Are the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks as good as their records suggest? Tom Haberstroh discusses with ESPN analyst Amin Elhassan. Elhassan, a former Phoenix Suns executive and noted archrival of Kobe stans, also reveals whether he thinks Kobe Bryant quit in the 2006 playoff series against the Suns. 
 
2:03 Amin’s impersonation of Alvin Gentry
7:44 Why does Amin Elhassan hate the Lakers so much?
18:18 Explaining the Lakers’ hot start 
30:01 LeBron is playing more defense…can he keep it up all season? 
50:19 Did Kobe Bryant quit on the Lakers in their 2006 playoff series against the Suns?
52:46 How much Smush Parker and Kobe hated each other as teammates

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Episode 29: ESPN NBA analyst Amin Elhassan

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Early this week, I texted Kirk Goldsberry to invite him onto the pod and talk about his awesome new book, HOOP ATLAS: Mapping the Remarkable Transformation of the Modern NBA. He was in. He had one request.  Can we get Brandon Payne on too? YES. A man of many talents, Goldsberry is a professor of Sports Analytics at the University of Texas and has worked at ESPN and the San Antonio Spurs, and evidently, he is also a great producer. It was a great hour with Goldsberry and Payne. Goldsberry’s changed the way we watch and talk about basketball, if not changed basketball itself. In his chapter on Stephen Curry, Goldsberry talked to our pal Brandon Payne, Curry’s longtime trainer, and shared a bunch of insights on what makes Curry one of one. You should pick up Goldsberry’s book at your local Amazon store. Tell ‘em I sent ya! We caught Payne just before he headed out to The Bay to run some workouts with Curry before he jets off to France for the Olympics this summer. As always, he shared so much wisdom with us about basketball, especially here in the States compared to abroad. On this episode, we hit a bunch of topics: * The technology that Stephen Curry uses in workouts * Why the nose is so important * Why swishes aren’t good enough for Payne re: Steph * Goldsberry’s campaign to kill the corner 3 * The return of the bigs * The problem with American youth basketball * What is Wemby going to do to basketball? * Are there too many 3s?  

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The Finder POD: Kirk Goldsberry and Brandon Payne

You might have seen the Patrick Mahomes stat that went viral this week. The man behind that stat, , joins us this week at The Finder.  An old colleague from the ESPN days, the whip-smart proprietor of Neil’s Substack talks about using numbers to do premium storytelling, his final days at the now-defunct The Messenger, Denver’s altitude as a superpower, the full-circle response to his “infamous” Andrew Wiggins story,  reimagining the Kobe Bryant clutch debate, his recent post on an NBA efficiency paradox and what he learned while working in the Atlanta Hawks’ basketball operations. Really great to catch up with Paine. Follow my lead and subscribe to his Substack!   

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The Finder pod: Analytics storyteller Neil Paine

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After Kyrie Irving dropped 44 on the red-hot Knicks, we had to run it back with Brandon Payne. Stephen Curry’s longtime trainer Brandon Payne couldn’t wait to talk about Irving’s array of shot-making, creativity and space creation. What struck me about Irving is how unique his moves are. Totally unpredictable. No one else is like him. On Friday we ran thr…

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Victor Wembanyama celebrated his 20th birthday by melting candles and melting minds on Thursday. 27 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocks in just 26 minutes against Milwaukee Bucks’ frontline of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez. The numbers don’t do his performance justice. The behind-the-back And-1 dunk in transition on Brook Lopez. The backdoor cut that j…

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Stephen Curry dropped 36 points on Tuesday night against Orlando with a couple shots that made its way through socials.  Since y’all seemed to love the Steph moonball video we did, I sent out the Brandon Payne bat signal. He’s been Stephen Curry’s skills trainer and shot guru for Curry for years. We went through each and every one of Curry’s 12 makes. Slow…

Episode 29: ESPN NBA analyst Amin Elhassan

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