In episode 16 of The Help Side Basketball Coaching and Strategy Podcast we are back after a long hiatus. I talk about the next step in my personal coaching career as I have accepted a new coaching position. I also get caught up on some of the things that I missed in the last month and a half. I also do a very early prediction on where I think teams will finish in the very tough Western Conference. In the strategy session I talk about preparing for an interview and how I prepped for this most current one. When all the other applicants are doing the same thing, I think its important to do something different. And I talk about a few of those things that I do differently from most other applicants.

In Episode 15 of The Help Side Basketball Coaching Strategy and Analytics podcast we start by talking about the NBA playoffs up to this point. We look back at the Warrior's series vs the Rockets and Blazers as well as the just concluded series between the Bucks and Raptors. We then do a quick preview on the NBA finals. In the analytic section we talk about charting defense. Most teams chart and look at offensive numbers, but I haven't found a lot on charting how good players are defensively. We talk about how we could do this to get a better idea of who are better defensive players are. In the strategy session, we talk about charting hustle points and giving an award for it at the end of the year. We also talk about how players knowing that they are being charted, and competing for a hustle award, affects how they play, knowing that those things are being documented.

In Episode 14 of The Help Side Basketball Coaching Strategy and Analytics podcast we talk about the NBA playoffs and the NCAA tournament. I predict winners in each series and recap the excitement of  March Madness. I talk about a couple scenarios where my theory of fouling while up 2 would pay off and a couple scenarios where coaches had the decision to foul or not foul up 3 late in game. Next we talk about the amazing out of bounds play that Virginia Tech ran against Duke which almost got them the upset in that game. Finally, in the strategy session, we talk about hedging. I love to hedge ball screens and I put in a drill many years ago called the "hedge drill," that is really good for working on your teams hedging skills. I go in depth on the drill and how I like to hedge from the positions of the man guarding the screener and the man guarding the ball, as well as rotations by all the rest of the guy on the floor.

In Episode 13 of The Help Side Basketball Coaching Strategy and Analytics podcast we have a lot to catch up on. The trade deadline has come and gone and we talk about how these things have affected the top teams in the East and West. We also talk about the favorites in college basketball. We talk about the implosion of the Lakers and Celtics, and how you need Hall of Famers to win in the NBA. In the analytics section we talk about fouling while up by 2 points late in a game. While this is an experimental strategy, I think it holds merit in many scenarios. We dig into the numbers and talk about if it is a viable strategy.

In Episode 12 of The Help Side Basketball Coaching and Analytics podcast we catch up with what happened on the Christmas Day NBA games. We talk about contenders in both the East and the West and then of course we talk LeBron. Lebron has been hurt, and while hurt, he called himself the GOAT. In the analytics section we talk about the play run by Northern Kentucky where they started all 5 guys out of bounds on their own baseline. We also talk about thinking about and designing your own plays. Finally, in the strategy session we talk about subbing during free throws and how that can be an effective way to control the pace of the game after a made free throw.