Episode 17: Unrupertable in Every Way

Posted on Jan 8, 2026

Welcome to the Red Black Comeback Podcast, a podcast that is ostensibly about the rebuilding efforts of the Portland Trailblazers and the Toronto Raptors, as well as the soon-to-be inaugural seasons of the Toronto Tempo and the Portland Fire.

But it’s about so many other things.

My name is Dave.

I’m one of the co-hosts.

I’m in Toronto, Ontario.

My co-host John is in Portland, Oregon.

John, how are you?

I’m doing great.

It’s 2026 now.

The year’s off to a good start.

What?

Yeah.

Both for me and for the Blazers.

So it’s a good place to be.

But not for me?

Or is that the implication?

No, no.

Actually, you’re incorrect.

We have the most clutch…

I know.

This is me leading you towards a thing.

That was on purpose.

Yeah, that was your Christmas present.

Don’t expect anything.

That was your Christmas present for 26.

I do appreciate that.

That was very nice.

So let me unwrap that present.

So Dave is trying to insinuate that the Blazers get blown out.

The actual answer is that they do not get blown out very often.

Well, they definitely get blown out.

They’re just not on the right end of them.

No, actually, you’re incorrect.

We have the most clutch…

I know.

This is me leading you towards a thing.

That was on purpose.

Yeah, that was your Christmas present.

Don’t expect anything.

That was your Christmas present for 26.

I do appreciate that.

That was very nice.

So let me unwrap that present.

So Dave is trying to insinuate that the Blazers get blown out.

The actual answer is that they do not get blown out very often.

Surely, and this is me leading you towards a thing.

That was on purpose.

Yeah, that was your Christmas present.

That was your Christmas present.

Yeah, that was your Christmas present.

Do you think they walk into games expecting to win?

Do you think they have that cockiness yet?

Do you think they’re learning it?

Do you think that they’re still sort of shaking off the rust of playing under Chauncey for so long, and now they’re playing under a guy that gives them minutes?

Like, Sissoko gets minutes, and Repair gets minutes, and Caleb Love gets minutes, and Chris Murray has been playing very well lately as well, and he’s been getting minutes.

And Donovan Klingin’s getting madder, and all this other stuff.

Yeah.

No, it’s been…

I don’t know precisely.

Obviously, I’m not in the locker room, but listening to postgame interviews and other media sessions with some of the players, particularly with, like, Denny, the players definitely have a sense that…

they have a sense of connectedness, you know, on the court and off the court, and they also have a sense that they…

What does that mean?

Sorry to interject.

They have a sense of connectedness on and off the court.

Okay, on, I get it.

I watch the games.

But off the court, is this like one of those teams that hangs out together or does charity work together or, like, a couple of them are roommates or something like that?

Like, what’s going on there?

Yeah, so, I mean, I definitely know they do a fair bit of charity work together.

Again, I don’t know how much that is.

They have a choice in as much as it’s, you know, part of the team activities.

But I do know, you know, from some of the postgame interviews or, you know, that they do, you know, when they’re on the road, they do sort of hang out together.

At least some of them do.

And there’s, I think, the locker room, and I’ve heard this repeatedly, that having Dame, because Dame is on the road every single game with them, which, by the way…

Yeah, I’ve been really, really impressed by, like, him understanding that he’s, you know, it was an Achilles, right?

Or was it an Achilles?

Yeah, so he’s out for a year and change.

So what are you going to do, right?

Yeah, he’s on the road every game with them.

Drew is on the road with them every game, you know.

And, you know, I have to imagine that what they say about the locker room being tight is a real thing because that has always been something Dame has been big on all through his time in Portland was the culture.

And he gets that, right?

And so I think that shows up in the game.

And you see that, too, like in the games, too.

Like I mentioned earlier, you know, we’ve only been blown out a few times because these guys never give up.

They never stop.

They’ve been down a number of times, 20, 25, 30, and they fought back to, you know, single digits on a number of those games.

Yeah.

And it’s been great.

