Game Theory Podcast

The NBA is loaded with terrific young players and a boatload of parity. It feels like a number of different teams could win a title within the next few years. Largely, that will depend on the development of certain key players acrosss the NBA. So today, I got with Mark Schindler, and we broke down six players who parts of their game that could swing title races in the next few years.What if Ja Morant learns to consistently take and make 3-pointers behind ball-screens when defenders go under in pick-and-roll coverage? What if Zion Williamson can make a spot-up jumper? What if Evan Mobley is a catch-and-shoot threat and the Cavs can play basically 5-out basketball? What if Michael Porter Jr. can process the game quickly as a passer and get more of a degree of control over the ball as a handler? All of these guys and more as we break down some of the things that could swing NBA championship races in the next few years.Cancel unwanted subscriptions – and manage your expenses the easy way – by going to rocketmoney.com/theory Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Andrew Schlecht is in the building and we chat about a very simple concept: who are the most teams to watch right now in the NBA? Who do you find yourself switching over to most often if you have some free time? You could see this as a "League Pass Rankings" or whatever, but we just want to dive into which teams we've having the most fun with, including the Kings, Grizzlies, and Cavaliers, among others. But first, we open on Alperen Sengun and his breakout game against the Lakers last night.Cancel unwanted subscriptions – and manage your expenses the easy way – by going to rocketmoney.com/theory Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Adam Spinella joins the show for his weekly Sunday appearance, and this week we're doing our monthly 2023 NBA Mock Draft Deep Dive! Join us as we dive deep into the top-30 selections, breaking down what we'd do in each spot as of mid-January, halfway through the yearly draft cycle. We'll dive into players like Victor Wembanyama, Scoot Henderson, Amen Thompson, Ausar Thompson, Brandon Miller, Cason Wallace, Nick Smith Jr, Jett Howard, Cam Whitmore, Brice Sensabaugh and many others.Cancel unwanted subscriptions – and manage your expenses the easy way – by going to rocketmoney.com/theory Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Parity is everywhere in the NBA this season, and it's made it extremely difficult to gauge exactly where exactly many teams across the league fall. So today, Mark Schindler joins the show, and we try to figure out what in the world is going on with the Clippers, Blazers, Knicks, Hawks, Pacers and more.Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/theoryGo to HelloFresh.com/theory22 and use code THEORY22 for 22 free meals plus free shipping! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Danny Leroux joins the show today to break down the 2023 NBA Trade Deadline by diving into the targets that could be available at the deadline. Who are the real move pieces that could shift the title race in what has turned into an exceedingly cluttered year across the NBA? Are there real sellers? Who are some of the players that actually could come available, and how much of what comes out publicly right now is posturing? We chat about the Raptors players, the evolving Bojan Bogdanovic race, and the questions about whether or not guys like Kyle Kuzma and Myles Turner are even available?Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/theoryGo to HelloFresh.com/theory22 and use code THEORY22 for 22 free meals plus free shipping! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mark Schindler is here! It's time for midseason All-NBA choices now that multiple teams have played at least 41 games this year. We break down our picks for first team, second-team, and third-team All-NBA, and some of the candidates for each slot.But first, we start on the Houston Rockets, and why Sam thinks it might be time for a change down there, and we finish with Brice Sensabaugh, a fascinating one-and-done player that might end up as a lottery pick by the time it's all said and done this season. Oh, and Mark gives a solid Georgetown rant at the end of the show.Get 3 months free with a one-year package at expressvpn.com/THEORYCancel unwanted subscriptions – and manage your expenses the easy way – by going to RocketMoney.com/THEORY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, Adam Spinella joins the show to dive into the 2022-23 NBA Rookie class. We chat Paolo Banchero, Dyson Daniels, Keegan Murray, AJ Griffin, Bennedict Mathurin, Andrew Nembhard, Jalen Williams, Jeremy Sochan, Jalen Duren, Jaden Ivey, and plenty, plenty more!Get 3 months free with a one-year package at expressvpn.com/THEORYCancel unwanted subscriptions – and manage your expenses the easy way – by going to RocketMoney.com/THEORY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, The Volume's Jason Timpf joins the show for the first time! Jason comes on and chats about the MVP race, with this week marking the midseason point as most teams get to their 40th game of the year. In what is currently the most wide-open MVP Race that I can remember in years, with something like eight legitimate candidates plus a few others hanging on the periphery of the proceedings, how would we cast out 1 through 5 votes right now?But first, we start with the Lakers, a team without Anthony Davis and in the midst of having to make some real decisions regarding its future both for this season and the next over the course of the next 40 days. We dive deep into why Kyle Kuzma makes the most sense on this Lakers team among potential targets.Cancel unwanted subscriptions – and manage your expenses the easy way – by going to RocketMoney.com/THEORYGet 3 months free with a one-year package at expressvpn.com/THEORY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mark Schindler joins the show, and we dive into the biggest takeaway from 2022 in the NBA: this is the year that redefined what a star is within the league. The talent level has never been higher. We dive into why this season has seen the biggest overlap of superstardom eras, and if this is an outlier year or if it's a thing to continue within the league moving forward. How the overlaps of the Curry/KD/LeBron era, the Jokic/Giannis/Embiid era, and the Luka/Tatum/Zion era of stars has led to such a dominant stretch of stardom in the NBA this season.Then, we move to the Nuggets. Why are the Nuggets legit contenders to win the title? How special is Nikola Jokic? Why have they been as successful as they've been recently winning 8 out of 10?Finally, we do a Cam Whitmore breakdown. What has the potential top-five pick out of Villanova shown in his first few games? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Adam Spinella joins the show this week to chat about improvement areas for 2023 NBA Draft prospects, this time in New Year's Resolution form. What are some of the ways top prospects in the class like Victor Wembanyama, Scoot Henderson, Amen Thompson, Anthony Black, Ausar Thompson, Cam Whitmore, Nick Smith, G.G. Jackson and many, many more can take their games to the next level? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices