The Brief Case

Casey Holdahl/Portland Trail Blazers
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Casey Holdahl, beat reporter and insider for the Portland Trail Blazers, breaks down the news of the day in Rip City and beyond 

  1. 3 HR AGO

    Defeating The Suns In The Play-In And Facing The Spurs In The Playoffs On The Brief Case, Episode 203

    Send us Fan Mail (Apologies for the incorrect episode being uploaded initially, it should be fixed) On this Play-In Tournament edition of The Brief Case, presented by Spirit Mountain Casino, Trail Blazers reporter/Insider Casey Holdahl discusses... • The Trail Blazers beating the Suns in Phoenix in the seven/eight matchup of the 2026 Western Conference Play-In Tournament • Portland qualifies for the playoffs with the win for the first time since 2021 • Tuesday's win versus the Suns was similar to a number of the Trail Blazers' wins in the last month of the season • Portland goes up, then down, then up again • Refusing to fold after enduring a 22-4 run even with another chance of making the playoffs • Deni Avdija with 41 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists is taking his place among the elite forwards in the Western Conference • Jerami Grant comes up huge in the fourth quarter in his first game back from a calf strain • Shaedon Sharpe with some big minutes as well in his third game after missing a few months with a stress reaction • Jrue Holiday, steady as always • The seven-seed Trail Blazers will now head to San Antonio to face the two-seed Spurs with Game One scheduled for Sunday • No one can't stop Victor Wembanyama but the Blazers might have enough to slow him down • You'll want to get your tickets for Games Three and Four at Moda Center ASAP

    17 min

  2. 3 APR

    Moving Into Eighth, Breaking Down Tiebreakers, Rip City Rising Arrives, Remix Advance And A Conversation With Buck Williams On The Brief Case, Episode 201

    Send us Fan Mail On this edition of The Brief Case, presented by Spirit Mountain Casino, Trail Blazers reporter/Insider Casey Holdahl discusses... • The Trail Blazers defeating the Pelicans on Thursday to move into sole possession of eighth in the West with four games to play • Jrue Holiday continues to assert himself • Toumani Camara sets the league record for offensive fouls drawn and Donovan Clingan sets the franchise record for offensive rebounds in a season • Gaming out the final games of the season for the Trail Blazers and Clippers and how the most likely scenario would result in the winner of the April 10 game between the two teams getting the eight-seed in the play-in tournament • Breaking down the tiebreakers should the Trail Blazers and Clippers end the season with the same record • Tom Dundon, Sheel Tyle and Andrew Cheurng, three of the members of the Rip City Rising ownership group, are introduced for the first time prior to Thursday's game • Dundon's comments about the "big splash" trade the Trail Blazers considered at the 2026 trade deadline and how that might have played out differently under new ownership • The Rip City Remix defeating the Mexico City Capitanes to advance to the second round of the G League playoffs  • A conversation with Trail Blazers great Buck Williams about his time in Portland, memories from the title runs in the early 90's, the current team, how the NBA has changed and his candidacy for the Naismith Hall of Fame, which will announce their 2026 class on Saturday

    33 min

  3. 1 APR

    The Race For Eighth Is On, New Ownership Arrives And The Remix Make The Playoffs On The Brief Case, Episode 200

    Send us Fan Mail On this edition of The Brief Case, presented by Spirit Mountain Casino, Trail Blazers reporter/Insider Casey Holdahl discusses... • The Trail Blazers defeating the Clippers in L.A. Tuesday night in what was Portland's most important game of the season thus far • Why coaches and teams sometimes pretend some games aren't more important than others (even if everyone knows it's not true) • The team taking Tiago Splitter's word to heart with their performance versus the Clippers • Tuesday's game being a perfect example of why you trade for Jrue Holiday • Robert Williams III, Matisse Thybulle and Kris Murray all turning in excellent efforts that are not properly credited in the box score • Deni Avdija playing his best game since the back injury • The considerable support Tuesday night at Intuit Dome for both Deni Avdija and the Trail Blazers in general • Tuesday's win doesn't really matter if they can't back it up with another Thursday versus the Pelicans • The Trail Blazers need to go 3-2, if not better, to give themselves a real chance to get into the eighth seed in the play-in tournament • The "Rip City Rising" ownership group officially takes control of the franchise • The seven-seed Rip City Remix heading south to face the two-seed Mexico City Capitanes in the first round of the "win or go home" G League playoffs

    33 min

  4. 30 MAR

    Going 3-1 On The Homestand And 'The Most Important Game Of The Season' On The Brief Case, Episode 199

    Send us Fan Mail On this edition of The Brief Case, presented by Spirit Mountain Casino, Trail Blazers reporter/Insider Casey Holdahl discusses... • Portland blowing out the Nets and Bucks before losing to the Mavericks • Finishing a four-game homestand with another blowout victory, this time versus the Wizards • Big games for Toumani Camara and Scoot Henderson • Tiago Splitter saying that Tuesday's game versus the Clippers is "the most important game of the season"  • Not only standings but tiebreakers are up for grabs in Tuesday's game versus the Clippers • The current status of the race for position in the play-in tournament and how it very well might not be decided until the last day of the regular season • Moving up into eighth would be great, but the Blazers also have to be concerned dropping down to tenth • Breaking the remaining scheduled for the Clippers, Warriors and Trail Blazers

    24 min

  5. 21 MAR

    Moving Into 8th, Three-Straight Road Wins And Donovan Clingan Beast Mode On The Brief Case, Episode 198

    Send us Fan Mail On this edition of The Brief Case, presented by Spirit Mountain Casino, Trail Blazers reporter/Insider Casey Holdahl discusses... • The Trail Blazers holding on to beat the Pacers in Indianapolis on Wednesday • Donovan Clingan gets a new career high in scoring and Deni Avdija returns to form • Portland's bad habit of letting teams back into games • The Trail Blazers getting one of their better wins of 2026 Friday night versus the Timberwolves in Minneapolis • Jerami Grant saves the day in the final minutes of the fourth quarter • Jrue Holiday just keeps turning in great yet quiet performances  • The Trail Blazers are now in eighth in the Western Conference standings with 11 games to play • The difference between getting the seven/eight matchup versus the nine/ten matchup in the play-in tournament • Donovan Clingan's elite performance since the All-Star break • How Clingan leading the league in offensive rebound is integral to the Trail Blazers offense • Clingan is arguably the best player from his draft class and is already one of the NBA's best centers • Trail Blazers wrapping up a five-game trip Sunday afternoon in Denver (it's a 2 p.m. tipoff in Portland) before playing the second game of a back-to-back versus the Nets Monday night at Moda Center

    30 min

  6. 17 MAR

    A Tough Loss In Philly, A Blowout In Brooklyn And The Trip Continues On The Brief Case, Episode 197

    Send us Fan Mail On this edition of The Brief Case, presented by Spirit Mountain Casino, Trail Blazers reporter/Insider Casey Holdahl discusses... • The Trail Blazers getting a five-game road trip off to a disappoint start with a loss to the 76ers in Philadelphia • Turnovers are an issue yet again • If neither team is playing well, the home team is usually going to win • Taking a bus from Philadelphia to Manhattan • Portland bouncing back with a blowout victory versus the Nets in Brooklyn • Blazers lead by as many as 31 (good), give up a 16-0 run (bad) but do enough to get the comfortable win (good) • Jrue Holiday the cooler • Deni Avdija has fans everywhere, but it was on a different level Monday night in Brooklyn • Kris Murray backs up Donovan Clingan at center • Toumani Camara shakes off a tough game in Philly to play one of his best this season in Brooklyn • The Trail Blazers remain a half game behind the Warriors in the race to host a play-in game • The trip moves on to Indianapolis on Wednesday, Minneapolis on Friday and wraps up in Denver on Sunday

    16 min

  7. 9 MAR

    Homestand Starts With A Win, Scoot Steps Up And Deni Returns On The Brief Case, Episode 196

    Send us Fan Mail On this edition of The Brief Case, presented by Spirit Mountain Casino, Trail Blazers reporter/Insider Casey Holdahl discusses... • The Trail Blazers defeating the Grizzlies in Memphis Wednesday night behind the play of Jrue, Jerami and Rob • Jrue, Rob and Jerami all doing more as we enter the last month of the regular season • Portland giving themselves a chance in the first three quarters before faltering in the fourth in Friday's loss to the Rockets • Finishing a five-game trip with a 2-3 record • Returning to Moda Center for three games before heading out for another five-game trip • After a rough road trip, Scoot Henderson turned in his best game of the season and one of the best games of his career to lead the Trail Blazers past the Pacers Sunday night • Deni Avdija returns in Sunday's win after missing six games with a back injury • Another late-game Blake Wesley to Yang Hansen connection • Hosting the Hornets and Jazz before a five game trip with stops in Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Indianapolis, Minneapolis and Denver

    17 min

  8. 2 MAR

    Starting A Five-Game Trip 2-1 And Moving On To Memphis And Houston On The Brief Case, Episode 195

    Send us Fan Mail On this edition of The Brief Case, presented by Spirit Mountain Casino, Trail Blazers beat reporter/Insider discusses... • The Trail Blazers starting a five-game trip off with a victory versus the Chicago Bulls at United Center • Donovan Clingan, Kris Murray and Sidy Cissoko have all been sick • Robert Williams III comes up big versus the Bulls • Trail Blazers losing to the Hornets in Charlotte in a game that started at 10 am Portland time • The Blazers missing a lot of threes in a row versus the Hornets (but why they also have to keep shooting them) • Portland following up the loss in Charlotte on Saturday by losing to the Hawks in Atlanta on Sunday • You can't give up 44 points in the first quarter and expect to give yourself a chance of getting a win • Tiago Splitter says Deni Avdija is getting close to returning to the lineup • Having two days off before facing the Grizzlies on Memphis on Wednesday • Finishing up a five-game trip on Friday versus the Rockets in Houston

    26 min
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About

Casey Holdahl, beat reporter and insider for the Portland Trail Blazers, breaks down the news of the day in Rip City and beyond 

Information

  • Creator
    Casey Holdahl/Portland Trail Blazers
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    204
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Brief Case
  • Show Website
    The Brief Case

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