RipCity are you listening?! Ryan "Witty" Whitledge of the Blazertag Podcast commandeers the show this week, leaving Christian and Austin to guest on their own show? Madness ensues... The trio discusses the injury-riddled Portland Trail Blazers and attempts to assign reason for the comeback losses or near losses, as of late. Post recording: The Portland Trail Blazers, more specifically Damian Lillard with his typical late-game antics, got the win against The Chicago bulls with a stunning buzzer-beater. They now sit at 10-8 for the year, tied with The Phoenix Suns for the 6th seed. The next matchup is Monday, February 1st, against The Milwaukee Bucks at 5 PM PST. Go Blazers!

Peeps in Plaid

Our Stolen Episode, The Injury Bug, and A Belated Look Ahead To Chicago

Ripcity, are you listening?! The peeps in plaid, Christian and Austin, chat about the Trail Blazers defensive woes, some less than impressive media dynamics from Blazers player leadership, and the unfortunate loss of Jusuf Nurkic due to his fractured wrist. The duo also take some time to expand on the blockbuster James Harden to Brooklyn trade. All this and more in season 3 episode 4!

Thoughts and Prayers for Nurk, a Sluggish Defensive Start, and Press Conference Critique

Ripcity are you listening?! ? ? Christian and Austin bring you a post-Christmas catch up. The pair discuss recent trade rumors surrounding James Harden expanding his request to include Portland, whether losing CJ would be worth the former MVP, as well as reviewing the first two games of the season. Will the Trail Blazers make an even bigger move, after what was already a summer of musical chairs? Will one of these moves include coach Stotts? As always, please follow, like, and subscribe @PeepsInPlaid. (Apologies for the lack of timeline this week, as time was constrained pre-Lakers game 12/28/20)

A Disappointing Season Debut, Harden Trade Rumors, and CJ’s Meteoric Night Beyond the Arc

#RipCity are you listening?! Christian and Austin are joined by previous guests, Matt Eldredge (expert friend and blazers fan) and Keith Feltner-Smith (also, expert friend and host of @TrailCasters). Both guests and hosts discuss off-season moves, provide their Eastern and Western Conference top ten seeds, and make some bold predictions. Check out @TrailCasters on Twitter as well, and follow their host @RipCityKeith. Please also follow @PeepsInPlaid on Twitter and Instagram. Music was provided by Ziggy Zay! New tunes coming next week? TIMELINE: :35 – Introducing our TWO guests: Keith Feltner-Smith and Matt Eldredge 1:50 – News around the league – Wizards, Rockets, Nets & Clippers drama and trades 18:20 – Don’t worry, we finally get to some news from your PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS 21:37 – Play-in tournament description 22:33 – Christian’s Eastern Conference Rankings 1-10 25:57 – Keith’s Eastern Conference Rankings 1-10 28:35 – Matt’s Eastern Conference Rankings 1-10 31:45 – Austin’s Eastern Conference Rankings 1-10 35:52 – Austin’s Bobcat love bleeds through, and we discuss the underestimation of the Blazers 38:38 – Christian’s Western Conference Rankings 1-10 43:38 – Keith’s Western Conference Rankings 1-10 46:02 – THE TRAIL BLAZERS LOVE BEGINS 48:42 – Matt’s Western Conference Rankings 1-10 54:36 – Austin’s Western Conference Rankings 1-10 56:37 – Terrible can of worms regarding Blazers injuries gets cracked open. Wood being knocked on perpetually. 1:05:05 – Blazers schedule discussion 1:07:08 – Locks for the season. THE BLAZERS LOVE CONTINUES, YOU’RE NOT GONNA WANT TO MISS THIS! 1:12:55 – Thank you to our guests Matt and Keith, we close out the episode.

Conference Standing Projections & Our First Show with Two Guests

RipCity are you listening?! Cohosts Christian Gmelin and Austin Kaphammer are BACK in their season 3 debut to discuss more 2020 craziness, as well as the acquisition of Robert Covington, Derrick Jones Jr, and Enes Kanter. Other moves around the league are also touched on, while the hopes for a top seeding Blazers in the west soar. Christian also provides an amended intro to cover Olshey and the Blazers 11/23/20 press conference and Wenyen Gabriel moving on to the Pelicans. Peeps in Plaid is coming with another exciting episode soon, so stay tuned.

Season 3 Premier: A Successful “Offseason”

The Blazers finished the last 5 games 4-1 to go 6-2 in the seeding games and just barely make it to the play in with the 8 seed! Damian Lillard is setting records and tying his career high of 61 to somehow squeak out wins and will his team to the play-in against the Memphis Grizzlies! Tara Bowen-Biggs joins us as we discuss how stressful and intense that final game against the Brooklyn Nets was, how we feel about the Blazers chances going forward, how this team struggles despite Dame's dominance, we also discuss the hall of fame, 100 Percent Trent and more! What questions do you have? Comment and hit us up on Twitter! Peeps in Plaid | @PeepsInPlaid | https://www.twitter.com/peepsinplaid Christian Gmelin | @ChristianGmelon | https://www.twitter.com/christiangmelon Austin Kaphammer | @AKaphammer | https://www.twitter.com/akaphammer And you can find this episode’s guest: Tara Bowen-Biggs | @tcbbiggs | https://twitter.com/tcbbiggs Huge thank you to Tara for joining us especially late and after a mentally taxing game! And to our musical contributors, Ziggy Zay and Mashonibeats for the intro and outro music. Check out Ziggy wherever you stream your music and Mashoni on Soundcloud! Episode Timeline: :26 – The Blazers win, and welcome Tara! 1:50 – Reviewing Blazers-Nets, and the stress that came with watching it. 4:47 – Are we worried about these close games? 6:09 – Could you imagine if this was the last game of the season? 7:02 – Dame is garnering ALL the attention. 17:24 – What were the Blazers chances going into the seeding games? 18:54 – The Nets are mirroring the Clippers last year, and the Blazers should have beaten them more easily. 20:25 – CJ has a broken back??? Tara's research comes to the rescue as we try to understand. 24:20 – Christian predicted all 5 final games correctly, we summarize those games. 25:35 – Christian retells the tragedy of failing to secure $61 Dames. 27:15 – How do we feel going into the Grizzlies Play-in and potential Lakers Playoff games? 31:51 – Has Zach Collins been overhyped? Can he continue to improve and impress? 39:45 – For the Blazers, the best defense is THE BEST offense. 40:30 – Let's talk Hall of Fame! Do the Blazers have hall of famers on their team? Tara describes her experience at the Naismith Hall of Fame. 47:25 – Brief discussion on Dame and the haters/Skip Bayless. S/O @GoldnerPDX 49:05 – Damian Lillard cares, and he leads, and he is involved... and we are lucky to have him. 52:40 – Christian explains his gripe with the Hall of Fame by dropping a bomb of sadness. 58:00 – Discussing the WNBA, Seattle Storm and Brittney Griner. 101:21 – #100PercentTrent is a perfect nickname for a guy who give it his all every play.

THE BLAZERS HAVE MADE THE PLAY-IN!

The NBA Bubble in Orlando is heating up! After defeating the Houston Rockets, the Trail Blazers made it to a game and a half behind the Grizzlies, but by the time this episode got pushed out the Grizzlies lost to the Jazz making it just 1 game!  We discuss the three games the Blazers have played in the bubble, which players have been showing up *cough* Gary Trent Jr., how tight the 8-13 seeded teams are, what the heck is a Power Forward and more! What questions do you have? Comment and hit us up on Twitter! Peeps in Plaid | @PeepsInPlaid | https://www.twitter.com/peepsinplaid Christian Gmelin | @ChristianGmelon | https://www.twitter.com/christiangmelon Austin Kaphammer | @AKaphammer | https://www.twitter.com/akaphammer Huge thank you to our musical contributors, Ziggy Zay and Mashonibeats for the intro and outro music. Check out Ziggy wherever you stream your music and Mashoni on Soundcloud! Episode Timeline: :34 – Summary of NBA restart thus far. 1:16 – Reviewing Blazers-Rockets. 3:41 – Do the Blazers play position-less basketball, or do they have a more traditional play style? 8:00 – Let’s talk about the young guys. Fun fact Gary Trent Jr. (100 Percent Trent) is amazing. 14:11– What the heck is a power forward? How has it changed recently? 16:52– Gary Trent Jr.: 2nd most confident Portland Trail Blazer. 19:52 – Let’s talk Hassan Whiteside. How is he playing and what is his role? And are Centers to the NBA what Linemen are to the NFL? 25:30 – Reviewing Blazers-Grizzlies. 27:30 – The great power forward debate continues as we discuss big men shooting 3s. 33:47 – Dame time against the Celtics and which players does he play better against? 34:50 – Reviewing Blazers-Celtics. 37:47 – Big-Market fans and their delusional superstition. 38:34 – What’s next for the Blazers? We predict wins and losses. 40:58 – Devin Booker, his game winner and his age. 42:45 – Reviewing the rules on the 8-9 seed playoff 46:47 – Trevor Ariza, we miss you. Please come back Trevor. Apply for an exception… please.

The Wild Wild West!

The NBA is back! Austin and Christian are stoked and you better be! What the heck is going on? What is it going to take for the Blazers to make the playoffs? We explain, while also discussing the recent scrimmage games, which players will not be playing in the NBA bubble, which teams have a real shot at the championship and more! What questions do you have? Comment and hit us up on Twitter!  Peeps in Plaid | @PeepsInPlaid | https://www.twitter.com/peepsinplaid  Christian Gmelin | @ChristianGmelon | https://www.twitter.com/christiangmelon  Austin Kaphammer | @AKaphammer | https://www.twitter.com/akaphammer  Huge thank you to our musical contributors, Ziggy Zay and Mashonibeats for the intro and outro music. Check out Ziggy wherever you stream your music and Mashoni on Soundcloud!  Episode Timeline:  :56 – Season restart explanation 2:12 – Reviewing Blazers scrimmage games 10:25 – Blazers rotation discussion and things we’d like to see them do as the regular season restarts 17:00 – Which players will be missing time or skipping the NBA restart altogether 26:40 – Past NBA playoff discussion and other random thoughts and stats across the league 31:05 – Is Jusuf Nurkic an aggressive guy? We look at his background 33:45 – Basketball Players as NFL Tight Ends 37:12 – Tiers of contention: Who is for real in the NBA restart? 47:51 – Why the Blazers will struggle in the years to come

NBA RESTART

We don't know for how long, but we recorded just before it became official! Christian gives an introduction updating the status of Cornavirus in the sports world, even more updates have occurred since recording, as the MLB and NHL are suspending operations and Duke has official decided not to participate in the NCAA March Madness Tournament, likely signaling the suspension/cancellation of the 2020 tournament. Christian also argues against the idea of skipping the regular season and starting the playoffs whenever the NBA resumes. The Blazers have gone 3-3 in their last 6 games and are still 3.5 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies as the push for the playoffs continues.  We discuss Coronavirus just minutes before news broke of the suspended season, Nurk's return from injury, our newest tradition "Printed in Plaid" and more!

The NBA Season is suspended due to Coronavirus!

The NBA All-Star break has passed and the Trail Blazers are 1-3 since, losing the season series and potential tie-break to the New Orleans Pelicans. With Damian Lillard on the bench how can the Blazers turn things around to finish strong and take the 8th seed? We discuss this, the Elam ending that we saw in the All-Star game, questions from the listeners. and more! What questions do you have? Comment and hit us up on Twitter! Peeps in Plaid | @PeepsInPlaid | https://www.twitter.com/peepsinplaid Christian Gmelin | @ChristianGmelon | https://www.twitter.com/christiangmelon Austin Kaphammer | @AKaphammer | https://www.twitter.com/akaphammer Huge thank you to our musical contributors, Ziggy Zay and Mashonibeats for the intro and outro music. Check out Ziggy wherever you stream your music and Mashoni on Soundcloud! Episode Timeline: :35 – Quick summary of the last couple weeks 1:44 – Recapping recent games 2:10 – Lindsey makes a brief entrance and it freezes Austin’s computer… recap continues 12:20 – Looking back at the All-Star break, and should the Elam ending be implemented in the NBA? 19:10 – Listener questions: Starting with @tomasoranski – potential draft prospects. Ya, we don’t watch much college ball… 24:20 – Listener question: @thehalloflame – where is Anfernee? 27:45 – Listener question: @HamzaCh02917112 – Nurk’s injury and effect upon return (we may not have properly addressed the question so we’ll definitely talk more Nurk next week) 30:15 – Listener question: @RandallPinkFlo4 – Does CJ elevate the players around him like Dame does?

