Is the Blazer's Bench For Real? - a podcast by SB Nation

On this week’s episode of the Blazer’s Edge podcast, Tara Bowen-Biggs and Danny Marang take a look at the Blazer’s 2-0 start, the madness of the first week of NBA action, “Spitgate”, early storylines, Portland’s bench revival, Maurice Harkless coming off the bench, Damian Lillard picking up where he left off last season, how hot is “the sauce” and more!
IntroOpening Comments:40 What the hell is going on in the NBA? 1:45 Coach Stotts introduces the whistle wrinkle 3:10 Dan has never seen Sound of Music.4:05 What has made the last two games so fun to watch?4:20 Vet Minimum Signing Nik Stauskas carries game one. He earned his whole salary that game.6:00 Dame’s NBA Award speech6:50 The Moda center crowd is bringing it7:40 Checking in on where the Blazers are with Assists, Rebounds and Fast Break Points9:00 Fast pace because of Lakers and because of Evan turner10:05 Even Turner is straight up playing well in his job of bench playmaker11:20 Zach Collins-- game one impacted the game defensively, game two he impacted it offensively. Evan Turner has been a big part of that.13:15 Is the bench play something that can continue the whole season?14:30 Nik Stauskas able to get into the paint is unexpected and provides different looks.16:30 Will Maurice Harkless continue to come off the bench? He’s really effective. Is he happy there?18:45 Jake is doing just fine in the starting lineup. Stotts is treating it like the Noah Vonleh experiment. Jake starts, Hakless gets the bulk of the minutes,20:15 Has the Blazer Bench Celebration Brigade peeked too early?21:25 Portland guards gave the San Antonio guards a heck of a night.23:15 Meyers off the bench: 8-10 minutes and creating things for others, partially by effective screening, which is a thankless job.26:15 Lets talk about the starters.26:50 Damian Lillard MVP Campaign has already started.29:05 Damian Lillard has been this good all along, and that is part of what makes him great.30:15 Is anyone going to vote for Chris Paul for all star anymore? Rajon Rondo might see an uptick!33:15 Thoughts on players being friends.35:15 Feels like there is an edge or extra tension throughout the league this season.36:15 This league-wide hyped up NBA offense might be the offseason wrinkle that no one saw coming. Probably somewhat due to more free throws and newer coaches unleashing 3 point shooting.39:15 Also, more 3s mean longer rebounds which pushes the pace.40:20 Previewing upcoming games. Washington (also Nurkic talk).44:00 Miami and Orlando: Portland tends to struggle in both locations45:40 Tara brings up injuries despite complaining every time anyone else brings up injuries. 47:00 Don’t let either one of the Florida games be a trap game!47:45 Remembering Paul Allen51:25 First Women’s Hoops And Talks meet-up of the season is October 27! Join us to watch Blazers take on Miami. Find out more by joining our Facebook group or visit us on meetup.com.
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