The NBA Playoffs are fast approaching so we talked to Caitlin Cooper of Indy Cornrows about which teams in the Eastern Conference to watch. Then we debated who would be more deserving of Coach of the Year between Portland Trail Blazers’ Terry Stotts and Pacers’ Nate McMillan.

We also asked Caitlin about how she approaches writing about basketball, what are some tips for people who want to study the game, and what resources she uses to research and learn more.

Finally, she recommends two women whose work she admires, SB Nation’s Whitney Medworth (@its_whitney) and The Ringer’s Haley O'Shaughnessy (@HaleyOSomething)

1:15 Growing up the coach’s kid in Indiana and being a girl who knew sports6:00 What has been happening with the Pacers, Victor Oladipo's growth, and being a fan of an Eastern Conference teams. 9:00 How the 76ers are shaking things up with Markel Fultz entering the lineup10:15 How seeding in the East might shake out and what series are you looking forward to?13:00 What would a Portland Trail Blazers San Antonio Spurs series be like? Will the Portland role players continue to keep up their strong performances of late? What is a successful season?18:15 Discussing Terry Stotts and Nate McMillan as Coach of the Year candidates.24:45 Watching the playoffs and seeing how teams adapt from game-to-game, enjoying maximum effort in each game, coaches head games, not overreacting32:30 Advice for watching a player or a game in order to analyze what is happening. How she wrote The Pacers need better solutions when teams trap Victor Oladipo.38:00 Favorite sites: 3ball, nba.com box scores,  Basketball Immersion, Basketball Dictionary

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