2010BA

Professor Mike Hyland returns to the show to pitch some hot takes specifically related to how we evaluate NBA players in the modern era: the notion of a "two-way player" is non-sensical (0:35), many player evaluation metrics have lost their meaning due to Goodhart's Law (8:49), and the league is at a dangerous point with analytics (18:05). 

Four different guests each join the show to present a different hot take about the modern NBA: Kawhi Leonard is grossly overrated (0:40), Jeremy Lin was robbed of his career by Carmelo Anthony (13:02), Phil Jackson could have coached the Durant-Westbrook Thunder to multiple championships (19:52), and who is the most attractive player in the NBA? (26:07) 

My friend and stats expert, Todd, joins me for a numbers-filled episode. We discussed the most surprising decade leaders in various statistical categories, including three-point shooting (0:53), turnovers (7:44), and best individual postseason runs (13:23). Then, we each shared our three favorite 2010s-related stats, covering the 2016-2019 Warriors' dominance (16:13), Brook Lopez as a prototypical stretch five (17:59), winningest regular season players (22:42), Draymond Green's value (27:19), my favorite Lance Stephenson fun fact (30:28), and more. 

Chris, Brian, and I walk through the last three rounds of our hypothetical tournament between the best teams of the 2010s: 2017 Warriors vs. 2019 Raptors (1:08), 2014 Spurs vs. 2018 Rockets (1:36), 2016 Thunder vs. 2012 Heat (3:22), 2013 Heat vs. 2016 Cavaliers (10:06), the semifinals (11:37), and the finals (20:22). We finish by discussing if any historic teams could have beaten the 2017 Warriors (31:00). 

Chris and Brian join me to simulate a hypothetical 16-team tournament between the best teams of the 2010s. In Part 1, we run through the first round matchups: 2017 Warriors vs. 2010 Celtics (2:08), 2015 Warriors vs. 2016 Thunder (4:01), 2013 Heat vs. 2019 Bucks (8:46), 2014 Spurs vs. 2012 Bulls (13:51), 2018 Warriors vs. 2018 Rockets (16:36), 2016 Cavaliers vs. 2016 Spurs (22:35), 2011 Mavericks vs. 2012 Heat (26:36), and 2010 Lakers vs. 2019 Raptors (29:55). 

Andrew Stafford and I answer another batch of questions, including "Which teams from the 2010s could have used Robert Horry the most?" (0:25), "What were the top five narrative-changing games of the decade?" (5:35), and "Is Draymond Green not that good?" (17:22). 

Andrew Stafford and I go through the 2010s year by year and decide whether or not the right player won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award each season, including 2011 Derrick Rose (2:02), 2017 Russell Westbrook (6:43), 2018 James Harden (12:38), and 2019 Giannis Antetokounmpo (14:57). Then, we briefly answer "Who was the worst NBA player of the decade?" (18:42). 

Long-time Knicks fan Andrew Stafford joins me to answer questions such as "How does the best Knicks team of the 2010s stack up against the peak Knicks team of the 1970s?" (0:54) and "How good was Carmelo Anthony, really?" (5:00), reminisce about the criminally underrated 2012-13 Knicks season (9:14), and bemoan the dumbest Knicks decisions of the last ten seasons, including the Melo trade (12:30), the Joakim Noah signing (17:57), and the Bargnani trade (19:16). 

My dad and I debate which aspects of the NBA were better or worse during the 2010s than during previous decades, including the overall talent pool (0:27), player nicknames (7:40), the refereeing (11:14), how fun the games were to watch (14:02), and more. 

My dad joins me to explain the ways in which the NBA of his youth, the 1970s, differed from that of the 2010s (0:55). Then we try to make sense of a few league-wide statistical trends spanning the past several decades, including increased three-point shooting (8:15), increased pace (12:49), decreased free-throw rates (17:15), decreased playing time for superstars (19:40), and more.