I sprint through Michigan-Arizona and Illinois-UConn, with deeper looks at Yaxel Lendeborg, Aday Mara, Morez Johnson, Brayden Burries, Keaton Wagler, and the 10 or so total NBA players playing this weekend.

Enjoy!

TIME STAMPS
(0:00) Intro + Title Pick
(5:00) Yaxel Lendeborg
(32:00) Aday Mara
(41:40) Morez Johnson Jr.
(49:00) Brayden Burries
(58:30) Koa Peat, Ivan Kharchenkov, Motiejus Krivas
(1:03:30) Keaton Wagler, Mirkovic
(1:14:00) Braylon Mullins, Karaban, Reed

Brian Geisinger, author of Split the Action and host of BuzzBeat, breaks down Duke's title path within the March Madness bracket. Then, we dive into the many PGs with Final Four and NBA Draft aspirations - Darius Acuff, Kingston Flemings, Tyler Tanner, Bennett Stirtz, Labaron Philon, and Christian Anderson. We wrap by discussing possibly our favorite NBA PG dart of all - Stanford's dynamo Ebuka Okorie, whose team is not in the bracket at all.

Enjoy!

https://briangeisinger.substack.com/

TIME STAMPS

(0:00) Intro
(3:15) The Bracket and Duke's Path
(30:35) Acuff, Flemings, Tanner, Wagler, Philon, Stirtz, Anderson
(1:03:50) Ebuka Okorie + Wrap

Brian Geisinger, host of Buzzbeat and author of Split the Action, rejoins to rejoice in the Charlotte Hornets' exceptional season, their envelope pushing offense, Kon Knueppel, and the draft lessons that suggest a 1-2 ranking for Cam Boozer and Caleb Wilson.

Enjoy!

TIME STAMPS

(0:00) Intro
(4:00) Charlotte Hornets Success
(17:35) Kon Knueppel as NBA trendsetter
(50:00) Cam Boozer as 1 or 2
(1:15:45) Caleb Wilson as 1 or 2 + Wrap

I advocate why a standings freeze on January 1 followed by a wins race for lottery odds among the bottom 7 teams would solve the NBA's tanking crisis.

Enjoy! And credit to Matt Powers ( @DraftPow ) of Swish Theory for the first version of the idea that I have heard.

Bennett Herbert (@bendog28) stops by to discuss the San Antonio Spurs' rise and their title chances "ahead of schedule," the James Harden trade, and a loaded top of the 2026 draft (Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, AJ Dybantsa, Caleb Wilson, Kingston Flemings, Keaton Wagler).

Enjoy!

TIME STAMPS
(3:40) The Spurs and the West
(41:30) James Harden Trade and the East
(52:30) 2026 Number 1 Pick

Brian Geisinger, host of the Buzz Beat podcast and the Split the Action Substack, returns to check in on the scouting reports of prospective top 5 picks Cameron Boozer and Caleb Wilson. We also contrast and debate Mikel Brown, Neoklis Avdalas, Patrick Ngongba, and Henri Veesaar. Enjoy!

TIME STAMPS

(0:00) Intro
(6:30) Cam Boozer
(43:50) Caleb Wilson
(1:07:30) Mikel Brown Jr.
(1:28:50) Neoklis Avdalas
(1:45:30) Patrick Ngongba Jr. + Henri Veesaar and Wrap

Sam Ferris (@DraftDummies) joins to bring back Dart Rank, a cumulative redraft of the 3 most recent draft classes headlined by Victor Wembanyama, Zaccharie Risacher, and Cooper Flagg, respectively. We go out to 21, identifying the "average" top 7 picks over a 3 year sample, and cover a bunch of draft philosophy as well. Dart Rank is back! Enjoy.

TIME STAMPS

(0:00) Intro + Dart Rank Explainer
(9:35) Picks 1-7
(1:03:25) Picks 8-14
(1:38:35) Picks 15-21 + wrap

Nathan Grubel of @NoCeilingsNBA returns to discuss his weekly rookie rankings 1-10, and we update our scouting reports and thoughts on a rookie class with landmark responsibility within the league, from Cooper Flagg, VJ Edgecombe, Cedric Coward, Kon Knueppel, to many more. Enjoy!

Enjoy!

TIME STAMPS

(0:00) Intro
(5:30) Kon Knueppel
(28:10) Cedric Coward
(47:55) Cooper Flagg
(57:00) VJ Edgecombe
(1:10:20) Dylan Harper
(1:21:10) Ryan Kalkbrenner
(1:27:45) Derik Queen
(1:34:45) Jeremiah Fears
(1:43:15) Will Richard, CMB, Tre Johnson + Wrap

Esfandiar Baraheni (@justesbaraheni) of @TheAthleticNBADaily and @raptorsrepublic joins to round out a belated preview ranking where we expect all 30 offenses to end at the end of the season. Es also analyzes the curious roster build of his beloved Toronto and we mix in some early reactions as well.

Enjoy!

TIME STAMPS
(0:00) Intro
(6:55) Raptors Roster Build + Collin Murray Boyles
(16:30) Offense Ranks 1-30

Jack Quantrill, host of the Drop Step NBA POdcast and contributor to Celticsblog, swings by for a season preview episode where we draft our favorite "locks" for over or under performance by teams this year. Enjoy!

TIME STAMPS
(0:00) Intro
(7:35) Grizzlies
(18:10) Bucks
(29:30) Orlando Magic
(38:05) Spurs
(49:40) Kings
(57:45) Pelicans
(1:03:05) Hornets
(1:12:30) Bulls + Wizards
(1:23:45) Thunder + wrap