Game Theory

Cole Huff sometimes lets the people forget that he was a professional basketball player, but he's now a writer for The Athletic and a variety of other platforms. He chats with Sam about NBA Awards odds coming into this preseason. MVP, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, and Sixth Man of the Year are all covered, with some thoughts on who we think is going to have a killer year entering the season.

In the second part of this two-part episode, Sam is joined by Coach Spins and they chat about a couple of topics. First, they chat about Bronny James, and why they think he is actually underrated as a player. Colleges should take a really strong look if he's serious about considering that pathway.

The first part of a two-part NBA Draft-centric episode! In this first part, Spins and I chat about the forthcoming Scoot Henderson vs. Victor Wembanyama matchup that has been set for October 4/6 in Las Vegas. What should we be looking for in this game? When was the last time we saw this kind of 1 vs. 2 matchup in the preseason? A deep dive into an incredibly fun NBA Draft matchup.

In this episode, in conjunction with the Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony this coming weekend, Adam Spinella joins Sam Vecenie to break down how many Hall of Famers are currently in the NBA in 2022. We dive deep into some of the weirder, stranger cases like Kyle Lowry, some of the more strangely polarizing ones like Dwight Howard, and some of the future stars and what they'd have to do in order to reach that standard, such as Trae Young, Donovan Mitchell and others.

In this episode, Adam Spinella joins Sam Vecenie and they break down everything to do with the blockbuster NBA trade that sent Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Collin Sexton, Ochai Agbaji, as well as Cleveland's 2025, 2027, and 2029 unprotected first round picks in addition to pick swaps in 2026 and 2028. Is this too much for Mitchell? Should Cleveland be going all in at this point? Is Cleveland now a top-three team in the East? Where does this leave Utah? And where does it leave the Knicks after the RJ Barrett extension earlier this week?

In this episode, I chat with Adam Spinella and we break down the young cores in the Western Conference. In this episode, we dive deep into the Grizzlies, Warriors, Rockets, Thunder, Spurs, Wolves, Pelicans and others. Then we chat a bit about cooking and movies, and we call it at a brief two hours.

Alex Schiffer from The Athletic joins the show to break down a few things. First, Chet Holmgren is out for the season and we are sad. Then, we chat about the Patrick Beverley for Talen Horton-Tucker trade, and why it makes sense for everyone across the board. Finally, we chat about Alex's area of expertise, with Kevin Durant deciding to stay in Brooklyn instead of continuing to seek a trade. We are actually, genuinely excited for this Brooklyn Nets team!

In this episode, I chat with Adam Spinella about who has the best young core in the Eastern Conference. We dive deep into the Magic, Pistons, Cavaliers, and Pacers, as well as chat a bit about the Raptors, Wizards, Hawks, Hornets, and others. We break down all of the young guys on those teams, then decide which core we'd most want to build around moving forward.

The Athletic's Jovan Buha joins the show and we break down where the Lakers stand now in the offseason. LeBron James has signed his extension. Russell Westbrook is still on the roster. Where does the team go from here? What does the team's current closing lineup look like? Where do they sit in the Western Conference hierarchy? All that and more for one of the most fascinating, active teams in the league with one of the people who knows the Lakers best.

Adam Spinella AKA Coach Spins joins and we chat about a few different team-building constructs within college basketball. First, we ask the question: Do recruiting rankings matter? We discuss the ways in which they're dissected and talk about what matters and what doesn't within them.