Lillardless / The Elam Ending / Listener Q&A

The NBA Trade Deadline has passed, Skal Labissiere was traded away for practically nothing and the Blazers have limped their way to the All-Star break. Unfortunately, Damian Lillard will be sitting out of the All-Star Game and 3-Point Contest with a groin injury suffered in an important loss to the Memphis Grizzlies in the midst of a playoff push. Whitty from Blazertag Podcast joins us for the third time as we discuss all this and more! What questions do you have? Comment and hit us up on Twitter! Peeps in Plaid | @PeepsInPlaid | https://www.twitter.com/peepsinplaid Christian Gmelin | @ChristianGmelon | https://www.twitter.com/christiangmelon Austin Kaphammer | @AKaphammer | https://www.twitter.com/akaphammer Ryan “Whitty” Whitledge | @TheWhittyRyan | https://www.twitter.com/thewhittyryan BlazerTag Podcast | @BlazerTagPDX | https://www.twitter.com/BlazerTagPDX Huge thank you to Whitty for joining us, check out BlazerTag Podcast! Also huge thank you to Ziggy Zay and Macchione for the intro and outro music, check out Ziggy wherever you stream your music and Macchione on Soundcloud! Episode Timeline: :35 – Welcoming our guest Ryan “Whitty” Whitledge 2:10 – The longest rant ever. Christian isn’t a Neil Olshey fan… 10:09 – Whitty responds and gives some perspective on the moves Neil Olshey has made 19:18 – Discussing the importance of continuity and keeping current players 23:00 – Reviewing recent Blazers games 32:20 – How much better would the Blazers be if Ariza played from the start of the season, and Little/Hezonja talk 37:29 – Tank Talk: Should the Blazers surge ahead for the playoffs? 38:55 – 2 way contract explanation 40:23 – Megapod Marathon??? 40:57 – Where you can hear from Whitty! @BlazerTagPDX

Quiet Deadline, Injured Dame and Whitty Wisdom

The world is mourning as Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and 7 other people were killed in a helicopter crash this last Sunday. We reflect on his legacy and our respect for him. Damian Lillard won Western Conference player of the week after averaging 52-7-9. He then followed up that week with his first triple-double of his career. Our friend and longtime Blazer fan, Matt Eldredge joins as we discuss all this and more! What questions do you have? Comment and hit us up on Twitter! Peeps in Plaid | @PeepsInPlaid | https://www.twitter.com/peepsinplaid Christian Gmelin | @ChristianGmelon | https://www.twitter.com/christiangmelon Austin Kaphammer | @AKaphammer | https://www.twitter.com/akaphammer Huge thank you to Ziggy Zay and Macchione for the intro and outro music, check out Ziggy wherever you stream your music and Macchione on Soundcloud! Episode Timeline: :35 – Welcoming our guest Matt Eldredge 1:04 – Remembering Kobe Bryant 9:13 – Some more information about the helicopter crash 11:30 – Honoring players with jersey numbers 13:03 – How hard NBA players have been playing since last Sunday 14:46 – A couple Trail Blazers fan questions for Matt 20:05 – NBA All-Star Reserves were announced, we discuss who made it and who was snubbed 24:00 – Quick complaint about flopping… 26:10 – Comparing the stats of All-Star Rudy Gobert and Trail Blazer Hassan Whiteside 27:30 – Top players in the league in assists this season 29:25 – Ben McLemore is showing up lately, also Ariza doesn’t want him to have the ball 31:15 – We love Nassir Little (AKA Nas, AKA Lil Nas X) 35:05 – How the Blazers have been playing since Ariza joined the team and Christian flips a switch waffle… 38:20 – How Damian Lillard has improved the last couple years 45:10 – Trade deadline is 1 week away! Why the Blazers should trade Whiteside, and the upcoming schedule 51:03 – Austin stops us from rambling… we were trying to talk all night, thanks for listening!

Remembering Kobe & Dame Dominates

The Blazers have traded Kent Bazemore, Anthony Tolliver & two 2nd round picks to the Kings for Trevor Ariza, Caleb Swanigan & Wenyen Gabriel. Then Damian Lillard scored a career high, Blazers and MLK Day record 61 points in an overtime win over the Warriors - all while missing 4 starters due to injury and 2 fill in starters to the pending trade. Nurk had a full on practice and Collins is working his way back too! Should the Blazers still trade Whiteside? Is this finally a turning point for the Blazers? Austin and Christian discuss all this and more! What questions do you have? Comment and hit us up on Twitter! Peeps in Plaid | @PeepsInPlaid | https://www.twitter.com/peepsinplaid Christian Gmelin | @ChristianGmelon | https://www.twitter.com/christiangmelon Austin Kaphammer | @AKaphammer | https://www.twitter.com/akaphammer Huge thank you to Ziggy Zay and Macchione for the intro and outro music, check out Ziggy wherever you stream your music and Macchione on Soundcloud! Episode Timeline: :35 – *TRADE ALERT* and Dame’s career high! 2:27 – Recapping Blazers V. Warriors 8:52 – Our opinions on the Bazemore-Ariza trade 15:15 – Championship contending rosters and how the Blazers roster looks 20:40 – Upcoming Blazers games and what we hope to see 22:19 – Hassan Whiteside trade timing 24:53 – Who should the Blazers trade for next? 33:30 – Hezonja, potential free agent acquisitions, versatility and depth 38:14 – What Trevor Ariza brings to the table

61 points and a trade!

The Trail Blazers are now 10th in the west but things are looking up after just their 3rd win of the season against a team with a winning record by taking down a fully loaded Rockets team. How are we feeling about the team at the halfway point in the season? Is a trade still necessary? Can the Blazers beat more good teams with a rough upcoming schedule? What have we liked and disliked on the court lately? Austin and Christian discuss all this and more! What questions do you have? Comment and hit us up on Twitter! Peeps in Plaid | @PeepsInPlaid | https://www.twitter.com/peepsinplaid Christian Gmelin | @ChristianGmelon | https://www.twitter.com/christiangmelon Austin Kaphammer | @AKaphammer | https://www.twitter.com/akaphammer Huge thank you to Ziggy Zay and Macchione for the intro and outro music, check out Ziggy wherever you stream your music and Macchione on Soundcloud! Episode Timeline: :35 – The Blazers went 4-4 in the last 8, and Austin’s laptop freezes 5:20 – The Blazers place in the league and how their players playing well hasn’t resulted in wins 12:10 – Back to trade talk, trading picks over players 21:03 – Christian and Austin continue to heap praise on Luka Doncic 24:04 – More trade talk, getting into specifics of possible trade partners 32:01 – A strange tangent into NBA Arena names… 33:28 – Blazers upcoming schedule 34:58 – Players and what we’re seeing on the court lately for the Blazers 40:40 – More around the league talk 42:13 – Austin CURSES AHHHH! Don’t worry there’s no audio

Dame > Russ!

The Blazers are now just barely clinging onto 8th in the west but it’s a new year so we’re not going to linger on the negative. The NBA hasn’t changed much in the last decade but there seems to be significant change on the horizon. Will there be league expansion? If so which cities? What about a midseason single elimination tournament, what would that look like? How will league alignment and playoff structure change in the next 10 years? Austin and Christian cover all these questions and more! Plus there’s a poorly made chart that outlines current divisions and new divisions so check that out too… What questions do you have? Comment and hit us up on Twitter! Peeps in Plaid | @PeepsInPlaid | https://www.twitter.com/peepsinplaid Christian Gmelin | @ChristianGmelon | https://www.twitter.com/christiangmelon Austin Kaphammer | @AKaphammer | https://www.twitter.com/akaphammer Huge thank you to Ziggy Zay and Macchione for the intro and outro music, check out Ziggy wherever you stream your music and Macchione on Soundcloud! Episode Timeline: :35 – Former NBA Commissioner David Stern has passed away at the age of 77 1:57 – Blazers current situation and Carmelo’s first game in MSG since 2017 4:45 – The NBA 2030, looking back on the last decade and forward to the decade to come 6:03 – NBA expansion, which cities could get a team 8:00 – Quick dive into WNBA expansion 13:19 – Why the NBA should expand: what the schedule would look like, more clarity and purpose in league alignment 17:11 – Changing NBA playoff structure: 5 game series and changes to sweeps 18:20 – Changing NBA playoff structure: division winners and a matchup draft 22:28 – NBA in-season tournament!?! 30:30 – Single elimination 1 game playoff for the last playoff seeds? 31:20 – Back to league expansion and realignment, look at our not-so-fancy chart! 34:55 – Why expansion makes sense for every reason 36:14 – 4 point shot? Really? 37:13 – Christian’s mini gripe about field goal percentage 38:23 – Intentional fouling and flopping 40:14 – COVER YOUR EARS AUSTIN’S FIRE ALARM GOES OFF and then we wrap up

NBA 2030

Trailblazers focused podcast with Co-hosts Christian Gmelin and Austin Kaphammer. Available on iTunes, Google Podcast, Spotify, Anchor FM and more!

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Peeps in Plaid

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