The small lineup is here to kick off the fourth season preview of the ShotTakes Era with a look at this year's Eastern Conference. Can the Heat back up their remarkable showing in the Bubble by defending the conference crown? Has Milwaukee made the upgrades necessary to reach the Finals—and earn Giannis' commitment? Who else can stake a plausible claim to contention? And which other feisty squads, well, are worth talking about? Believe it or not, there are less than three weeks until Opening Night—so there's not time like the present to tune in for our perspectives on all the above.

 

Stay safe, everyone.

We're used to dramatic offseason developments in the NBA, though not necessarily during November nor condensed into an action-packed week that saw the draft, free agency, trades, failed trades (plus investigations?), and even an audience with Pope Francis for a delegation of NBA players. We've got the full starting lineup here with thoughts on all the above—tune in!

The NBA offseason is in full swing: the draft has been completed, trades are flying left and right, and free agency is set to begin in less than 24 hours. We've got reactions, analysis, and speculation on all of the above—tune in.

We want Joe Biden—NEED JOE BIDEN! Also it's about time ShotTakes mentions the 2020 NBA Finals and the outlook for a very unorthodox 2020-21 season. Thanks for hanging with us—it's great to be back!

The NBA's Orlando bubble has been a smashing success, and now it's time for an unlikely Finals in more ways than one: an October showdown between LeBron & AD's Lakers and the ascendent Miami Heat enable cast. We recap how the two teams earned their spots in the championship round, and shoutout and/or roast the squads they downed on the way to the Finals. 

 

Welcome to title season.

We've got lots of game action to discuss and preview, but first, a conversation about the games that weren't played on schedule: the Bucks' refusal to take the floor in protest of the Jacob Blake police killing sparked a wildcat strike that yielded major results, both in the commitments NBA players were able to secure from the league as well as powerful demonstrations that reverberated throughout the sports world and beyond. We fully support the players' actions and are proud to be loosely affiliated with this sport. Plus, a look at the two Western Conference first round Game 7s (one of which has already concluded) and a preview of the conference semifinals.

Black Lives Matter.

The 2020 NBA playoffs are finally underway and they are spicy—at least in the Western Conference. We empty our notebooks on Luka's scintillating playoff debut, the sluggish Clippers, a tight Rockets-Thunder matchup, Donovan Mitchell's torching of Denver (NOTE: recorded prior to the Nuggets' G5 win), the Lakers finding their footing, and....the sweeptastic Eastern first round. Tune in to catch that August basketball fever.

Playoff basketball is underway and we are HYPE to dive into each of the first-round matchups....okay, maybe not Bucks-Magic or Raptors-Nets. Definitely all the other ones though! But first, we pay tribute to the Suns' remarkable 8-0 bubble performance and Damian Lillard's heroics that denied Phoenix a spot in the play-in game despite their shocking play.

Let's GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

After many not-so-coy allusions to betting lines and over/unders in prior episodes, ShotTakes finally steers into the skid of degeneracy and dedicates the entirety of the program to gambling talk. We've got Brother of the Pod, longtime podcast financier, and America's most transparent sports gambler Ryan Lynch here to offer his finely tuned playbook on how to beat the house (sometimes) and bets to watch for in the upcoming NBA playoffs. (NOTE: any tips dispensed by Mr. Lynch on this program do not constitute financial advice on the part of ShotTakes, LLC and should not be relied upon to generate income, etc.)