We talk:

• Anthony Davis' big contract.
• The demise of the PAC 12
• ESPN getting directly in the sports betting arena
• Rank over 130 NBA Nicknames!

Thanks to:

• Basketball Reference - https://basketball-reference.com
• Thomas Neumann - https://therookiewire.usatoday.com/li...
• Pat Heery - https://www.yardbarker.com/nba/articl...
• Brady Klopfer (https://twitter.com/BradyKlopferNBA) - https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2022/12/...
• Howard Fear (https://twitter.com/hsfear)
• "Regular American" (https://twitter.com/Bot_From_Russia)
• Logan Trent (https://twitter.com/TheLoganTrent) 

We're back! We discuss:

• The Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis signings in Boston and why both are bad, but Boston will likely still be good.
• Briefly about Bronnie and how sports has a sad history of risk, even to the young and healthy.
• We review a list of 101 NBA Nicknames (https://therookiewire.usatoday.com/lists/greatest-nicknames-in-nba-history/ thanks Thomas Neumann!) and prepare for a fun Tier game in a few weeks.

We're back to talk:

• NBA Free Agency and why contract analysis is difficult -- unlike player evaluation.
• Damian Lillard's current saga in Portland
• Every, if not most, important free agency signing as of 7/11/2023. Some highlights:
  • Austin Reeves
  • Haliburton vs Sabonis
  • Brook Lopez
• Why Andre Drummond's sentiment that being a good teammate in attitude matters, really, his stats just aren't as important as others in terms of pay in the NBA.

We're back we talk:

• The NBA Finals and Dre's firsthand account of the Nuggets' historic win.
• The Chris Paul Trades, why the Suns and Wizards are who we thought they were, and the Warriors are light years ahead again.
• Why Bradley Beal and Devin Booker don't make sense next to each other.
• How the Warriors did well "drafting" Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis and how Mike Dunleavy has the right expectations.
• How the Celtics and Grizzlies lost the Kristaps Porzingis trade, and why it's harder to tell than you think.
• We're meh on the John Collins and Rudy Gay trade.
• Some top level NBA Draft thoughts, sorry, no real in-depth analysis here!

Brian and Dre talk the  NBA Finals, what happened to Boston, Bob Myers exit in Golden State, and Jimmy Butler's attitude. Tune in!

Andrew Sutton returns to talk the NBA Conference Finals with Brian and Dre.

We also talk:

• Doc Rivers firing
• Are the Heat for real?
• Can the Nuggets make the finals?
• Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs.

 

Brian and Dre return to talk:

• Dillon Brooks plummeting value and foolish trash talk.
• Injuries in the NBA Playoffs.
• Every 2nd Round Series, including optimism for the Warriors - which paid off!

Tune in!

Brian and Dre are back to talk:
De'Aaron Fox and Jaren Jackson Jr. winning the first two NBA awards of award season.

All of the NBA Playoffs, especially the Nuggets and Warriors.

Draymond Green's stomp, and why the NBA's handling of it was already bad, and spoilers, we'll definitely talk how it gets worse.

Also, be sure to check out the Nerd! Podcast with Brian, Dre, and Jeff this week (Brian is a guest host!) to discuss Magic the Gathering. It's found under the Jeff has Cool Fans banner anywhere podcasts are found or at patreon.com/jeffmay.

Thanks!

We're back to talk:

• The NCAA and March Madness' End
• Catlin Clark and Angel Reese's "feud"
• MVPs and why Embiid briefly wasn't deserving and is now the favorite
• Why the Warriors aren't a threat in the playoffs.
• We also break a pack of 1990-1991 Fleer Cards, but the video for that can be found at youtube.com/@nerdnumbers

Dre and Brian return to talk:

The current state of the Warriors, and what's gone wrong and what's gone right?

The Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo and some of the frustrating realities about how the NBA is really a big grift for billionaires.

We check in early on the Mavericks/Nets trade. We question if the Nets are making mistakes or if Ben Simmons is more injured than we thought, a running theme.

We also check in a few times on the Portland Trail Blazers and Damian Lillard a few times.

Enjoy!

Holy cow, we go over every major trade at the NBA Trade Deadline including:

• Kyrie Irving for Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith
• D'Angelo Russell and Jarred Vanderbilt to the Lakers
• Kevin Durant to the Suns!
• Josh Hart and Matisse Thybulle for the Knicks and Blazers, in another four-team trade
• Gary Payton and James Wiseman in a four-team trade with the Warriors
• Mason Plumlee to the Clippers

• Find Dave on Twitter and Instagram as @wagesofwins
• FIne Dre on Twitter and Instragram as @nerdnumbers.
• You can check out nerdnumbers.substack.com for show notes, articles, and more! 

On this show, we discuss:

• Why a lot of people do science wrong.
• WNBA and NBA players being underpaid, even adjusting for league revenue.
• How the WNBA and NBA are like different weight classes in boxing.
• What Donovan Mitchell's numbers look like and why he's an MVP candidate.
• Dave Berri, Forbes, and the NBA and how Dave disagreed with them on how WNBA players were paid.
• We also compare writing to golf and gymnastics.

