Greetings from the 17th week since the NBA regular season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the eight-game schedules for the 22 teams participating in the season restart in Orlando released last Friday, it seemed like the right time to fire up the virtual studio to record the 197th edition of the Rip City Report...
This week, Joe Freeman and I look at the Trail Blazers' bear of a schedule in Orlando and how it compares to other teams fighting for the eight-seed, their difficult path to qualifying for the playoffs, Trevor Ariza sitting out the restart and how the Trail Blazers might go about replacing yet another starter (UPDATE: the news that the Blazers had signed 6-0 guard Jaylen Adams out of the G-League broke a few hours after recording), reported plans about players utilizing their platform in Orlando to speak out on issues and the relationship between the NBA and the players union.
We also play another round of Walton or Oden and finish by answering your questions about the Blazers’ playoff chances, the likelihood the team signs another player, the starting lineup, CJ's pinot noir, the quality of play we can expect in Orlando, how the players feel about the restart and more.
You can subscribe/listen to the Rip City Report on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, Spotify and I Heart Radio. And assuming mostly everything goes according to plan, we'll likely get back to a more regular recording schedule soon.