Well, I mean, I think it’s also, you know, I think it’s also the idea that, like, you know, there’s sometimes there’s a team you don’t expect anything from, and so they can play with freedom.

But at the end of the day, if you don’t expect anything from somebody, they’re going to play down to those expectations.

Eventually, it’s going to be like, well, I don’t give a fuck because we’re not going to win the championship this year, so why am I going to try?

And then I think that there’s some teams that, like, you know, we’ll get to the Raptors in a second, but, like, I think there’s something really, really important that happens in the years before you become a contender because nobody goes from, like, being a lottery team to a contender unless they’re the Spurs, you know, 25 years ago.

But, like, there’s a period where you’re bad, and then there’s a period where you’re better, and then there’s a period where you’re bordering on good, maybe.

And then there’s a period where you have to figure out what to do from there.

Right.

I think Toronto’s getting there.

I think Toronto might be a little bit ahead in that area, if only because of the fact that, like, we’ve got a little bit more veteran leadership on the team that are, like, playing.

But, yeah, so Portland, so, like, where are they?

Yeah, so I like that description that you just, you know, gave.

Oh, I appreciate that.

I think that Portland is just about to that place where they have to figure out where they’re on the verge of being good.

I mean, also, you know, their games have been so close.

It’s so fun to watch.

And then if you combine that with the number of really skilled, talented players that have been out during this entire stretch, it’s not hard to imagine a good chunk of those games going the Blazers' way if they’re healthy.

I think that’s also one of the major differences between Portland and Toronto right now is y’all have had injuries, but your injuries fit on one tweet.

The Blazers' injury report has to be posted on two tweets.

Well, I mean, look, I don’t know how fair that is.

You can’t tell me that nobody has been injured as Portland.

Come on.

Yeah, but who are you missing?

Matisse.

Okay, you’re missing Matisse who misses, like, half the year every year.

Scoot Henderson who is kind of okay sometimes.

And Jeremy Grant who is an awesome NBA player.

And Blake.

Blake.

Wesley and Damian Lillard.

Damian Lillard I get.

Damian Lillard is actually a thing.

Yeah, but what I’m talking about is this.

Like, when the Raptors are hurt, they’re missing starters, right?

Like, the problem with the Raptors is, like, Scottie has played basically every game, if not every game.

Brandon Ingram has played every game or almost every game.

But Quickly has missed time.

RJ has missed time.

Pertle has missed time.

So they’ve been experimenting with all kinds of stuff to try to make it go, right?

So, like, when Quickly’s out, it’s like, well, who runs the point?

Do we start Shed or do we start Jacoby Walter or whatever?

I get it.

Every team has to deal with injuries, and I get it.

The reality, though, is that the Blazers, the people that have been injured for the Blazers have been injured for a very, very long, much longer periods of time than were expected or broadcast or forecast.

And so we’ve been playing the last two, almost three months, with a bench made composed entirely of G League players, players that wouldn’t normally even be suited up.

I mean, I don’t know about that.

Oh, absolutely.

These guys were all playing in the G League last year.

Yeah, you know, that’s fine, but it’s this year now.

So you can say, well, they were playing in college two years ago.

You can’t say they’re college players.

I’m going to end the little Portland section with one fun little stat, and then I’m going to flip it over to you to talk about Toronto.

So the last stat is that last night was a blowout game.

It was awesome.

The stats up and down the board were amazing, with one exception, a player that has been getting a lot of run lately.

You’re going to talk some shit about Ryan Repair, aren’t you?

I am.

And the entire roster of the Blazers, the plus-minus was positive.

I think Dany’s was like plus 22.

And there was only two players, Cedric Sissoko and Ryan Repair.

Cedric was a minus 2 on his plus-minus, and Repair was a minus 7.

And this guy has been getting serious minutes because we have nobody else to play.

We’ve been running a roster with 8 and 9 players sometimes, and that’s it.

And you have to imagine, once we get better, we’re not going to be doing that.

So, Dave, that’s it for Portland.

How’s Toronto doing?

Well, I just want to go back to Ryan Repair.

Oh, you’re not going to let us move on?

No, I just think that plus-minus is a stat that is very— Okay, go down the rest of his stats.

It’s a tough stat for basketball.

If you’ve got the stats up, you just read— Yesterday’s game?

Yeah, yesterday’s game.

You give us Repair’s stats.

Oh, I already looked at this yesterday when you brought this up via text.

Yeah, so everybody was a plus except for Repair and Sissoko.

Sissoko was a minus 4 in 25 minutes.

Repair was a minus 7 in 19 minutes.

That said, Repair played 2 minutes in the first quarter, and he was a plus 2.

Repair played 4 minutes in the second quarter, and he was a plus 2.

And then Repair played 12 minutes in the fourth quarter, and he was a minus 11.

And he was like, okay, fine, you’re a minus 11, but the game was over, right?

He’s in there with all the second, third string guys too.

No, he wasn’t.

That’s the thing.

He was not in there with all the scrubs because we don’t have any scrubs.

We only had two scrubs.

Doop Reith and Jan Hansen are our only two scrubs.

They’re the only two people.

Everybody else plays serious rotation minutes last night.

All right, so tell me, just out of curiosity, how many minutes did Shaden Sharp play in the fourth quarter?

I think he played like six minutes.

Yeah, the answer is zero.

How many?

You get refreshed because he was in the fourth quarter.

He was two minutes.

He played two minutes in a second but Toronto I don’t know man like I do I think this team can win the championship I do not do I think this team can win one playoff round I do right it depends on matchups obviously but like honestly I’ll say I’ll just say it I think Toronto can take anybody in the East in a seven game series except for New York and Boston and that’s no disrespect to Detroit I just I just think that by the time the playoffs come around the Raptors will be a little bit more yeah so I’m with you on this I’m with you on this I mean you know the difference between the difference between fourth and eighth in the East is a whole two games so your prediction of fourth or eighth is pretty cogent you know considering we’re talking only two games difference granted we’re only almost yeah but the thing is like if I told you the beginning of the season that we’d get to the new year and Toronto would be in fourth but then I would tell you yeah but then I would tell you that Boston and Detroit were ahead of them would you have believed it you made your prediction at appropriate time my point is though that now looking at the standings there’s literally only two games between fourth and eighth which is crazy it’s crazy to think only two games again we still have half a season to go but only two games separates home court advantage versus having to play in the you know having to make the play in but whatever you know the other thing too though I do agree with you I honestly don’t I don’t know what it is but I don’t I don’t believe Detroit’s a real game a real team like I just I just don’t buy I feel like they’re a regular season team no I mean I think I hear what you’re saying you know and they had a really good season last year and then they went out the Knicks took them out in the first round last year but for a while Detroit looked pretty frisky right and everybody’s like oh my god are the Knicks going to choke right and I don’t know man like I don’t forget like I was a Raptors fan when we were when we were getting good and we would get to the playoffs and we’d run into LeBron or we’d run into a team that just like that year that fucking Washington beat us or whatever else right and and so like you have this thing and then you know how it feels to like be let down and letting yourself down and letting your fans down right you you win 50 plus games in the regular season and all of a sudden you go to the playoffs and maybe you’re favored or maybe people have an expectation of this that or the other and then you got you get dog walked by LeBron or something like that and I don’t think Detroit had that last year Detroit overachieved last year got in the playoffs gave the Knicks a series and I think that everything we’re seeing now is building off of that I think it is very funny that Cleveland wanted to move on from J.B.

