Game Theory Podcast

Matt Pennie and Sam Vecenie's weekly draft episode, where this week they explore the simple question: Where have all the lead guards gone in the 2022 NBA Draft? Why is this group of lead guards so bad compared to past drafts? We dive deep on Alabama's JD Davison, Tennessee's Kennedy Chandler, and Kentucky's TyTy Washington.  Then, we move to mailbag questions. How often do the two of us look at Draft Twitter? Where would Emoni Bates be taken in the 2022 NBA Draft? How would we rank the Arizona prospects: Bennedict Mathurin, Christian Koloko, Azuolas Tubelis and Dalen Terry?  Finally, we finish with our Game Theory NBA Draft Prospects of the Week. Pennie's is Terrence Shannon Jr from Texas Tech, and Sam's is Pete Nance from Northwestern. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dave DuFour from The Athletic is here, and we preview the NBA's impending trade period. Who could be on the move? We start with the Danny Ainge news, that he's taking over the Jazz' front office. Then, we break down the Celtics situation and explain why the Jaylen Brown trade rumors are silly; we move into Ben Simmons discussions, and Sam gives a couple of interesting potential trade constructions there; we chat Jerami Grant and the Pistons; Cam Reddish and the Hawks; some weird Pacers constructions; and way more. Also, go subscribe to the Game Theory YouTube page! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week's draft episode is a deep dive into the top-four prospects in the class: Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith and Jaden Ivey. We also debut a new mailbag segment, and name prospects of the week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, Jovan Buha of The Athletic joins the show. We start with 20 minutes on the Pacers, following a report that the team is finally willing to look into trading some of its core players including Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner. We take a look at few trade constructions and situations that could make sense. Then, we move to the Lakers. What a weird Lakers season so far. Jovan and I dive deep into everything we've seen from Los Angeles thus far, including the Russell Westbrook fit, the lack of continuity lineup wise due to absences, the defensive issues on the perimeter, and the question of Frank Vogel as coach. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, Danny Leroux and I dive deep into the Portland Trail Blazers, discussing what in the world that organization is doing following what has undeniably been a messy start to the season. Do they try to shake things up with some moves, or do they stick with the status quo given that the Western Conference is a mess and Damian Lillard hasn't even gotten going yet? Then, Danny and I chat about the rest of the Western Conference, with special focus on the middle teams. We play a little game of Buy/Sell/Hold teams in the West, including the Lakers, Nuggets, Timberwolves, Mavericks, Clippers, Grizzlies, Spurs, and Trail Blazers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A full episode of the Game Theory Podcast! Anthony Slater from The Athletic joins, and we break down Michael Porter Jr.'s third back surgery and how it affects the Nuggets. Brook Lopez' back surgery and how it affects the Bucks. Bam Adebayo's thumb surgery and whether or not the Heat should be worried about the play-in. Then, we get into the meat of the episode, and break down the two best teams in the NBA, the Warriors and Suns. We spend time waxing poetically about Deandre Ayton and the Suns' defense. Then, we chat about the Warriors, the impending return of Klay Thompson, the weird situation surrounding James Wiseman, and more. We also close on the Timberwolves, where I make a bold prediction regarding the team. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt Pennie joins Sam to run through some important questions about prospects, including the Scoot Henderson breakout; the Gonzaga-Duke game from over the long weekend; and Emoni Bates' struggles early in the season. We also run through the other G League Ignite prospects, including Jaden Hardy, Dyson Daniels, MarJon Beacuhamp, and Michael Foster. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt Pennie is here with Sam to talk a little NBA Draft. We each pose four Fact or Fiction-style questions to each other without any prep, and dive deep into the NBA Draft. Your eight statements that are decided upon in terms of fact/fiction -This is the best start to a college basketball season in the last decade -Jaden Ivey has solidified himself as a top-five pick in the 2022 NBA Draft -Kendall Brown has solidified himself as a top-8 guy in the 2022 NBA Draft -Max Christie is the first Michigan prospect taken in the 2022 NBA Draft -Tyrese Hunter is a better prospect than Kennedy Chandler -The 2022 NBA Draft Class has the worst lead guard crop since the 2015 NBA Draft -Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren are the only two players that have a real shot to go No 1 overall -Chet Holmgren is not the only 2022 first round pick on the Gonzaga Bulldogs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 21 Questions Covered: Are the Golden State Warriors the NBA title favorites?  Fact or fiction? From the mid-point of last year onward, Stephen Curry has been the best player in the NBA It seems like there is a consistent outrage economy right now surrounding the Brooklyn Nets. The Brooklyn Nets are also 11-5, and currently tied for the first place in the Eastern Conference. How do we feel about the Nets right now, and do we think something is off or that they're fine? The Phoenix Suns are on a 10-game winning streak and look like a buzzsaw again because of Chris Paul. Are we ever going to see someone like Paul again? A small point who lasts into his late 30s and dominates games in this way.  How are the Washington Wizards doing this?  Which team of the following are you most panicked about? Milwaukee, Boston, Atlanta We're about one-fifth of the way through the season. Who is the team that decides at the deadline that it's time to break up some of their core and make a big trade that acts more as a

