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Former co-host Kendyl Bennett joins the podcast to talk all things Carmelo Anthony--how do we think he is settling in? Will he continue to average 16 shots a night? How will that impact Rodney Hood’s scoring opportunities? We wonder why Hassan Whiteside is so up and down and what will it take for him to reach his potential? We talk about being thankful for balance in the league and we share our thoughts about the Golden State Warriors new reality and if the San Antonio Spurs are really, truly, having a bad year.
Highlights
00:45 Icebreaker from @paulnavarre “In the spirit of Melo, who against all odds has made me cheer for him and really start to like him: the player who made you change your opinion about him the most.” We talk Patrick Beverly, Carmelo Anthony, Jamal Crawford and Jusuf Nurkic.
6:15 What does everyone think of the Carmelo Anthony Experience? Kendyl: When he first came, she thought “why not?” the team needed some new life. He’s improving, he seems to have put the work in. Lillard and McCollum are going to hold him to high standards.
8:45 Cassidy has come around after initially being pretty upset about it. At first didn’t buy that he would take a step back from demanding attention. It looks like he just really loves playing the game.
10:45 How do people feel about the fact that he is averaging 16 shots per game? Hard to know, was he taking shots away from Lillard and McCollum or were they going with the flow because he was open and he had open shots? Possibly he had lots of shots to help him acclimate.
14:30 What if Carmelo can’t adjust to taking fewer shots? In any case, the arrival of Anthony has given the whole team something bigger than themselves.
17:00 Tara compares the Carmelo Experience to the Kanter Experience: someone who comes in a does a decent job filling in, in a lot of respects is better than expected (entertainment value alone) and then when he’s gone we won’t be surprised. Kendyl believes it is possible he could even stay (if they end up guaranteeing his contract) because no other contender has expressed interest in taking him on, and Portland could be one of the better teams next year after everyone is healthy.
21:30 Anthony is out there learning the Portland system, but he’s not learning the NBA at the same time like many of the younger players, so that is one thing you don’t have to worry about when he is in.
22:30 How does the addition of Carmelo Anthony affect Rodney Hood? Is he taking away too many shots?
23:55 Portland has options, not just Melo, but Hood, Simons, even Skal are finding their scoring rhythm giving Lillard more options.
25:10 Could carrying a lesser scoring load help save Lillard’s energy at all? Does anyone know? Anyone?
28:15 What are we thankful for?
28:35 Cassidy is thankful for Lillard’s leadership and also articles about Hassan Whiteside’s fish because she is struggling to enjoy his role on the Blazers. She really wants him to live up to his potential. Kendyl is puzzled why he is not having a bigger impact on the team when he is in a contract year. It is frustrating to watch.
35:00 Tara is thankful for Jusuf Nurkic because he is recovering and because he taught her patience. Kendyl compares Whiteside to Mason Plumlee when he was a Blazer and he avoided contact. The flow offense might be taking longer to learn for Whiteside.
41:00 Kendyl is very happy for more balance in the league (and the downfall of the Warriors).
45:00 Are the San Antonio Spurs truly down and out? Or will they rise again (like they always do)?
47:00 Headlines from around the league. “He said, they said” -Richard Jefferson and the New York Knicks. Why do the Knicks always come out and say the wrong thing?
50:00 “Living La Vida Luka” -Luka Donic is averaging 30.6pts, 10.1rb 9.8assts. The new young rising stars are exciting.
51:00 “14 game appetizer-14 games dessert sandwich” American Thanksgiving making for an epic lineup
53:40 ”Do you have a doctor’s note?” -League cracking down on load management and seeking future solutions. What is really going on? Is the proposed new schedule supposed to help players? Tara has a conspiracy theory (as usual).
Get social
Follow Blazer’s Edge on Twitter @blazersedge, WHAT Pod @HoopsAndTalks, Tara @tcbbiggs, and Cassidy @CassidyGemmet. This week’s guest: @brookeolzendam
Join the Women’s Hoops And Talks Facebook group to talk about Trail Blazers with others who identify as women who love basketball.
Music used in the episode: “Happy Alley” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.