Sports Illustrated senior writer and co-host of the Open Floor Podcast, Andrew Sharp (@andrewsharp), joined the show 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 Blazer’s 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, what does he think are the similarities and differences between the Lillard/McCollum and Wall/Beal back courts? 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. 

: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 Lillard and 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 second 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

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