Bickerstaff got Kenny Kenny’s a great coach but something’s wrong with Cleveland right now I don’t really know what it is but something’s wrong with Cleveland like like they’re getting massive contributions from the usual the usual players like Donovan Mitchell Evan Mobley Jared Allen’s been kind of Jared Allen and Darius Garland have kind of been hit and miss all year but but they were both hurt so I’ll give Max Struess hasn’t played a minute because of injury Ty Jerome signed with Memphis but you know Lonzo Ball got traded straight up for Isaac Okoro and Okoro’s doing better in Chicago than Ball’s doing in Cleveland Sam Merrill is Sam Merrill it’s amazing whatever but I’m just going back to Detroit for a second I was just going to say so Bickerstaff goes to Detroit Kenny Atkinson goes to Cleveland and the thing was like well Dwayne Casey in Toronto Dwayne Casey’s the guy that gets you ready to be good and that’s really what happened here Dwayne Casey gave way to Nick Nurse Nick Nurse leads us to the finals but Dwayne Casey loosened the the ketchup cap same thing happens in Detroit Dwayne Casey gets them to where they’re competent professionals then you bring in a guy who’s going to make them better J.B.

Bickerstaff is that guy he’s out coaching Kenny right now and they believe that team believes I’m not I don’t think that they’re the best team in the east at the end of the at the end of the season I don’t think they’re the one seed I could see them maybe the three seed or the four seed but I don’t think they’re the one seed but I don’t think they’re make-believe I think they’re that’s fine we can disagree I just don’t believe them I don’t believe in them at all not even remotely but we’ll find out when the playoffs come alright so the other thing that could potentially shake up these standings is our final topic which is the trademark you want to talk about Trey specifically well I wanted to talk about Trey Young because so yesterday if you know if you didn’t know or you’re living under rock or you’re living under several rocks because you know you could live under many rocks it’s Trey Young and his agents and the Atlanta Hawks front office are discussing trade because for the last couple years it has been very very clear that the Trey Young era in Atlanta peaked I guess that would have been 2021 when they went to the Eastern Conference Finals against I guess that would have been Boston I’m just trying to remember yeah yeah because the thing is yeah that was Boston losing to Golden State in the Finals in 2022 right I think so yeah I mean all I remember is him trolling the New York crowd that’s yeah like well that’s the thing right that’s the highlight of the Trey Young era in Atlanta and the thing is that’s as good as Atlanta’s been since that weird you know that weird team of odds and ends of Damari Carroll and whoever else that’s won 60 games under Mike Budenholzer but I I don’t I love Trey Young he can’t play like a defense and I still love him I’m not 100% sure what the plan has always been in Atlanta right because like they got DeJuante Murray and they were like okay well we’re gonna play two point guards like that doesn’t make any sense those two guys can’t play together right and then Jalen Johnson’s ascendancy Onyeka’s ascendancy they finally give him the starting job they get rid of Klinkapella and it becomes very very clear that the Atlanta Hawks are built around Jalen Johnson right and they do have all these wonderful complementary pieces that fit really well if your offense is built around Jalen Johnson those complementary pieces include Bananar and Lemon too Chris Hesperzangas Zachary Rizoche Nikhil Alexander Walker Luke Kennard Mo Gay all right so what’s gonna happen well I think well everybody says he’s gonna get traded to Washington right because CJ’s expiring and Trey’s got two years 95 left right so I think that the math works for CJ go to Atlanta expiring Atlanta and then sign his last contract maybe a three-year deal to go back to Portland who knows but who else who else could use a Trey Young type like the thing that happens in Toronto is that like every time anybody is theoretically on the trade market everybody’s like oh well Toronto’s gonna trade for him it’s like no we’re not we did that once with Kawhi like when Anthony Davis was like oh Anthony Davis is on the trade market Toronto Toronto’s looking for a center I was like why are we gonna trade for 40 million dollar Anthony Davis who can’t stay healthy who’s 32 years old and our core is in their like mid 20s you know you know RJ Scotty RJ Scotty and quickly are like mid 20s Brandon Ingram’s like 28 Burtle’s like 30 right Colin Murray Boyle’s and Grady and Jacobi Walter and whoever else they’re in their early 20s I think Colin Murray Boyle’s might still be 19 probably though so why are we gonna trade for a 32 year old guy that doesn’t want us to chip right doesn’t make sense to me but you know like my question is is there something that could send Trey Young to Dallas because Dallas yeah they’re that because he’s because he’s from he’s either from Texas or Oklahoma right yeah like he played at Oklahoma I think he’s from Texas but I could be wrong yeah I’ll check it but like what do you think of that where else was where else do you think Trey Young fits don’t even think about like the matching salary or whatever where do you think his game thrives in today’s NBA with the with the the complexion and the makeup of the NBA being what it is yeah I mean you stole Dallas from me I mean that was that was exactly where I where I was going you know Trey Young Cooper Flagg you know could be an interesting combo Anthony Davis aka street clothes who knows what if he’s even gonna play anymore who knows I just look to he has he has two more years on his contract even past this one which is just makes Trey or Anthony Davis Anthony Davis which just makes just it’s just just tragic that’s just a well it’s not a tragic he’ll get traded that’s what’s gonna happen but to who anyway that’s another time maybe but the answer to the question is Chicago Chicago wants another player that can’t play half the time well Chicago wants a player that’s from Chicago yeah all right so yeah not this is from Chicago I was from Chicago yeah yeah I don’t know where else that’s the problem yeah I don’t either Cleveland like because they keep on saying Darius Garland’s gonna get traded and I don’t see it you know the LA Clippers need a point guard do they can they like can they can they put together a deal like John Collins and like something else to go and play Trey Young and James Harden like I don’t know the only other possible thing I could see is if the Kings just decided to midseason blow it up and just send a whole bunch of people all over the NBA and one and Trey Young just ends up in Sacramento like that’s stranger things have happened but yeah well so so the hot rumor for a long time has actually been that that’s gonna happen to Darius Garland I don’t think so because I actually really think highly of Darius Garland I think that he has not played up to his potential this year he’s younger than Trey Young he is more of a complimentary piece like I you know I so I have this joke with my friends This is what I’m going to say, right?

