[Podcast] Andrew Sharp of Sports Illustrated on Blazers Fans, Playoffs and NBA Chaos

Sports Illustrated senior writer and co-host of the Open Floor Podcast, Andrew Sharp, joined the Blazer’s Edge podcast to talk about being a long-time admirer of the Trail Blazers’ fan community and how he got started writing about basketball. Then Andrew and Tara reflect on the post-season so far: what do the Blazers’ accomplishments look like to the national observers, how disappointing would it be if they exit in the second round, and what should be their biggest concerns?

As a long suffering Wizards fan, does he see similarities and differences between the Lillard/McCollum and Wall/Beal backcourts? He has interviewed and written about Jusuf Nurkic and Rodney Hood, what did he take away from those conversations? Does he prefer chaos or excellence in his NBA performances? All this and more on this edition of the Blazer’s Edge Podcast.

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:38 Sharp’s long-time, late-night fascination with Blazer’s Edge

2:08 Where he falls in the Greg Oden/Kevin Durant debate

5:33 How he got into sports writing

12:20 How the Blazers look in the post-season, from a national perspective

17:20 How would he feel about going into next year if he was a Blazer fan?

19:20 Admiration of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum and their steady improvement year over year

22:03 Talking with Jusuf Nurkic about Lillard’s ability to lead and help other players find their way

25:17 #EmbraceTheChaos vs #ConnoisseursOfExcellence

31:06 If the Blazers make it to the next round, what would those matchups look like?

36:57 Sharp’s fondness for Rodney Hood. Where did it come from?

41:33 Looking forward to finding out what happens in the off season