It's back! Pennie and Vecenie go back and forth, doing a deep dive on the 2022 NBA Draft, Mock Draft style, making picks out to No. 30 back and forth in an exercise that will almost assuredly make us look dumb as soon as next week, given this draft class. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt Pennie is here to record a first reaction episode to the Champions' Classic on the NBA Draft. We dive into Paolo Banchero, Trevor Keels and Ochai Agbaji as well as all of the many other prospects who played on Tuesday in the opener. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rob Dauster joins to run through everything you need to know about the 2021-22 college basketball season, 21 Questions style. College basketball is older than it's been in years due to the decision to grant an extra year of eligibility. Does that mean we think the quality will be better? What is your favorite preseason bet on winning the national title? Who is your national player of the Year pick? Do we buy the Gonzaga hype?  ACC: This is Coach K's farewell season. Will you miss him? And do we think this Duke team has a chance to actually win the title given that they are ranked top-five in the preseason? ACC: Is the ACC kind of down this year? I have no first round prospects in the ACC right now outside of Duke. Duke is the only top-20 KenPom team at 10.  Big East: Are we sure that Villanova is by far the favorite? Who is the No. 2 team in the Big East?  Big Ten: The Big 10 is definitely the best league, right? Michigan, Illinois, Purdue and Ohio State look loaded. Maryland and Michigan State are t

Pennie and Vecenie are here, and we chat about the second-year players across the NBA. First though, we do a little news recap including the Robert Sarver report, the Celtics team meeting, and some rookie scale options being declined. We run through Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, James Wiseman, Pat Williams, Tyrese Haliburton, the Pistons' guys, Desmond Bane, Cole Anthony, and plenty others. On top of that, when we dive into Precious Achiuwa, I make sure to spend some time on the Raptors given that the previous 21 Questions podcast was only 20 questions because I missed one on the Raps. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nekias Duncan from The Dunker Spot and Basketball News is here to dive into what we've seen from the NBA thus far. Questions on the Bulls, the Heat, Evan Mobley, the Celtics, Zion and plenty more. Full list below: Is the Miami Heat the best team in the NBA? I think they're the best, most complete team I've seen this year.  We definitely trust Jimmy, Bam and Kyle at this point. But do we think that this Tyler Herro two-week star turn is real? The Chicago Bulls are the other team I've probably enjoyed watching most this year in the East. Do you believe in the Bulls yet, and how much does the Pat Williams injury hurt them? DeMar DeRozan: closer to the Hall of Fame than we think? My case: by the end of the year, DeRozan will likely be right around No. 55 all-time in scoring. At the end of next year if he averages 20 points per night, he'll be around No. 43. All of the top-48 scorers all time are in the HOF?  Boston might be a mess. What the hell is happening with the Celtics on both ends of the floor, where

Matt Pennie joins Sam to break down the first week we've seen from the NBA's rookies so far. Special attention to Evan Mobley, Scottie Barnes, Jalen Green, Jalen Suggs, Franz Wagner, Chris Duarte, Josh Giddey and Davion Mitchell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tony Jones from The Athletic is here, we run through the NBA's first week by breaking down its contenders and more. We dive in by discussing some of the weaknesses the league has shown so far. We start with Brooklyn, then go to the Lakers. Then, we move to the East and run through Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Atlanta (not Miami just because I haven't seen them yet). Then we run through Utah, Denver, Phoenix, the Clippers, the Mavs, and the hit on plenty of other teams throughout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Danny Leroux joins for a new style of episode jumping around the NBA to talk about the NBA's first games, including Giannis, the Mavericks, the Hawks, and plenty other topics. The goal here is to do a show where we can talk about a lot of things within an hour and have fun doing so. We spend approximately three minutes on each question, and they include: -what team disappointed you most with their opener? -What team surprised you most? -If Giannis learned how to shoot pull-ups like he showed confidence with in the opener, how drastically does that alter the MVP/best player in the world discussion? -Did the Suns make the right or wrong call not extending DeAndre Ayton? -Is Anthony Edwards the most fun player in the NBA? -Kings! I think my pick for first time all-star in the west this year is De’Aaron Fox in a wild card slot. Are you as high on Fox as I am? -Can Eric Bledsoe sustain in a Bruce Brown-like role from last year?  -The Spurs were really fun against the Magic. Who is your favorite young guy on the Sp

It's Opening Night in the NBA! I chatted with Cole Huff from The Athletic about Warriors-Lakers and Bucks-Nets. We saw tonight that continuity matters. But, are we worried about Russell Westbrook? Do we just stay the course with the Lakers? Why Anthony Davis looks awesome. What did we think of the Warriors tonight? Then, we chat about the Bucks. Jordan Nwora looks great, Jrue Holiday looks great, and Giannis looks like he's going to destroy worlds. On top of it, the Nets are also just going to take some time but Kevin Durant remains incredible. We finish on rookie extensions. We chat about the Deandre Ayton lack of extension, followed by some thoughts on Jaren Jackson Jr., Mikal Bridges, and Kevin Huerter. Finally, Marvin Bagley III's reps threw down the gauntlet on the Kings. Some thoughts on his career so far and where it goes from here. What is the best outcome? Why this has been a bad situation for everyone involved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt Pennie and I preview the guards in the 2022 NBA Draft Class. Including Jaden Hardy, Jaden Ivey, JD Davison, Kennedy Chandler, TyTy Washington, Nolan Hickman, Aminu Mohammed, Jean Montero, Andre Curbelo, Jordan Hall, Kadary richmond, Iverson Molinar, Kendric Davis, Max Abmas, Adam Flagler, Jahvon Quinerly and some further. We also talk about my diving into Boston sports and culture in a way that I'm almost serious about. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Derek Bodner is here and we chat about the two dominant NBA storylines of the preseason that came to a head on Tuesday: Ben Simmons coming to the front door of the 76ers unannounced to return to the team, and Kyrie Irving being ruled out of all basketball activities until something changes with his vaccination status or the rules allowing him to play in home games. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices