Game Theory Podcast

Danny Leroux joins for a new style of episode jumping around the NBA to talk about the NBA's first games, including Giannis, the Mavericks, the Hawks, and plenty other topics. The goal here is to do a show where we can talk about a lot of things within an hour and have fun doing so.We spend approximately three minutes on each question, and they include:-what team disappointed you most with their opener?-What team surprised you most?-If Giannis learned how to shoot pull-ups like he showed confidence with in the opener, how drastically does that alter the MVP/best player in the world discussion?-Did the Suns make the right or wrong call not extending DeAndre Ayton?-Is Anthony Edwards the most fun player in the NBA?-Kings! I think my pick for first time all-star in the west this year is De’Aaron Fox in a wild card slot. Are you as high on Fox as I am?-Can Eric Bledsoe sustain in a Bruce Brown-like role from last year? -The Spurs were really fun against the Magic. Who is your favorite young guy on the Spurs?-How long does this three-big experiment last for the Cavaliers? -Can Will Barton bring the Nuggets jusssstttttt enough offense to keep the perimeter play afloat while Jamal Murray is out for them to sustain as a 50-win team?-Robert Williams looks great for the Celtics. Is there a chance we look back at that deal as a legitimate steal for Boston?-the pacers tossed up 3s on 53% of their shots. They lost to the Hornets in the opener, but are you more bullish on them just based on process?-Are the Blazers a six-deep team, or do we trust Simons/Little/Snell once he gets back?-are you a believer in Pokuism, the acceptance of Aleksej Pokusevski as your basketball savior?And others! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's Opening Night in the NBA! I chatted with Cole Huff from The Athletic about Warriors-Lakers and Bucks-Nets. We saw tonight that continuity matters. But, are we worried about Russell Westbrook? Do we just stay the course with the Lakers? Why Anthony Davis looks awesome. What did we think of the Warriors tonight? Then, we chat about the Bucks. Jordan Nwora looks great, Jrue Holiday looks great, and Giannis looks like he's going to destroy worlds. On top of it, the Nets are also just going to take some time but Kevin Durant remains incredible.We finish on rookie extensions. We chat about the Deandre Ayton lack of extension, followed by some thoughts on Jaren Jackson Jr., Mikal Bridges, and Kevin Huerter. Finally, Marvin Bagley III's reps threw down the gauntlet on the Kings. Some thoughts on his career so far and where it goes from here. What is the best outcome? Why this has been a bad situation for everyone involved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt Pennie and I preview the guards in the 2022 NBA Draft Class. Including Jaden Hardy, Jaden Ivey, JD Davison, Kennedy Chandler, TyTy Washington, Nolan Hickman, Aminu Mohammed, Jean Montero, Andre Curbelo, Jordan Hall, Kadary richmond, Iverson Molinar, Kendric Davis, Max Abmas, Adam Flagler, Jahvon Quinerly and some further.We also talk about my diving into Boston sports and culture in a way that I'm almost serious about. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Derek Bodner is here and we chat about the two dominant NBA storylines of the preseason that came to a head on Tuesday: Ben Simmons coming to the front door of the 76ers unannounced to return to the team, and Kyrie Irving being ruled out of all basketball activities until something changes with his vaccination status or the rules allowing him to play in home games. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dave DuFour is here to break down all of the potential awards races this year, from Kevin Durant and the narrative race for MVP; DPOY and the push for a perimeter player to win; some ROY thoughts and a sleeper to win that award; and other stuff like most likely to be traded, most interesting trade targets, and plenty more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt Pennie and I preview the wings in the 2022 NBA Draft Class. Including AJ Griffin, Peyton Watson, Johnny Juzang, Jaime Jaquez, Benn Mathurin, Dyson Daniels, and a slew of freshmen. We also talked a bit about a big Boston sports weekend with Pennie, my Instagram account dying an oil-covered death at the hands of Nicolas Cage, and we talk a lot about The Many Saints of Newark at the end. Finally, we close with four minutes on Emoni Bates' measurements that people seem to be melting down about online. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For the fourth year in a row, Robby Kalland joins Sam for the only essential preview podcast: NBA Win total over/unders. This episode is on the Western Conference. We use our good friends over at BetMGM and their win total lines to dive deep into each team, and discuss what we think will happen this year for every one. The teams go in alphabetical order. DAL: 48.5; DEN: 47.5; GSW: 48.5; HOU: 27.5; LAC: 45.5; LAL: 52.5; MEM: 41.5; MIN: 34.5; NO: 39.5; OKC: 23.5: PHX: 51.5; POR: 44.5; SAC: 36.5; SAS: 28.5; UTA: 52.5 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For the fourth year in a row, Robby Kalland joins Sam for the only essential preview podcast: NBA Win total over/unders. This episode is on the Eastern Conference. We use our good friends over at BetMGM and their win total lines to dive deep into each team, and discuss what we think will happen this year for every one. The teams go in alphabetical order. The numbers we go off of can be found below:ATL 47.5; BOS 45.5; BKN 56.6; CHA 38.5; CHI 42.5; CLE 26.5; DET 24.5; IND 42.5; MIA 48.5; MIL 54.5; NYK 41.5; ORL 22.5; PHI 50.5; TOR 35.5; WAS 33.5 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fred Katz joins the show, and we tier the Eastern Conference into four ways: Pretenders, Play-in Contenders, Playoff Contenders, and Title Contenders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt Pennie joins Sam to run through a preseason lookahead to the 2022 NBA Draft. Who are the wing forwards that you need to know? We do deep dives on Patrick Baldwin, Jabari Smith, Caleb Houstan, Kendall Brown, Matthew Mayer, Keegan Murray, Julian Champagnie, Jabari Walker, E.J. Liddell, Michael Foster, Toumani Camara, Dawson Garcia, Moussa Diabate, then throw out some of the sleeper names we like.First though, we start on J.J. Redick's retirement, one of the most interesting careers in the last two decades of basketball Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices