Greetings to all the podcast listeners out there. The day after the untimely passing of Kobe Bryant, one of his daughters, Gianna, and seven others in a helicopter crash in southern California, we returned to the Moda Center studio to record, as scheduled, yet another edition of the Rip City Report podcast, which you can listen to below...
We devote the first portion of the show to discussing the life of Bryant, who both tormented and ultimately gained the respect of many Trail Blazers fans throughout his 20-year career with the Lakers, his status among NBA players, reactions of current and former Trail Blazers to the news of Bryant's passing and the difficulties of playing in or covering a game just hours after a tragedy.
We then move on to Damian Lillard's ridiculous offensive production over the last few weeks -- Lillard was named Western Conference Player of rthe Week moments before we finished recording -- the prospect of Trevor Ariza being a better addition than we might have initially assumed and updates on Jusuf Nurkić and the rest of the injured Trail Blazers. We then play a round of "Walton or Oden" and finish up by answering listener questions regarding grieving players and their obligations to speak to the media, Carmelo Anthony’s role when Zach Collins returns, Ariza’s defensive impact, replacing the NBA logo with Bryant and more.
You can subscribe/listen to the Rip City Report on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play and Spotify. Thanks as always for listening.