I think Missoula is doing more with less.

I think Jordan Ott is…

Jordan Ott and Dylan Brooks have changed the culture there.

Colin Gillespie.

Devin Booker is a lot better than people want to say he is, right?

Like for, you know, the really good year, you know, I was like, oh, well, he’s got Aiden.

He’s got Chris Paul.

He’s got Mikael Bridges or whatever.

I was like, no, that team was always going to go as far as Devin Booker could take him, right?

And then they get KD.

And it’s like, now it’s KD’s team.

I get rid of Aiden.

So now it’s KD’s team.

And then they run KD out of town on a rail.

And Ishby is having all these financial problems or whatever.

And Booker’s just out there hooping, right?

Booker, Gillespie, also a guitar.

What’s his face?

They’re not even playing.

They draft Malawak, like what, top 10?

And they don’t even play him because they have a good team and they play like tough as nails basketball.

Rookie of the year.

For me, it’s swung back to flag.

I wasn’t.

I was on edge comb there for a while, but I swung back to flag for me.

Yeah, I agree.

I agree.

Like he’s just he’s doing stuff that we’ve never seen.

You know, the first 18-year-old to score 35, youngest player to ever score 40.

And then like if you go to the other stuff that he’s dealing with, right?

Like he is like he was the first overall pick, generational player, they say.

But also he’s going to take Lucas Place in Dallas, which is not an easy thing to do.

Kyrie’s been hurt.

So it’s like he almost has to facilitate half the offense by himself.

Lively out for the season.

Anthony Davis is in the lineup.

Daniel Gafford in the lineup.

Like it’s like him and Najee Marshall and whoever else is there.

Half the time.

Max Christie, of course.

But, you know, Max and Najee have been trading off.

Sometimes one starting and the other on the bench and then vice versa.

Cooper starts.

P.J.

Washington, although I think he just got hurt.

I think he just twisted his ankle.

But okay.

So Rookie of the Year, we got Coach of the Year, we got MVP, we got Defensive Player of the Year.

Defensive Player of the Year?

Ooh, that’s a tough one.

It’s not a tough one if you’re a Scotty Barnes fan because it’s Scotty Barnes.

You know, the narrative in the media is that it should be Chet Holmgren.

Yeah, well, as a former media member, I can tell you that most people in the media are dumb as fuck.

