The Blazers Balcony

In the latest edition of the Rip City Report, recorded live at Tough Luck Bar in NE Portland, Joe Freeman and Casey Holdahl discuss the NBA trade deadline, the deal that brought Rodney Hood to Portland, the wing rotation with the arrival of Hood and the recent strong play of Jake Layman, play a quick round of Walton or Oden and finish by answering questions from fans in attendance. 

In this edition of the Rip City Report podcast, The Oregonian's Joe Freeman and the Trail Blazers’ Casey Holdahl discuss the Trail Blazers’ successful January, whether they've shaken their reputation as a team that doesn't beat good competition, the Kristaps Porzingis trade, star players demanding trades and the implications in Portland, details of next week’s live podcast, play round of “Blazers Jeopardy" and a round of "Walton or Oden," and finish up by answering listener questions about about Jake Layman, covering the All-Star Game, whether CJ McCollum feels under appreciated, Blazers triple-doubles, Jusuf Nurkic’s knee pain, the biggest fan “freak out” in recent memory and much, much more.

On this edition of The Blazers Balcony, presented by SoleSavy and recorded on the road in Phoenix, Brooke Olzendam and Casey Holdahl discuss the pronunciation of the word "crayon," what to do with the top of a wool cap, meeting Drew Eubanks' fiancé  in an elevator, Brooke's favorite "Street Fighter" characters, family Tetris, wearing shorts on TV, Portland starting their post All-Star break stretch with three-straight losses of more than 30 points, Anfernee Simons vs. Jae Crowder, arena logistics, Kevin and Lamar keeping games interesting, Calabro at the pool, a Brooke Hearts Your Heart campaign update, Greg Brown III vs. JaVale McGee and theories on why Brown and Trendon Watford are coming off the bench. 

On this post All-Star break edition of The Blazers Balcony podcast, Brooke Olzendam and Casey Holdahl discuss the recent loss to the Warriors, the host of transactions the Trail Blazers executed, Jusuf Nurkic being out for at least a month, Joe Ingles' future, a recap of the State of the United event for season ticket holders and which picks the Trail Blazers would have if the 2022 NBA Draft was today. 

In this post-deadline, pre-All-Star break edition of The Blazers Balcony, Brooke Olzendam and Casey Holdahl discuss the additions of Justise Winslow and Josh Hart, the Trail Blazers pulling off some unexpected wins, beating the Lakers and Bucks and whether teams are taking Portland seriously right now, whether the team is better off tanking and if such a thing is even possible with this roster, Chauncey Billups coaching the team up, making progress in developing an identity and becoming a team that wins thanks to playing hard. Other topics include 40th birthdays, Kevin and Lamar calls, hot water at the arena, Joe Cronin the dude, the sneakers Brooke is trying to obtain and SEDONA!  

In this edition of The Blazers Balcony, Brooke Olzendam and Casey Holdahl give their thoughts on the reported trade sending CJ McCollum, Larry Nance and Tony Snell to New Orleans for Josh Hart, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Tomas Satoransky and Didi Louzada and a first round pick and the trade that sent Norman Powell and Robert Covington to the Clippers in exchange for Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, Keon Johnson and a second round pick. Brooke and Casey spend most of the podcast discussing McCollum career, both on and off the court, in Portland while also touching on Brooke recovering from COVID and waiting until the end of the trade deadline to consider what's next for the Trail Blazers. 

On this week's episode of The Blazers Balcony, presented by SoleSavy, Brooke Olzendam and Casey Holdahl discuss the Trail Blazers' improved play to start a six-game road trip, the rise of Anferne Simons and Nassir Little, Jusuf Nurkic and Robert Covington returning to form, Damian Lillard being sidelined for at least the next six weeks after undergoing surgery, CJ McCollum's return to the lineup and the birth of his first child and questions about how the starting lineup might change with the return of McCollum and Norman Powell. Other topics include adopting manatees, Fun Dip, the "Own a Star" scam and Kevin Calabro's "Shopping Cart" award. 

On this edition of The Blazers Balcony podcast, Brooke Olzendam and Casey Holdahl discuss the play of the short-handed Trail Blazers, the growth of both Anfernee Simons and Nassir Little, what might be next for Damian Lillard and getting something useful out of the 2021-22 season. Other topics also include Brooke's mayo taste test, Robert Covington dropping post-game F-bombs and trying to knock Nassir Little's hustle. 

On this edition, Brooke Olzendam and Casey Holdahl discuss the current state of the Trail Blazers at the end of 2021, how the team is dealing with having more than half the roster unavailable due to COVID health and safety protocols (though a few players have been cleared to return since this recording), answer one listener-submitted question and quickly look back on the years that was. 

