the Portland Trail Blazers at the 2017 NBA Summer League. What are their initial impressions of Zach Collins, Caleb Swanigan, Jake Layman and Pat Connaughton so far? Are there other players/teams who have stood out? How about that defense, is it a hint of what is to come or is it fools gold? All this and much more...

Ep 224 Free agency is in full swing. Dan Marang and Tara Bowen-Biggs talk about the draft, free agency and NBA Summer League while under Gordon Hayward watch. What does the Blazer’s activity on draft night tell you about the future of the team? Will Zach Collins and Caleb Swanigan contribute right away? Does it surprise you that the Trail Blazers have not done anything yet in free agency? All this...

Ep 223 The FANalysts are back! Tara provides an update on what went down on draft night as well as thoughts on the newest Trail Blazers, Zach Collins and Caleb Swanigan. Jo discusses her feelings about a possible LaMarcus Aldridge return along with how he might fit into the current lineup. Finally, we survey the landscape and make predictions (wild guesses) about where some of the biggest name fre...

EP 222: When the 2017 NBA Draft commences Thursday night, the Portland Trail Blazers will be packing a trio of first-round picks and a mandate for change. Coming off a 41-41 season, carrying a salary burden well past the luxury tax threshold, Portland cannot afford—literally or figuratively—to stay the course. What shape their evolution takes will depend on priorities and opportunities. Do they va...

Ep 221 Blazer's Edge features editor Eric Griffith joins Team Mom to unpack the rules around draft picks. What can the Trail Blazers actually do with three first round draft picks? Salary dumps, the Stepien rule, and draft-and-stash--we dig into the rules and options. When the rumors start to fly leading up to the 2017 draft, we'll be ready to sort out the pipe dreams from the real possibilities. ...

Ep. 220 Tara talks with Brian Freeman, Blazer’s Edge features writer and former European League basketball player. They catch up NBA Draft Lottery and All-NBA teams and then turn to Brian’s experiences playing overseas. Tune in to hear about his dad who played with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robinson on the Milwaukee Bucks, about his journey from Long Beach State (where he played against Damian...

Ep. 219 Jo calls in from the wilds of Alaska to compare Blazer wish lists for next season. Do the FANalysts’ hopes and dreams for 2017-18 match yours? A mentor for Noah Vonleh A podcast for C.J. McCollum Handles for Al-Farouq Aminu More shots for Allen Crabbe#MoeDunks Listen to hear all these and what they are hoping for Lillard, Nurkic, Leonard and more! Download Learn more about your ad choices....

EP. 218: On this week’s Blazer’s Edge podcast, Dave Deckard and Dan Marang discuss if it’s possible to build a title contending team around a franchise point guard, CJ McCollum’s suggestion that the Blazer’s should pursue Paul George in the offseason, their biggest surprises of the 2016-17 season, if Lonzo Ball and the accompanying LaVar Ball scare them, where Portland could and should be looking...

EP. 217: Exit Interview Follies On this week’s Blazer’s Edge podcast, Dave Deckard and Dan Marang take a look at the closing games of the Blazer’s playoffs and ultimately, their season. With the year coming to a close, exit interviews between a majority of the players and the media took place Tuesday afternoon. Those exit interviews included revealing quotes about Meyers Leonard, Allen Crabbe, Fes...

Ep. 216. Dan Marang joins Tara to talk about the first two games of the Trail Blazer’s 2017 NBA Playoff series. Dan answers all of Tara's questions about what we know about this team, how they have progressed over the season and where they might go from here. Download Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...