Scotty Barnes is Defensive Player of the Year.

It doesn’t make any sense to me, but I’ll go with that.

You know what?

I’m going to give an honorable mention to Donovan Klingin because, you know, that dude has changed our defense.

Yo, no, I feel you.

I feel you.

But yeah, no, Scotty, you know, a steal and a half and a block and a half a game.

Drawing really tough defensive matchups.

Guy smaller than him, guy bigger than him.

He does a little bit of everything.

And he’s just he’s becoming a leader.

And I’m just so happy.

I’m just so happy.

You can stick with Klingin.

I’ve been impressed with Klingin lately because all of a sudden he’s rebounding like he’s 7'2".

You know, like that was my complaint when I watched him play in Toronto a month and a half ago.

Like he’s 7'2", like 280 pounds, and he plays small.

I don’t really get that, but whatever.

And then what’s left?

Most Improved Player, Sixth Man of the Year.

I mean, I’m going to go with Denny as Most Improved Player.

Come on, man.

Yeah, I mean, like Denny’s definitely taking a step.

Step?

Huge step.

He’s going to be an All-Star this year.

Do you have another?

I mean, I’m not just being…

No, I actually haven’t thought about any of this.

I’m just asking you these questions.

I’m not being biased here on Portland.

I mean, he just, stat-wise, he legitimately has taken a bigger jump than almost every other player in the NBA.

Like it’s insane.

Now, part of it is because we have no point guards and he’s playing point forward.

Yeah, and you guys have been hurt.

Right.

Yeah, I mean, that’s fair.

That’s totally fair.

I mean, I don’t even know who else would sort of even be in there.

Right.

Probably.

Sixth Man?

Fuck.

Sixth Man Jacoby Walter.

No, Sixth Man of the Year.

I’m not 100% sure.

There’s so many good players that have missed so much time.

There’s so many more lineups that are still getting figured out.

Right.

But like…

I mean, it depends.

I mean, so many people have been injured.

I’m not even sure who’s going to be eligible.

And that’s kind of where I am too.

Right?

Like, is Reed Shepard a Sixth Man?

Or is he a starter?

Right.

Right?

Like, I don’t know.

Yeah.

Right?

And again, I don’t know where it’s going to be at the end of the season.

You’ve got to play 65 games.

You know?

And you can only start so many of them.

I don’t remember what the number is, but…

Yeah, no.

There’s definitely some inside baseball in there.

I don’t really understand it.

It’s funny.

You said Sixth Man of the Year, and my brain keeps on going back to Aaron McKee for some reason.

Like, I just started thinking about Aaron McKee, who won Sixth Man of the Year like 25 years ago.

Yeah.

But yeah.

No.

I think it’s going to be a really good second half.

I’m glad the NBA Cup’s over, so we can go back to All-Star and then the stretch run and silly season.

Right?

Like, I want to see what happens in silly season.

I want to see what happens with Trey Young.

I want to see what happens with Jeremy Grant and Drew Holiday.

I want to figure out…

I want to watch the Lakers make the trade that they think is going to lead them to the title, and then they’re going to go in the first round because that never gets old.

It’s the joke that keeps on giving.

I want to figure out what the Clippers are going to do, because I have no idea what that team is right now.

Nope.

Although my boy Colby Sanders had 17 points last game.

Colby Sanders started because James Harden was sick or hurt or something like that.

Colby Sanders' second round pick, University of Nevada.

Keep your eye on him.

I think he’s got it.

I think he’s got the ability to stay in the NBA and be a rotation player and possibly even a low-wattage starter in the NBA.

You heard it here first.

All right, Dave.

We’ve got to wrap up.

It’s been good talking.

It’s always good talking to you.

To our listeners, we’re going to try to get back on schedule now that we had Christmas and New Year’s and atmospheric rivers and cross-country travel and family and illness and all this other stuff.

If you like our podcast, tell your friends.

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Fuck them.

Yeah.

Anyways, until next time, John, keep fit and have fun.

All right.

Take care, Dave.

See you.

Bye.