Jacked Ramsays: A Portland Trail Blazers Podcast

Mike Richman of Locked On Blazers joins hosts Danny Marang and Brandon Sprague to dig into what they’ve seen from the Portland Trail Blazers through 4 Preseason games.

How much of it really matters? What they’ve been watching for and seeing or not seeing and whether that spells trouble for the Blazers.

Josh Hart is named the starter, should he stay there - and if yes for how long? What would/will it take for Justise Winslow or Nassir Little to unseat Hart?

Is anyone worried about Damian Lillard - or is this just working through the kinks of not playing for nearly 10 months? Is playing with and/or off of Anfernee Simons going to be a problem for either Lillard or Simons in the long term?

Jusuf Nurkic doesn’t appear ready to play more than 20+ minutes per night physically. Can the Blazers get him ramped up and in condition to do what they need him to - and if so, how long until he’s up to speed?

Can the Blazers get more out of their bench unit, or is this a team that’s going to go as far as the starting group will take them?

That and more on the latest Jacked Ramsays!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Deuce Mason of "Deuce & Mo" dropped by to talk state of the Sacramento Kings. Where are they? What are they doing? WHY are they? Deuce has you covered from front to back with the additions of Keegan Murray and Kevin Huerter, Mike Brown inserted as the new head coach, an evolution for De'Aaron Fox and optimizing Domantas Sabonis.

The Kings are riding a 16 year streak of futility, now the longest in North American professional sports since the Seattle Mariners broke through just weeks ago. In a year where Victor Wembenyama and Scoot Henderson sit as franchise changers to the winner of the NBA Draft Lottery, the Kings have decided they want to pursue the playoffs at all costs and reward and entire generation of Kings fans the opportunity they've missed out on for so long. Regardless of the actual ceiling of this version of the roster.

Grab the family and sit around the cell phone, tablet, or whatever electronic device it is you're on and watch and/or listen to Danny and Deuce get down on the projections for two teams that seemingly no one out of their markets know what to make of them.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Join hosts Danny Marang and Brandon Sprague on the first official Jacked Ramsays of the 2022-23 season!

Together they’ll take a look at the first 2 games of the preseason that saw the new look Portland Trail Blazers take on Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and the Los Angeles Clippers in Seattle at Climate Pledge Arena Monday night followed by a road-home back-to-back against the stripped down Utah Jazz at Moda Center Tuesday night.

What, if anything did we learn about this Blazers team? What should you take from early preseason action? Does hitting your shots and looking in midseason form matter in the exhibition season? Questions, questions, questions - which are exactly the things that the guys will be asking each other to see where they gauge the Blazers right now.

On the list...How does Damian Lillard look overall and healthwise - are there any lingering concerns there?

The addition of Jerami Grant - how does he hit and will the Blazers be able to optimize him?

How do the offensive and defensive philosophies designed/employed by Coach Chauncey Billups look early on? Pushing pace, forcing turnovers, aggressive switching, etc.

How Have Anfernee Simons and Damian Lillard looked as backcourt running-mates?

Who has the inside track on the small forward starting spot?

Can Jusuf Nurkic get in the kind of shape the Blazers need him to be in to be effective and efficient on both ends of the floor?

That and a whole lot more on the latest Jacked Ramsays - tap in!

SUBSCRIBE: YouTube, Twitch, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google and Anywhere You Get Podcasts!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Join hosts Danny Marang and Brandon Sprague following the official start of the season with Trail Blazers Media Day. Together they’ll take you through all the interviews from Monday morning and what they mean. 

General Manager Joe Cronin stated “it will probably involve making additions soon and definitely in the future” after saying that they’re going to need to be “focusing on their connectivity, more so than whether we’re winning games on a nightly basis” so how exactly and where exactly does this play itself out? What should you watch for - what is “being connected?”

Coach Chauncey Billups followed up Cronin saying “Trying to create a culture of connectedness, I want to be the most connected team in the league. The most connected teams are really successful. I want to be the team that no one wants to play.” Harkening back to his days with the Detroit Pistons - this leans more into the process over results that perhaps the Blazers are looking for. Connectedness as a culture very much being the driving force on and off the floor. 

Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons echoed these sentiments, I asked them about the differences between the era of Lillard and now New Orleans Pelicans guard, CJ McCollum:

With me and CJ we could score a lot of points, you could count on CJ to get 20-25, the difference this year will be - I’m going to make the right play, I’m gonna get in the paint hit the roll man, hit the corner…& with Ant I’ve had him here since he was 19 years old, I could tell him this is why I do this - this why I go about his and bc he was so young he was able to watch it and adopted that so early and he’s unselfish - him being my rook, it’ll be like there’s 2 of us out there - Ant is going to make the right play. I won’t look like my turn his turn. The ball will move around more naturally and it’ll be more natural.

There’s so, so, so much more to pull from Media Day, dive on in and get involved with the guys from Jacked Ramsays now!

