Thinking Basketball

The Athletic's Dave DuFour returns for our semi-annual preview episode. It's impossible to top last year's extravaganza, but we take a measured approach at guessing what the heck is going to happen in this unique NBA season. Follow Dave @DaveDuFourNBA, support at www.patreon.com/thinkingbasketball and get $90 off at Hello Fresh by going to www.hellofresh.com/thinkingbasketball90

What should we look for when we watch games? How does our basketball concepts influence what stats we produce and what we're interested in measuring? This is a natural follow up to the Tyranny of Quantifiable (from Episode 3: “The Problem with Analytics”), where what we measure influences our thoughts, but our thoughts influence what we measure. Support at www.patreon.com/thinkingbasketball

I discuss Golden State's future outlook with Klay Thompson's injury and Steph Curry's return, along with the new Bucks roster after trading for Jrue Holiday. Additional trades in this episode: Chris Paul to Phoenix, Dennis Schroder to the Lakers, Danny Green and Seth Curry to Philadelphia and Robert Covington to Portland. Support at www.patreon.com/thinkingbasketball and get $90 off at Hello Fresh by going to www.hellofresh.com/thinkingbasketball90

Who are the best passers in the NBA? In this episode I dive in to discuss the game's best passers and the difficulty in balanced a variety of strengths and weaknesses that make this tricky to unpack. Support at www.patreon.com/thinkingbasketball. Check out the $1/month offer (limited time) of the Athletic at http://www.theathletic.com/thinkingbasketball

I try to take down the idea of the “first option” and replace it with a new framework for thinking about player hierarchies. Also thoughts on the Lakers wrapping up the 2020 title and Daryl Morey's impact after stepping down in Houston. Support at www.patreon.com/thinkingbasketball. Check out the $1/month offer (limited time) of the Athletic at http://www.theathletic.com/thinkingbasketball

Former Bucks Director of Analytics and Athletic writer Seth Partnow joins to discuss his upcoming book, The Finals MVP, defensive versatility in the playoffs and more (including Rudy Gobert and Anthony Davis on defense and building around centers). Follow Seth on twitter @SethPartnow. Support at www.patreon.com/thinkingbasketball. Check out the $1/month offer (through Oct. 9) of the Athletic at http://www.theathletic.com/thinkingbasketball

Has the big man really gone away on offense? Or have they just moved beyond the post up? In this episode, I lay out ways to build strong offenses around five different archetypes of modern big men, including huge playoff stars like Anthony Davis and Nikola Jokic. And what does this mean for drafting big man prospects going forward? Support at www.patreon.com/thinkingbasketball. Check out the $1/month offer (through Oct. 9) of the Athletic at http://www.theathletic.com/thinkingbasketball

There are lots of takeaways from the bubble, but is the biggest lesson how much we struggle with evaluating players/teams in small sample seasons? With a unique experiment on our hands, how much has jumping to the playoffs in a “new” season influenced our perceptions? And how much can we confidently conclude about players and teams in these small samples? Support at www.patreon.com/thinkingbasketball. Check out the $1/month offer (through Oct. 9) of the Athletic at http://www.theathletic.com/thinkingbasketball

I talk Nuggets and how they match up with the Lakers, get into the Heat-Celtics clash, but before that look at the All-NBA teams and whether this year's version of Russell Westbrook is history's least scalable player. Support at www.patreon.com/thinkingbasketball. Check out the free trial & discount of the Athletic at http://www.theathletic.com/thinkingbasketballpod

In a meandering free association exercise, I explore some of the new playoff narratives developing in the social media age – how big are “capital-M” Moments? What should we make of the Bucks and Giannis or Pascal Siakam and the Raptors? And what exactly is the “backwards” approach to basketball? Support at www.patreon.com/thinkingbasketball. Check out the free trial & discount of the Athletic at http://www.theathletic.com/thinkingbasketballpod