Game Theory

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POST ALL-STAR BOLD PREDICTIONS IN THE WEST: Zion! Jazz in the Playoffs?; Lakers still have a shot? with Tony Jones Feb 27, 2022

Show notes

Tony Jones joins the show with Sam Vecenie to give some fun bold predictions for the rest of the 2022 NBA season in the Western Conference! This is the second part of a two-part episode. The Eastern Conference with Dave DuFour came earlier in the week. In this episode, Sam and Dave bounce back hot takes about the way the rest of the Western Conference season will go. Will the Pelicans get Zion Williamson answers? Can the Lakers do anything to end the season? Will Mikal Bridges win Defensive Player of the Year? Will the Jazz have playoff success? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2022 NBA Mock Draft, V. 2.0: Game Theory Podcast Deep Dive with Matt Pennie! 30 picks! Feb 25, 2022

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Matt Pennie joins Sam Vecenie in this episode to mock the 2022 NBA Draft by doing a mock draft. At first, we dive deep on the depth of the 2022 draft, breaking down the class as a whole. Then, we make 30 picks. All of the first round. It's fun! See where Chet Holmgren, Paolo Banchero, Jabari Smith, Jaden Ivey, and plenty more end up! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

POST ALL-STAR BOLD PREDICTIONS IN THE EAST; Giannis for MVP? Chicago out early? Celtics playoff run? DeMar for HOF?! Feb 22, 2022

Show notes

Dave DuFour joins the show with Sam Vecenie to give some fun bold predictions for the rest of the 2022 NBA season in the Eastern Conference! This is the first part of a two-part episode, with the second part coming on Wednesday on the Western Conference. In this episode, Sam and Dave bounce back hot takes about the way the rest of the Eastern Conference season will go. Giannis for MVP? Chicago out in the playoffs early? DeMar DeRozan makes the Hall of Fame on the back of this season? The Cavaliers fall to the play-in tournament? Or the Cavaliers rise to the No. 1 seed? Boston makes a run and wins two playoff series? All those takes and more, including a random aside on Nikola Jokic and his elite play so far. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2022 NBA Draft Post Super Bowl Re-Set: 21 Questions on where the 2022 Draft Stands, AKA A Tanking Team's Guide to the Draft Feb 16, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, Matt Pennie joins Sam Vecenie to break down the 2022 NBA Draft by answering 21 Questions to re-set the process as we get beyond the Super Bowl and basketball starts to take center stage in the consciousness. 1. What is your overall thought on the 2022 NBA Draft as we get past the Super Bowl and into the part of the year where everything starts to focus on basketball? 2. Who are the contenders for the No. 1 overall pick? 3. Chet Holmgren is dominating. Do we chalk this up to playing in the WCC or genuine improvement throughout the year? 4. Paolo Banchero has slowed down just a bit from his early dominance, averaging 14.9 points on 14.9 shots per game over his last seven. Is he still a candidate? 5. What makes Jabari Smith such an elite prospect? 6. Whether or not you agree, scouts generally have Jaden Ivey as the clear top guard prospect. Do you think Purdue's scheme holds him back in terms of production and efficiency, or do you think believe that he's just a bit limited skill wise? 7. Who has been the clear breakout prospect of the 2022 NBA Draft cycle? 8. Shaedon Sharpe is the 2022 NBA Draft cycle wild card. Where would he be ranked if he enters this process? 9. The G League Ignite has a group of players this year that could end up being draft picks. Who is the best of that group, and is this a particularly interesting crop of players? 10. Can we expect much from the international class this year? 11. Overtime Elite: How is the first year going, and are there interesting prospects there? 12. How deep do we believe the 2022 NBA Draft is? 13. In that vein, it seems like there is a bizarre mix this year of players who are upperclassmen and more ready to play but with lower upsides, and freshmen who are high-upside but total wild cards. What do scouts do with this? 14. What do players do with this? Should these players who aren't actually ready for the NBA try to learn on the job as pros? What kind of risk factor do they have? 15. Who do you see as being the player that is being undervalued right now? Is there a potential lottery guy hiding in plain sight? 16. For a non-college basketball fan, which teams could they tune into in order to learn the most about this class? Are there teams that play enough of an interesting schedule, or have enough interesting prospects to make such a viewing experience worthwhile? 17. Heading into the NCAA Tournament and conference touranmetns, what players do you think can really emerge, given there is SO MUCH opportunity for such emergences? 18. Mailbag question 19. Mailbag question 20. Mailbag question 21. Have you watched any movies/TV shows this week? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SUPERSIZED NBA TRADE DEADLINE SHOW! Harden-Simmons Happens! Porzingis to WAS! White to BOS! All the deals! Feb 13, 2022

Show notes

Sam Vecenie is joined by a pair of awesome guests to break down one of the most action-packed NBA Trade Deadlines in recent memory. First, Michael Levin of The Rights to Ricky Sanchez and TV writer fame joins to break down the Ben Simmons-James Harden deal, the biggest midseason trade that has happened in the NBA in a long time. Then, