Blazer Focused

Portland Trail Blazers news, interviews and analysis from The Oregonian/OregonLive's Aaron Fentress and co-host Craig Birnbach.

Sports
Basketball
51
Recapping CJ McCollum appreciation night, plus ...
Aaron and Craig recap the remarkable outpouring of love for CJ McCollum in his first game back.
56 min
52
Inside Anfernee Simons' rise, plus tank talk an...
Fentress and Birnbach talk more about Anfernee's childhood and emergence this season.
41 min
53
The Blazers tank is achieving 'work of art' status
The tank is on in spectacular fashion, but what do the young Blazers get out of the beatdowns?
41 min
54
Turns out the tank is back on
The Trail Blazers are once again headed toward losersville USA.
41 min
55
Will the Trail Blazers ever lose again?
No CJ, Norm, Roco or Dame, no problem.
48 min
56
The Build Back Blazers edition
Taking stock of a riveting trade deadline in Rip City.
42 min
57
Grading the CJ McCollum and Norman Powell trades
Aaron and Craig react to the CJ McCollum and Norman Powell trades and much more
38 min
58
Blazers thumped by Thunder, Ant has a bad game,...
Aaron and Craig discuss Anfernee's bad game, the difficulty of covering this team at this moment and more.
52 min
59
Nassir Little is the latest injured Blazer, plu...
Aaron Fentress and Craig Birnbach will be co-hosts on the Blazer Focused podcast.
60 min
60
Brian Wheeler talks Damian Lillard's surgery an...
The longtime Blazers radio play-by-play guy talks Lillard's surgery and the upcoming trade deadline.
50 min
61
With Dame out again, Blazers have prime chance ...
Portland could tank now that Dame is out again
31 min
62
Rough times in Rip City as Blazers' losing stre...
Rough times in Rip City
51 min
63
Getting to know Joe Cronin
Portland Trail Blazers fans heard from Joe Cronin, the franchise's interim general manager, for the first time this week.It felt like a new era, but the team is still riddled with question marks and is at the center of trade rumors across the N...
45 min
64
Reaction to Neil Olshey's firing
Neil Olshey, the architect of the Portland Trail Blazers for the past decade, was fired Friday.On the latest episode of the Blazer Focused podcast, beat writer Aaron Fentress is joined by Joe Freeman and Andrew Theen to break down the latest dramati...
65 min
65
Kerry Eggers on Jerome Kersey, Dame and more
A longtime Portland reporter who covered the Trail Blazers for decades has a new biography about one of the franchise’s most popular players.On this week’s episode of the Blazer Focused podcast, Aaron Fentress chats with longtime Portland journalist...
30 min
66
Recapping the roller coaster start to the seaso...
The Blazers are accustomed to tough starts to the season during the Lillard era, but this season is unlikely any other because of the coaching change, Dame's struggles and other factors.On the latest episode of Blazer Focused, podcasts editor A...
33 min
67
Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey under investigatio...
On this week’s episode of the Blazer Focused podcast, beat writer Aaron Fentress and Joe Freeman discussed the investigation into alleged workplace misconduct by Neil Olshey, team president of basketball operations.
61 min
68
The Portland Trail Blazers' Craig Birnbach on D...
Craig Birnbach has an NCAA championship ring.Now he wants some bigger hardware [kidding, sorta].On the latest episode of the Blazer Focused podcast, Aaron Fentress is joined by one of the newest members of the Trail Blazers broadcasting team. Cra...
70 min
69
Has an empowered and mature Anfernee Simons fin...
The Portland Trail Blazers have been up front so far that the season would likely include some up and downs as the team adjusted to a new coach, a new defensive system and tweaks on the offensive side.That’s been true to form.On this week’s episode...
44 min
70
2021-22 NBA Season Preview
The NBA season kicks off Oct. 20 and there is drama galore: Ben Simmons, Kyrie Irving, more super teams.On the latest episode of Blazer Focused, Aaron Fentress is joined by colleague Aron Yohannes (a Milwaukee Bucks superfan) to discuss the storylin...
65 min
71
Nurk shooting threes, Ant dropping dimes and de...
The Oregonian/OregonLive's Aaron Fentress and Andrew Theen discuss the Trail Blazers' preseason opener. Them chatted about Jusuf Nurkic shooting more threes, Anfernee Simons running the second unit and the defensive struggles. They also discu...
39 min
72
Recapping Blazer Media Day: Dame's all the way ...
The Portland Trail Blazers held their media day this week, and all the talking points were strong. This is a team focused on defense, where roles will be accepted and leaders will be held responsible.On the latest episode of Blazer Focused, beat wri...
47 min
73
5 storylines to watch from training camp
Basketball time is nearly here!On the latest episode of the Blazer Focused podcast, Aaron Fentress and Andrew Theen discuss some of the key storylines surrounding the team as it approaches training camp, the first preseason game and media day.The...
47 min
74
Ben Simmons rumors, Dame's wedding, Nance Jr. t...
It's officially the Dog Days of Summer, but there's still plenty to talk about when it comes to the Portland Trail Blazers.On the latest episode of the Blazer Focused podcast, Aaron Fentress and Andrew Theen discuss the every-swirling Ben ...
44 min
75
Going deep on Billups' coaching philosophy and ...
On the latest episode of the Blazer Focused podcast, beat writer Aaron Fentress is joined by podcasts editor Andrew Theen. They discussed Aaron's recent pieces examining Chauncey Billups' coaching philosophy as he sees it and Norman Powell...
45 min