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Tara and Cassidy welcome friend of the podcast, the original FANalyst, Jo Wulffenstein (and her dog Seymore) back onto the show. We talk about what she has been up to, how she stays connected to her beloved Blazers, and what is the most unique Blazers paraphernalia she has come across in her world travels.
We recap the best All-Star Weekend in recent memory, debate the ending of the dunk contest, and have an idea on how to improve the Elam Ending. Plus, we share what we think the Blazers will focus on down the stretch. All this and more on the latest WHAT podcast.
Highlights
2:01 Icebreaker: Inspired by the scarves in Toronto, what do you think is the most important accessory for the NBA walk up? Jo pivots and answers a different question with headband, Tara likes necklaces with charms, Cassidy likes travel coffee mugs and wants to see tiny, fancy to-go cups. Which player has the smallest coffee cup?
6:30 Catching up with Jo—where have you been the last few years? Living in Alaska, traveling around the world and chasing down every Trail Blazers fan she sees.
10:30 The tiniest Ed Davis doll and other Blazers paraphernalia.
13:30 Stay LA.
15:00 Come back, LA.
17:00 All-Star Talk from the biggest All-Star fan, Cassidy, who watched the Legends Brunch and the Jr NBA games.
20:00 Jo thought it was a really nice tribute not only to Kobe Bryant but to David Stern’s vision to bring people together. She liked the 24 seconds of loud cheering, after so many 24 seconds of silence tributes.
21:30 The NBA Celebrity game is for learning about new people, WNBA players should not be added as an afterthought.
24:00 Who are Jose Andres and Anthony “Spice” Adams (aka Creamebiggums)? Andres is a 50-year-old humanitarian (same age as Tara) and Spice Adams is hilarious.
27:00 Why would you have Steven A. Smith be a coach? Counterpoint: why wouldn’t you have Stephen A. Smith be a coach?
30:00 All-Star Saturday night Skills Challenge shows how the league has become a league for skilled big men.
32:00 Who is Duncan Robinson?
34:28 We give the final final word on the Dunk Contest. We liked Pat Connaughton, Dwight had one dunk that was nice.
39:00 Tara attempts to explain Tik Tok.
42:00 It seems like the Elam Ending worked, it made the end of the game more competitive and fun, as well as it had a playground-style feel to it. Kyle Lowry spent a lot of the 4th quarter on the ground.
48:00 We suggest that with the Elam Ending, you should have to get the target score exactly, and if you go over it you get 5 points taken off.
52:50 Will Victor Oladipo be the next player to perform at the All-Star Game?
53:00 Final thoughts about the rest of the Blazers’ season. Need the best from Hassan Whiteside and a great closing run from C.J. McCollum. And how will Damian Lillard respond with their backs against the wall? Go for the playoffs and then let the younger players get a lot of playing time for experience.
Get social
Follow Blazer’s Edge on Twitter @blazersedge, WHAT Pod @HoopsAndTalks, Tara @tcbbiggs, and Cassidy @CassidyGemmet.
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.