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On this edition of The Brief Case, presented by Spirit Mountain Casino, Trail Blazers beat reporter/Insider Casey Holdahl discusses...

• The Trail Blazers beating the Nuggets at Moda Center on Friday in one of the more entertaining games of the season

• The importance of Friday's win for Portland's chances of making the play-in tournament

• The loss to the Celtics on Sunday 

• Portland losing ground in the play-in with the loss and neither Phoenix nor Dallas playing on Sunday (though both play Monday)

• One of the things great teams almost always do

• The Top Golf Swing Suite at Spirit Mountain Casino

• A rundown of the schedules for the teams fighting for the last play-in spot

• The status of the tiebreakers in regard to the last spot in the play-in

• Portland's odds of making the play-in compared to the Suns and Mavericks (and Lakers?)

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On this edition of The Brief Case, presented by Spirit Mountain Casino, Trail Blazers beat reporter/Insider Casey Holdahl discusses...

• The Trail Blazers getting their first win since February versus a team with a winning record Wednesday night versus the Grizzlies

• Deni Avdija continues to do things few Trail Blazers have done before

• Duop Reath coming up big when called into action

• Portland being just two games out of the last spot in the Play-In Tournament

• Finishing off a seven-game homestand versus the Nuggets on Friday, the Celtics on Sunday and the Cavaliers on Tuesday

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On this edition of The Brief Case, presented by Spirit Mountain Casino, Trail Blazers beat reporter/Insider Casey Holdahl discusses...

• The Trail Blazers breaking a five-game losing streak with back-to-back wins versus the Raptors and Wizards

• What to make of both Toronto and Washington deciding to sit players that started the game

• Matisse Thybulle getting his first action of the season after sitting out the last year

• Other injury non-updates

• Trying to figure out which team -- the Mavs, the Suns or the Trail Blazers -- has the best path to claiming the last spot in the Play-In Tournament

• Portland being 39-29-1 versus the spread this season

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On this edition of The Brief Case, presented by Spirit Mountain Casino, Trail Blazers beat reporter/Insider Casey Holdahl discusses...

• The Trail Blazers falling to the Knicks in overtime Wednesday night at Moda Center in one of the most entertaining games of the season

• Scoot Henderson's performance versus the Knicks and how it represents the progress he's made this season

• Deni Avdija taking the reigns and the next step of his career in Portland

• Natalie Zito, formerly Natalie Gilbert, returning to the Moda Center almost 22 year after needing Maurice Cheeks' assistance to perform the National Anthem Wednesday night

• An interview with Dewayne Hankins, Trail Blazers' president of business operations, to discuss the state of the business side of the Trail Blazers, the switch to KATU and over the air broadcasts, the new big screens and video boards, stats as entertainment, expanding access to games, the importance of having an organization that welcomes all, the OneCourt technology, HBCU Weekend, the Women's Summit, the WNBA in Portland and the benefits of having an international roster

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On this edition of The Brief Case, presented by Spirit Mountain Casino, Trail Blazers beat reporter/Insider Casey Holdahl discusses...

• The Trail Blazers losing to the Pistons in their first game back from an extended road trip

• Celebrating Bill Walton Sunday night in the loss to the Pistons

• Losing to the Warriors in San Francisco in the unofficial end of the Trail Blazers' longest road trip of the season

• Getting close against good teams

• Where the Trail Blazers stand in the race for the Play-In Tournament

• A discussion with Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara about being named Western Conference Defensive Player of the Month, how much his profile has increased in his second season, how the team played on the trip, coming together on the road, the "put them in a box" celebration and being motivated to make the Play-In Tournament 

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On this edition of the Brief Case, presented by Spirit Mountain Casino, Trail Blazers beat reporter/Insider Casey Holdahl, recording from the team hotel in Philadelphia, discusses...

• The Trail Blazers blowing out the Nets in Brooklyn on Friday

• Deni Avdija getting the first triple-double of his career in an overtime loss to the Cavaliers

• How even though they lost, the game versus the Cavs might have been one of their best of the season

• A change in Shaedon Sharpe

• The Trail Blazers coming together over the course of a long road trip

• Defeating the 76ers in Philadelphia Monday night to ensure a better than .500 road trip

• A conversation with Trail Blazers rookie center Donovan Clingan about how the team is playing on the road trip, being back on the east coast, ticket requests, being the last center standing, conditioning, setting screens and whether it changes depending on which player you're screening for, displaying more of his passing ability, defending without fouling (jinx), Shaedon's dunk and fan support on the road

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On this edition of The Brief Case, presented by Spirit Mountain Casino, Trail Blazers beat reporter/Insider Casey Holdahl discusses...

• The Trail Blazers arriving in New York City on Thursday prior to Friday's game versus the Nets in Brooklyn

• Getting an ugly win versus the Jazz in Salt Lake City

• Defeating the Wizards in Washington DC to extend Portland's win streak to three

• Deni Avdija's return to Washington is cut short

• Toumani Camara is supposed to foul

• Shaedon Sharpe's ridiculous dunk in the second quarter of Wednesday's win versus the Wizards

• The NBA's "Dunk Score," which has Shaedon's dunk as the second-best this season, is a farce and should be recalibrated

• Statistics being a poor way to judge the quality of dunks

• The remaining five games on Portland's current seven-game road trip

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On this edition of The Brief Case, presented by Spirit Mountain Casino, Trail Blazers beat reporter and Insider Casey Holdahl discusses...

• The Trail Blazers coming out a bit slow in what ended up being a close loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in their first game after the All-Star break

• Posting the largest margin of victory in franchise history in Saturday's win versus the Hornets

• Reasonable expectations for Toumani Camara

• Up and coming country at Spirit Mountain Casino

• Practice in Salt Lake City in preparation for Monday's gave versus the Jazz

• Maybe Matisse Thybulle is getting close?

• A seven-game, two-week road trip

• Portland recent record versus the spread, covering as the favorite for the first time this season and being favorite on the road for the first time this season

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On this edition of The Brief Case, presented by Spirit Mountain Casino, Trail Blazers beat reporter/Insider Casey Holdahl discusses... 

• The Trail Blazers holding practices on Tuesday and Wednesday after the All-Star break

• Quick thoughts on All-Star Weekend and whether it's really any better or worse than it's ever been

• Toumani Camara and Bryce McGowens at the Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star Weekend (and why didn't they introduce Scoot Henderson?)

• Where the Trail Blazers are at with a third of the season yet to play

• Hosting the Lakers on Thursday and the Hornets on Saturday before heading out for a two-week trip

• Injury updates

• The team upgrading the big screen and adding additional stat signage at Moda Center in time for the 2025-26 season

• A conversation with third-year guard Shaedon Sharpe about how he spent his all-star break, thought on his third season, where he's made the most progress and where he's got the most room for growth, the win streak, relationship between Canadian players, what he wants out of his career and coming off the bench

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On this edition of The Brief Case, presented by Spirit Mountain Casino, Trail Blazers beat reporter/Insider Casey Holdahl discusses...

• The Trail Blazers heading into the All-Star Break off three road losses

• The Trail Blazers making the Nuggets work in the second game between the two teams in Denver

• Deandre Ayton out for at least the next month and how that impacts the center rotation

• Donovan Clingan putting up a career high in rebounds on Wednesday after posting a career high in scoring on Monday

• Clingan moving into the starting lineup and how playing 31 minutes might be more impressive than grabbing 20 rebounds

• Where the Trail Blazers are at in the standing, offensive rating, defensive rating and net rating going into the All-Star Break

• Toumani Camara facing off against Bryce McGowens in the 2025 Castrol Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star Friday night in San Francisco