Game Theory Podcast

Matt Pennie joins Sam to run through some important questions about prospects, including the Scoot Henderson breakout; the Gonzaga-Duke game from over the long weekend; and Emoni Bates' struggles early in the season. We also run through the other G League Ignite prospects, including Jaden Hardy, Dyson Daniels, MarJon Beacuhamp, and Michael Foster. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt Pennie is here with Sam to talk a little NBA Draft. We each pose four Fact or Fiction-style questions to each other without any prep, and dive deep into the NBA Draft. Your eight statements that are decided upon in terms of fact/fiction-This is the best start to a college basketball season in the last decade-Jaden Ivey has solidified himself as a top-five pick in the 2022 NBA Draft-Kendall Brown has solidified himself as a top-8 guy in the 2022 NBA Draft-Max Christie is the first Michigan prospect taken in the 2022 NBA Draft-Tyrese Hunter is a better prospect than Kennedy Chandler-The 2022 NBA Draft Class has the worst lead guard crop since the 2015 NBA Draft-Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren are the only two players that have a real shot to go No 1 overall-Chet Holmgren is not the only 2022 first round pick on the Gonzaga Bulldogs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 21 Questions Covered: Are the Golden State Warriors the NBA title favorites?  Fact or fiction? From the mid-point of last year onward, Stephen Curry has been the best player in the NBA It seems like there is a consistent outrage economy right now surrounding the Brooklyn Nets. The Brooklyn Nets are also 11-5, and currently tied for the first place in the Eastern Conference. How do we feel about the Nets right now, and do we think something is off or that they're fine? The Phoenix Suns are on a 10-game winning streak and look like a buzzsaw again because of Chris Paul. Are we ever going to see someone like Paul again? A small point who lasts into his late 30s and dominates games in this way.  How are the Washington Wizards doing this?  Which team of the following are you most panicked about? Milwaukee, Boston, Atlanta We're about one-fifth of the way through the season. Who is the team that decides at the deadline that it's time to break up some of their core and make a big trade that acts more as a "seller." Okay, the obligatory three minutes that every podcast must do on Ben Simmons. It feels like this thing goes through cycles of pressure, and that the pressure has been ratcheted down again. A deal isn't close now, but do we think Simmons finishes the season as a Sixer, and what is a potential move that actually makes sense? But speaking of Simmons, the 76ers have a burgeoning star right now in Tyrese Maxey. How has Maxey gone about making this leap into looking like the point guard of the future for the 76ers? The closest team to you for the last couple of years has been San Antonio, so you've gotten a close look at DeMar DeRozan when everyone seemed to tune the Spurs out. Do we think that like, people just weren't watching how good he was last year? Why do people seem to be surprised that he's been as great as he's been in Chicago? The hardest team for me to figure out in the NBA right now is the Dallas Mavericks. They are 9-5. Ostensibly, they're winning games. They are also below the league average in both offense and defense, have a negative point differential, and Luka Doncic hasn't quite worked his way back into the peak of his powers. Are you buying or selling the Mavericks long-term? The Clippers are 9-6 and holding steady without Kawhi. Is there a more important player to his team in the NBA right now than Paul George? Who is the most fun team in the NBA, and why is it the Memphis Grizzlies? Who is the least fun team in the NBA right now, and why is it the New Orleans Pelicans?  Every season since 1991, there have been at least two players who have never made the All-NBA team make the team for the first time. Who are your picks for those two players this year? Every year since 2006, there has been at least one new player to make the All-Defense team int he NBA. Who is your pick among players that have never made All-Defense?  The Lakers are 25th in offensive rating, and are only 8-8 despite playing the fifth-easiest schedule thus far in the league. Do we think the problems expand beyond "no LeBron James" for the Lakers, or is it just a matter of getting him back and starting to roll? The Nuggets have no Michael Porter Jr. and no Jamal Murray. They are shooting 30 percent from 3. How in the world does this team still have a winning record?  How do we think the Neil Olshey inquiry ends following the "fair and independent review" of the workplace environment that he has fostered since running the Trail Blazers? The Cavs are starting to come back down to earth with losses to Boston, Brooklyn and Golden State. Do you believe it's important for them to compete this year, or is it fine if they are still a year away given that they seem to have found the actual organizational centerpiece in Evan Mobley?  Have you accepted Pokuism, the belief that Aleksej Pokusevski is your basketball lord and savior? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's back! Pennie and Vecenie go back and forth, doing a deep dive on the 2022 NBA Draft, Mock Draft style, making picks out to No. 30 back and forth in an exercise that will almost assuredly make us look dumb as soon as next week, given this draft class. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt Pennie is here to record a first reaction episode to the Champions' Classic on the NBA Draft. We dive into Paolo Banchero, Trevor Keels and Ochai Agbaji as well as all of the many other prospects who played on Tuesday in the opener. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rob Dauster joins to run through everything you need to know about the 2021-22 college basketball season, 21 Questions style. College basketball is older than it's been in years due to the decision to grant an extra year of eligibility. Does that mean we think the quality will be better? What is your favorite preseason bet on winning the national title? Who is your national player of the Year pick? Do we buy the Gonzaga hype?  ACC: This is Coach K's farewell season. Will you miss him? And do we think this Duke team has a chance to actually win the title given that they are ranked top-five in the preseason? ACC: Is the ACC kind of down this year? I have no first round prospects in the ACC right now outside of Duke. Duke is the only top-20 KenPom team at 10.  Big East: Are we sure that Villanova is by far the favorite? Who is the No. 2 team in the Big East?  