Game Theory

In this episode, Sam Vecenie chats with Cole Zwicker about the NBA Playoffs Conference Finals. First, they break down Game 1 of the Celtics-Cavaliers series, which Boston ran away with by 25 points. We go into the Xs and Os, the performances, and some of the potential adjustments for Game 2. 

Then, we break down Golden State vs. Houston, a series that should be absolutely tremendous. How does each team match up with the other? Who is the key player? Who wins?

In this episode, Sam Vecenie chats with Cole Zwicker about the Eastern Conference semi-finals. First, the two chat about Celtics-Sixers and break down what's happening on the floor. Why are the Sixers struggling a bit, and why being able to play defense on the perimeter and in space is possibly the biggest market inefficiency in the NBA right now. Additionally, "The TJ McConnell Game," and how that could change things going forward. Then they go into the Celtics, how incredible Al Horford has been this series, and how awesome the Jayson Tatum jump has been in the playoffs so far. 

Then, they go into Raptors-Cavs. How the Cavs role players started to fill in around the LeBron James, and how the Cavs look to be back on course for the NBA Finals. Then they go into the Raptors side of things, where they break down how Dwane Casey struggled a bit to come up with adjustments, how Serge Ibaka and DeMar DeRozan really struggled, and what the future should hold for this Raptors team. Should they continue to hold the ship together and keep this core? Or should they blow things up and look to move on from this era of Raptors hoops?

In this episode, Sam Vecenie chats with friend of the program Cole Zwicker, where they break down the end of the Stan Van Gundy tenure in Detroit. Does this spell the end of dual coach/GM positions? Where does he leave Detroit? How do they get out of the hole they've created? 

Additionally, they chat about the Knicks hiring David Fizdale, the Suns hiring Igor Kokoskov, the Grizzlies hiring JB Bickerstaff, and the processes some other teams are undertaking to hire head coaches. Finally, they chat briefly about the NBA Draft Combine and the list that was released on Friday for the event. 

This is a two part episode. First, Sam Vecenie chats with Fred Katz to break down what happened with the Oklahoma City Thunder this season. Why did they fail and end up falling in the first round of the playoffs? What happens now, what with Paul George being a free agent and Carmelo Anthony being...well, Melo. 

Then, Sam chats with Cole Zwicker, where they break down what happened with Milwaukee, Indiana, and Washington. A brief moment of silence for Joe Prunty's NBA head coaching career, thoughts on who the Bucks should go after as their new coach, thoughts on how the Pacers actually have some flexibility now, and finally on how the Wizards are either going to have to make big changes, or stick with the status quo. 

In this episode, Sam Vecenie chats with Cole Zwicker about the second round of the NBA Playoffs, diving deep on each of the series. First, they run through a post-mortem of the Boston-Milwaukee series where Milwaukee was an abject mess in terms of lineups and Boston saw Al Horford, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart really make key differences. Then they dive into the Xs and Os of Philadelphia-Boston in the second round, and start to wonder about just how Boston matches up with the Sixers. 

Next, the two break down what happened in Game 7 on Saturday with the Cavaliers beating Indiana, and then move forward into chatting about Toronto-Cleveland. Can the Raptors finally beat Cleveland, and if they can't, can they ever? Why their depth of players could actually cause Cleveland some problems, too. 

Then they move to the West, where each of the two Game 1s went according to plan there, with Golden State and Houston largely wrecking New Orleans and Utah, respectively. Why each of those things happen, and why neither of is particularly bullish on those series going a long way. 

In this episode, Sam Vecenie chats with Cole Zwicker, where they breakdown all of the remaining playoff series, in this order: Thunder-Jazz, Cavs-Pacers, Wizards-Raptors, and Bucks-Celtics. 

Then, the two of them do postmortems and offseason look-aheads for the Minnesota Timberwolves, San Antonio Spurs, and the Miami Heat. 

In this episode, Sam Vecenie chats with Cole Zwicker about the weekend that was in the playoffs. They open with about 20 minutes on the Bucks pulling even with Boston following Joe Prunty stumbling backwards into the Thon Maker adjustment, which changed the complexion of the series. 

Then, the two move on to Wizards-Raptors, Pacers-Cavaliers, and then Philadelphia taking a big lead over Miami. Are the 76ers now the favorite in the Eastern Conference? 

Following the East, they chat about the West. First, they do a post-mortem on Portland, and the mess that Neil Olshey has created in terms of getting more out of this particular group of players. What are the Blazers' options going into the offseason? Then, they chat Jazz-Thunder and Rockets-Wolves, and how those two series are going. Finally, they briefly mentioned Warriors-Spurs, shout out to Manu. 

In this episode, Sam Vecenie chats with friend of the program Cole Zwicker about all of the Game 2s in the First Round of the NBA Playoffs, breaking them down much in the same way they did Game 1. They went in this order: Pacers-Cavs, Philadelphia-Miami, Utah-OKC, Milwaukee-Boston, Pelicans-Blazers, Wizards-Raptors, Wolves-Rockets, Spurs-Warriors. 

 

In this episode, Sam Vecenie chats with Cole Zwicker and talks goes in-depth on the first weekend of the NBA Playoffs, breaking down the first game of each series. Here's the order: Utah-OKC, Milwaukee-Boston, New Orleans-Blazers, Pacers-Cavs, Philly-Miami, Wizards-Raptors, Minnesota-Houston, Golden State-San Antonio. 

Then, they chat about lessons teams can learn from the playoffs in terms of the NBA Draft. Should boards be altered based on the fact that big men are being played off the court regularly in these playoffs, given that five of most people's top-10 are true bigs? What can you learn about drafting wings from these playoffs? Is that now the premium NBA position? 

Finally, Cole checks in from Nike Hoop Summit, where he got a chance to scout some of the best high school players in the country, including R.J. Barrett, Cam Reddish, Bol Bol, Quentin Grimes, and more. 

In this episode, Sam Vecenie chats with Zach Harper of Fan Rag Sports and the Count the Dings podcast network to preview the 2018 NBA Playoffs. They run through each series, chatting about their overall thoughts on the series, the matchup within the series they're looking forward to, and the fake over/under they're most looking forward to tracking. 

They chat in order of seeding and by conference, meaning the first series they talk about is Toronto-Washington, followed by Boston-Milwaukee, Miami-Philadelphia, then Cleveland-Indiana. Then they move to the West, where it's Houston-Minnesota, Golden State-San Antonio, Portland-New Orleans, Utah-OKC. Also at the top, they chat about movies and the LeBron series that Zach wrote over 30,000 words on at Fan Rag. Go check that out, and go check out Hurricane Heist.

This episode is sponsored by eHarmony, where you can use the promo code GAMETHEORY to get one month off of a three-month subscription to the dating service. every