On this Christmas edition of The Blazers Balcony podcast, presented by SoleSavy, Brooke Olzendam and Casey Holdahl, recording at the team hotel in New Orleans, discuss ending an extended losing streak by defeating the Hornets and Grizzlies, confidence in Norman Powell, late game execution in the win versus Memphis, the confusing free throw issue and the current state of COVID in the NBA. Other topics include buying replacement shoelaces, Brooke's Christmas shopping, holiday pickles, broken thumbs and the time Brooke almost got hit by a train. 

On this edition of The Blazers Balcony, sponsored by SoleSavy, Brooke Olzendam and Casey Holdahl discuss their takeaways from the press conference introducing Joe Cronin and Dewayne Hankins alongside Chauncey Billups, Cronin's orders to "hit the ground running," the never ending Damian Lillard speculation and an update on Portland's injuries. Brooke and Casey also discuss staying home from school, impressing players with sneakers, and New Kids vs. Boyz II Men.

Brooke Olzendam and Casey Holdahl discuss the termination of Trail Blazers' president of basketball operations Neil Olshey due to "violations of the Portland Trail Blazers' Code of Conduct" after an investigation into workplace issues at the team's practice facility in Tualatin, the promotion of Joe Cronin to interim general manager and how the team moves forward on this edition of The Blazers Balcony podcast. 

On this edition of The Blazers Balcony podcast, Brooke Olzendam and Casey Holdahl give their thoughts on the team 20 games into the season, starting a three-game trip with losses to the Kings and Warriors, Portland's seeming inability to win games on the road, the differences in their statistics between road and home games, a home-heavy schedule in December and spending another Thanksgiving on the road. 

On the latest edition of The Blazers Balcony podcast, Brooke Olzendam and Casey Holdahl look back on Portland's 1-3 road trip and look forward to the 4-game homestand, besting the Raptors after an embarrassing performance versus the Nuggets, a better atmosphere at Moda Center, players making a point to be "joyful" in games, what Chauncey Billups is learning and whether changes to the starting lineup and/or end of game rotations are on the horizon. Other topics include dropping F-bombs on broadcast, Damian Lillard's approach to parenting and profanity, spending another Thanksgiving on the road, trying to figure out what table to sit at, Tony Snell's birthday party, Brooke's C-section and final farewells to Chris McGowan. 

On this edition of The Blazers Balcony podcast, Brooke Olzendam and Casey Holdahl discuss the first 10 games of Portland's season,  being winless on the road going into a four-game trip, the play of the bench, Greg Brown minutes, whether it's too early to start Sixth Man and Most Improved campaigns for Anfernee Simons, Chauncey Billups and the referees, whether Damian Lillard's slump has been busted and Jusuf Nurkic taking his time. Other topics include breakfast in Philadelphia, accidentally stalking Dame's wife, Brooke's 30th birthday party, the Nike employee store, whether Casey needs to assist Brooke when it comes to sneaker shopping for her son Theo and wearing Sambas. 

On the latest edition of the Blazers Balcony, Brooke Olzendam and Casey Holdahl discuss the Trail Blazers' up and down first week, an "embarrassing" performance versus the Clippers, Damian Lillard's early-season shooting struggles, Norman Powell's injury (he's been upgraded to questionable) and Brooke's thoughts on returning to the road. 

On the 2021-22 Season Preview edition of The Blazers Balcony podcast, Brooke Olzendam and Casey Holdahl discuss the start of the season, which begins with the home opener versus the Kings on Wednesday, a season of change, what to make of preseason, training camp legs, a motivated Jusuf Nurkic, a difficult early-season schedule, Larry Nance Jr.'s on-court chatter and finish by making some season predictions. 

On this edition of The Blazers Balcony, Brooke Olzendam and Casey Holdahl discuss Portland's first two preseason games and what they'd like to see in the final two,  the battle for the 14th roster spot, whether Portland's injuries are serious or a product of preseason and the addition of Neil Everett to the broadcast team and that means for others on staff. Brooke and Casey also talk mock squabbles, debating animal testing, big wins for Brooke’s Cougars, the Birthday Industrial Complex, the smell of hot dogs, taking the bus or the Maserati, Nurk truck and Brooke going “casual."

On the latest edition of the Blazers Balcony, Brooke Olzendam and Casey Holdahl discuss Portland's first preseason contest, the play of Jusuf Nurkic, Anfernee Simons as backup point guard, Cody Zeller's broken nose and players playing through injuries, a new look for Norman Powell, Larry Nance Jr. getting recognized by NBA GMs and dive bar dogs. 

On the first edition of the 2021-22 season Blazers Balcony podcast, Brooke Olzendam and Casey Holdahl discuss media day, Chauncey Billups putting an address on it, Damian Lillard putting the offseason behind him, the enthusiasm around the team at the start of the season and takeaways from the first few days of training camp.