SUBSCRIBE: YouTube, Twitch, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google and Anywhere You Get Podcasts!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Join hosts Danny Marang and Brandon Sprague as they help get you ready for the the 2022-23 NBA season with the Portland Trail Blazers by answering all the questions you have before mini camp opens up September 27th.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On the latest episode of Jacked Ramsays, hosts Danny Marang and Brandon Sprague are joined by Trail Blazers rookie wing/big from University of Colorado - Jabari Walker!

Together they hit on Jabari falling on NBA Draft night from a possible first round pick to the 57th overall (and second to last pick of the draft) - and how that went for him mentally...as well as maybe keeping a few notes on all the teams that passed on him (even a team that reached out to apologize).

Adjusting from being a leading scorer and rebounder in the Pac-12 at Colorado to adjusting to the NBA in Summer League and the changes that come with getting out of your own way as well as developing in college in 2 years after being an unranked recruit.

Looking at where Jabari ranked against the stars of Summer League like Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith Jr and Keegan Murray - and how he was able to perform at the top of Summer League without the ball in his hands.

How to be a star in his role - and how his father instilled in him how to really understand his role and a humbling process in high school helping get him to where he is now.

We wrap it up with Jabari’s thoughts on where he hopes he’s rated when NBA2K23 comes out and whether or not he’s starting on his 2K team.

Tap in!

SUBSCRIBE: YouTube, Twitch, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google and Anywhere You Get Podcasts!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On the latest episode of Jacked Ramsays, hosts Danny Marang and Brandon Sprague are joined by Portland Trail Blazers guard, Anfernee Simons.

Fresh off his newly signed 4-year, $100 million contract the guys ask Ant what has changed in his life since he put pen to paper on such a life changing deal. Where was he, what does he remember and most importantly - what was the journey like for him to go from such a young man to where he is today.

From there it was about the questions that have bounced around Portland ever since CJ McCollum was traded - what’s different about a Damian Lillard-Anfernee Simons backcourt from a Lillard-McCollum one and why can it work this time?

Simons highlights specifically how he’s different on not just offense but defense as well - including the additions of new teammates and the overhaul of the roster from the start of last year until now.

Beyond that, Simons lays out some of his goals for next year - including the idea of becoming a “50/40/90 guy” (for those unaware, these are benchmarks for 50% from the field, 40% from the 3 points line and 90% from the free throw line) as one of his realistic goals.

Hop on in for the rest as Danny and Brandon bring the first of a series of player interviews heading into next year!

SUBSCRIBE: YouTube, Twitch, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google and Anywhere You Get Podcasts!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Danny Marang and Brandon Sprague take on some big Portland Trail Blazers questions heading into the 2022-23 NBA season on the latest episode of the Jacked Ramsays Podcast!

What does Damian Lillard look like this year? Which version of him is best for this team and how/where can evolve? That’s the first question of many that Danny & Brandon take a look at as the framing for next year becomes more apparent.

Who gets the short end of the stick if new free agent acquisition Gary Payton II is playing stout defense and they need him to close a game? While bigger questions are out there - one of the more interesting ones is how/when GP2 will be deployed by Chauncey Billups and how that signing can be optimized.

Can newly-signed Anfernee Simons breakthrough and be more than the “near All-Star” guy that CJ McCollum was and more! Lost in the shuffle of new additions and better fits is the question of whether Simons can meet and then surpass the previous contributions of CJ McCollum. Is it possible and if so, what does he need to do and how likely is that to happen?

SUBSCRIBE: YouTube, Twitch, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google and Anywhere You Get Podcasts!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Join hosts Danny Marang and Brandon Sprague as they set their final grades for the offseason as the officially, unofficial final grade date of August 1st has passed.

Together they take a look at each transaction accordingly, the acquisition of Jerami Grant from the Detroit Pistons for a 2025 Protected 1st Round Pick from the Milwaukee Bucks, signing free agent and former Golden State Warriors big guard Gary Payton II, drafting Shaedon Sharpe #7 overall from Kentucky and Jabari Walker #57 overall from Colorado, and finally - re-signing and retaining Anfernee Simons and Jusuf Nurkic on 4-year deals while brining back big man Drew Eubanks.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this episode of Jacked Ramsays, Danny Marang is joined by Sam Esfandiari of “Light Years” show covering the Golden State Warriors to give insight on the newest addition to the Portland Trail Blazers, Gary Payton II.

One of the biggest push backs over Payton’s addition is his “lack” of size - Sam highlights how that wasn’t really an issue for the Warriors and the role(s) you can expect Payton to play and excel in. Playing alongside Steph Curry preparing Payton to play alongside Damian Lillard and/or Anfernee Simons.

From there it’s why this time was right for Payton, how he got onto the floor for the Warriors and how he’s more than good enough to get on the floor for 20 minutes a night in the NBA Finals.

The guys then dive into where the Blazers are Warriors likely find themselves in the pecking order of the Western Conference next year - and how Portland can perhaps put themselves in a better position than where the early betting lines (40.5 wins) have them landing.

SUBSCRIBE: YouTube, Twitch, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google and Anywhere You Get Podcasts!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.