 

 

We're back we talk:

(0:54) - A little warm-up talking about Brian's Warriors

(14:29) - Rob Sarver's Suspension and Fine

(32:37) - Robert William's Injury

(47:49) - Hans Niemann and Magnus Carlsen's Chess Drama

Shameless self-promotion, I just did a podcast with Jeff May on Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link. Check it out here - https://nerdnumbers.substack.com/p/shut-up-nerd-episode-1-zelda-2.

Also, I'm aiming to stream every Tuesday (next one on September 27th) at twitch.tv/rixtergt at 10pm EST playing a vintage NES game. Next up? Megaman 4! The other Tuesdays? Brian and I will record the Boxscore Geeks Show at twitch.tv/nerdnumbers

Dre and Brian discuss:

• Kevin Durant "staying put" in Brooklyn
• The Donovan Mitchell trade to Cleveland
• Some, definitely behind the news cycle by the time this is released, chess talk on Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann at the Sinquefield Cup.

We're back to wrap up the NBA Conference Finals and discuss our picks for the Larry Bird and Magic Johnson Trophies.

We also "predict" the NBA Finals, with some notes on how Marcus Smart's defensive takes are wrong, and it all hinges on Robert Williams' minutes.

We're back to recap our thoughts on round 2 of the NBA Playoffs. Reminder:

• Milwaukee Bucks vs. Boston Celtics
• Philadelphia 76ers vs. Miami Heat
• Golden State Warriors vs. Memphis Grizzlies
• Dallas Mavericks vs. Phoenix Suns

Shout out to Greg Steele's new site - https://www.thebasketballdatabase.com/

Brian and Dre are back to talk:

Nikola Jokic's MVP season and why Joel Embiid is a hilariously bad, albeit positive option.

The Timberwolves "overzealous" celebration in their play-in victory.

Some predictions on the first round of the NBA playoffs.

This episode was recorded Thursday April 14th.

Chris Yeh (chrisyeh.com and @chrisyeh on Twitter) returns to talk about the Los Angeles Lakers and Russell Westbrook. We have a debate, will Russell Westbrook get a contract at 15% of an NBA team salary cap, or, roughly $20 million a season after his current deal expires. I say yes, Chris says no!

We also talk a lot more Lakers including:

• The family Dynamics that make the front office both good and bad at stuff.
• How awesome Austin Reeves is.

Some history for any foolish naysayers on the squad.

Shoutouts to:

• Liz Cambage
  Ian Nepomniachtchi
• Chris Yeh and Scott Johnson for their episodes on the Chris Yeh Podcast. A must for investors! (chrisyeh.com/podcast)

 

We're back to talk the sixteen trades that happened between February 4th 2022 and February 10th (the trade deadline!) Somehow we do it in less than two hours!

Full list of trades here - https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/32965050/nba-trade-tracker-grades-details-every-deal-2021-22-season

Some highlights:
Tyrese Haliburton was a great pickup by the Pacers.

The Nets absolutely crushed their deal, but Daryl Morey may very well have won in his goal.

We laugh at the Wizards and give Montrezl Harrel this year's Kenneth Faried award (at least he's the front runner)

Shout out to Hikaru Nakamura for advancing in the FIDE Grand Prix in exciting fashion yesterday!

Dre and Brian are back to talk:
Some random NBA including the Nuggets, the Jazz, and the 76ers.

A lot of NFL including Tom Brady's retired, Brian Flores' coach hiring problems, and who will win the Super Bowl!

Tune in.

Short episode this week! Dre read's his piece on David Ortiz and the Hall of Fame (https://nerdnumbers.substack.com/p/why-the-baseball-hall-of-fame-is)

Also, extra content! Dre's thoughts on the Naismith Hall of Fame compared to Cooperstown. Issues with Hall of Fame and player evaluations in general.

Also is Andrew Wiggins a star, and what the Warriors say about the myth of meritocracy!

Shout out to Pete Croatto for his perfect encapsulation of the NBA All-Star game - https://twitter.com/PeteCroatto/status/1487067158467293185

 

We're back to talk:

• DeMar DeRozan and BS Game Winners
• Russell Westbrook and the silliness of "Posterizing"
• The State of the Golden State Warriors
• The Denver Nuggets deckchair trade.

Shoutout to Cristian Ramirez (@FanboyCristian) for his Game of Thrones rewatch takes.

This week's topics:

Manu Ginobili's retirement and how great he was.

"No 1A Athletes", namely athletes so good there are no close 2nds. No Michael Jordan doesn't count. We do talk Wayne Gretzky, Jerry Rice, Roger Federer (who lost after we recorded!), and Jack Nicklaus.

We talk Nike's ad campaign with Colin Kaepernick and Serena Williams, and is there hope for the future?

We talk WNBA pay and unfair criticisms it receives (and in some cases outright lying)