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Yeah the Suns seem destined to be part of that underbelly. Feels like I could name maybe 9-10 teams who could be part of that group. Outside of it are probably SAS, OKC, SAC, and some combo of NOP, MEM, and maybe even GSW. Assuming OKC and SAS stay healthy, I have no idea who's the 3rd seed.

010

Yep it's inevitable for every team, every season. There's always a good stretch and a bad stretch, and everyone talks about the bad stretch. If you have a really road-heavy start against many elite teams, you're inevitably later going to also have a home-heavy stretch featuring meh or bad teams.

130

I'm convinced the NBA Western Conference is going to be a little underwhelming this year, with a couple of elite teams, a couple of horrible teams, and a soft underbelly of decent-to-good teams who will fight for position in the standings all season. Portland should be part of that last group.

130

Most teams have some stretch of the season where they play a ton of road games, but just at different times. One year Portland had a stretch like that around the All-Star Break. Portland will inevitably get a nice long stretch with a lot of home games to make up for it, too.

010

If they're a decent team, they'll be fine, wins count the same in April as November so it'll even out. And they typically catch a few breaks when they play good teams, like someone resting.

020

It seems like every single year on release day, I get told that the Blazers' schedule is going to suck this season.

3100

It's wild to me that the Blazers' statement tonight explicitly stated they'd work in "in good faith". It's a sign of how badly they've lost the narrative battle. You typically don't need to use phrases like that if you've always been negotiating in good faith, or people at least think you have.

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Timmay @pdxtimmay.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

It went live just as you were asking, you're set!

110

I'm in agreement with the councilors on this one.

172

Timmay @pdxtimmay.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

It's very reasonable for the city/county/state to work out a deal to renovate Moda. However, it's also reasonable to expect publicly funding money to have transparency expectations, and for the Blazers to fulfill the requirements of the bridge agreement. It's not just "free money, now we look away".

0101

Timmay @pdxtimmay.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

So, yeah, you should probably be watching out for astroturfing and "influencing" whenever you see social posts, comments, etc, pressuring the city to pass a deal ASAP and stoking fears and pressing emotional buttons. Critical-thinking caps on, please. www.oregonlive.com/blazers/2026...

oregonlive.com

Ian Karmel, others paid to rally support for Moda Center funding deal

A group pushing for the arena’s renovation is reaching new audiences through influencers.

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Timmay @pdxtimmay.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Random tidbit, I know a number of Blazers fans, and none of them received this e-mail. I kind of wonder how the recipients were chosen. www.blazersedge.com/trail-blazer...

blazersedge.com

Blazers Urge Fans to Support Team at City Council Public Testimony

The franchise is calling on its fanbase.

380

Timmay @pdxtimmay.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

They're hidden around, and they're mostly (but not always) amazingly unpleasant folks. It's hard not to draw parallels to other non-Blazers-related stuff that gets discussed online.

060

Timmay @pdxtimmay.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Ever notice that the vast majority of internet commenters who want to defend the new Blazers ownership can't seem to do it without acting absolutely horribly?

4140

Alright, I'm finally catching up on today's Portland City Council meeting. I can't help but question if the Trail Blazers organization is negotiating in good faith.

1191

Yeah, I understand why, too.

000

This is your reminder that whenever the Blazers organization complains that someone else is wielding something (like a lawsuit) as a weapon, that's called "leverage" and the Blazers probably would like to eliminate that leverage. And they'd probably also be happy to use any such leverage themselves.

3173

It feels like nearly all my favorite things to do, or watch, are being ruined by idiots and/or jerks.

1100

"I don't live in Portland, but I'm going to use this peripherally-related Blazers news story to tell you why I am absolutely sure that Portland sucks as a city."

1263

Note that I don't really bring up the situation of moving the team. Part of the problem (and I really should write about this) is that new ownership is so opaque that we're all just guessing at one of 5-6 different motives going on right now. By default, I assume it's about maximizing return.

060

I think it's hard to guess from the outside. Silver's job is essentially the PR guy for the owners, and I can't get a feel for how the owners are reacting to any of this.

2110

The fact that Hankins actually went on the record (by name) to Jason Quick, after weeks of anonymous statements to the press, makes me think the team realized the national narrative is getting away from them. I don't expect them to agree to anything, though. They'll just show up and do bare minimum.

1141

Timmay @pdxtimmay.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

It was a smart move by the City of Portland to publicly say that they're trying, but the team won't talk to them. While I don't think ownership cares about publicity, it's still bad for them. This allows the city to control the narrative that the organization isn't making even basic efforts.

1293

Quality of camera work, on-camera announcers, graphics, overall product. It's generally very well-regarded among non-Blazers fans.

091

I find it fascinating how many Blazer fans say "I really don't enjoy our TV broadcasts" while on Reddit, Portland's broadcasts are constantly listed among the best TV coverages in the league.

2110

I want to revisit this. There are a group of fans who, at every Blazers transaction, say "This one is good!" or "Oh I don't like this one". That's completely missing the forest for the trees, which is that the Blazers are pinching every penny in a business where spending can make a real difference.

1101

“Subprime“ offer. Amazing. Sometimes you get a reminder your team isn’t the good guys.

2190