Big Ten: The Big 10 is definitely the best league, right? Michigan, Illinois, Purdue and Ohio State look loaded. Maryland and Michigan State are talented. Big Ten: Kofi Cockburn, Trevion Williams, Hunter Dickinson, EJ Liddell, Trayce Jackson Davis, Zach Edey, even Keegan Murray to an extent. Can you remember the last time a league had this many great bigs? Big 12: Am I missing something on Kansas? Big 12: this race feels totally open to me. This is not just a Kansas walkover right?  Pac-12: UCLA went to the Final Four, returned all of its top-10 rotation players, and brought in Myles Johnson and Peyton Watson? Do we think they're the Final Four team that got hot late, or more the early season team that struggled last year? Pac-12: This is a weird league. Do we buy Arizona coming back to relevance? Can Oregon's transfers coalesce? USC without Evan Mobley? Colorado is a top-40 team without McKinley Wright? Is the SEC the deepest league? It feels like the most talented, athletic league to me across the board.  How weird is this Kentucky team?  AAC: Houston and Memphis are considered the two best teams in the league in the preseason. Which one do you like better? Anything teams you're looking forward to seeing? MWC, A10, MVC, rest of WCC: Who is the best team in these leagues? Best mid/low-major team?  Who is the most underrated team in the country?  Who will win the national title? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pennie and Vecenie are here, and we chat about the second-year players across the NBA. First though, we do a little news recap including the Robert Sarver report, the Celtics team meeting, and some rookie scale options being declined. We run through Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, James Wiseman, Pat Williams, Tyrese Haliburton, the Pistons' guys, Desmond Bane, Cole Anthony, and plenty others. On top of that, when we dive into Precious Achiuwa, I make sure to spend some time on the Raptors given that the previous 21 Questions podcast was only 20 questions because I missed one on the Raps. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nekias Duncan from The Dunker Spot and Basketball News is here to dive into what we've seen from the NBA thus far. Questions on the Bulls, the Heat, Evan Mobley, the Celtics, Zion and plenty more. Full list below: Is the Miami Heat the best team in the NBA? I think they're the best, most complete team I've seen this year.  We definitely trust Jimmy, Bam and Kyle at this point. But do we think that this Tyler Herro two-week star turn is real? The Chicago Bulls are the other team I've probably enjoyed watching most this year in the East. Do you believe in the Bulls yet, and how much does the Pat Williams injury hurt them? DeMar DeRozan: closer to the Hall of Fame than we think? My case: by the end of the year, DeRozan will likely be right around No. 55 all-time in scoring. At the end of next year if he averages 20 points per night, he'll be around No. 43. All of the top-48 scorers all time are in the HOF?  Boston might be a mess. What the hell is happening with the Celtics on both ends of the floor, where they don't look good in any regard? What do you think of foul calls league-wide? Are you a fan of fewer fouls being called on shots? Is there room for improvement?  Speaking of the fouling thing, do we think the narrative that some players have been affected by the new interpretation of the rules is true? For example, do we believe that James Harden is more just working his way back into shape, or do we think he's actually playing at a less elite level due to officiating? Who is your favorite league pass team so far? You don't really watch a ton of college basketball, but you've now seen this rookie class for a couple of weeks. How excited are you about Evan Mobley literally transforming Cleveland's defense? The Hawks are taking more midrange jumpers than any other team in the NBA, and fewer above-the-break 3s than any team other than Phoenix or Chicago. How worried are we about the Nate McMillan era in its first full season? Up until last night against Toronto, the Knicks have been running some sweet, sweet halfcourt offense. They were literally first in the NBA in points per possession out of halfcourt, per Synergy, at 1.033. Do we trust this to hold up? Toronto is 5-3 after a road win against the Knicks. Do we trust Toronto's weird mix of guys between 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-10 who can sort of, kind of shoot to continue generating efficient halfcourt offense by running and taking 3s? Draymond Green has looked incredible to start the season. Are we sure he shouldn't have made the NBA 75?  Portland's defense is statistically fine but it feels a bit noisy based off of shot quality being strong for opposition. Do we think they can actually turn it around or is this the end of this core's run? The Pacers finally got a second win last night, and Caris LeVert helped them look much better. But do we think the Pacers are the most likely team to shake things up a bit pre-deadline?  How worried are you about the entirety of the Zion Williamson situation? If you were ranking players on the Lakers in terms of importance, how high would Austin Reaves rank? In other words, how worried are you about the way the depth veteran signings have played outside of Carmelo?  The Jazz are averaging the second-fewest passes per possession right now. Two years ago, they were in the top-third of the league. Despite very little personnel change overall, do you think this style of play is more sustainable for them as they try to move toward playoff success? The Wizards are winning with depth. Kyle Kuzma has been good. KCP has been good. Spencer Dinwiddie and Montrezl Harrell have given them more offensive firepower. Are we at the point where we buy the Wizards as a playoff team?  Small sample size theatre: which top-10 defense do we buy most so far: Minnesota, Chicago, or Dallas? The all-important No. 1 question comes last: Have you accepted Aleksej Pokusevski as the basketball lord and savior? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt Pennie joins Sam to break down the first week we've seen from the NBA's rookies so far. Special attention to Evan Mobley, Scottie Barnes, Jalen Green, Jalen Suggs, Franz Wagner, Chris Duarte, Josh Giddey and Davion Mitchell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tony Jones from The Athletic is here, we run through the NBA's first week by breaking down its contenders and more. We dive in by discussing some of the weaknesses the league has shown so far. We start with Brooklyn, then go to the Lakers. Then, we move to the East and run through Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Atlanta (not Miami just because I haven't seen them yet). Then we run through Utah, Denver, Phoenix, the Clippers, the Mavs, and the hit on plenty of other teams throughout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices