The Athletic NBA Daily NBA Daily Mailbag | Morning Shoot Around
Dec 10, 2025
Hosts dive deep into advanced analytics, debating stats like PER and BPM as tools rather than gospel. They lighten the mood discussing viral food trends like sugared cranberries and cottage cheese bowls. A nostalgic ode to celebrating a potential Thunder lottery win at Chili's follows, while Hall of Fame snubs spark lively discussions on Rasheed Wallace. They also speculate on roster moves for the Wolves and weigh in on must-have centers for contenders. With funny anecdotes about iconic players, this episode is a delightful mix of stats and laughs!
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Episode notes
Metrics Are Tools Not Truth
- Advanced catch-all metrics are useful but flawed and should be tools, not gospel.
- Esfandiar Baraheni and Dave DuFour emphasize using EPM/BPM for context, not final judgment.
Pair Metrics With Film For Context
- Use simple team-level metrics like wins and net rating to tell the narrative of a game.
- Combine plus-minus and net rating with watching film to understand lineup context before judging players.
The Viral Cranberry Snack
- Andrew Schlecht described a viral cranberry hack: soak raw cranberries in Sprite and OJ, coat in powdered sugar, then bake briefly.
- The result is a crunchy sweet treat that became a TikTok trend they debated on-air.
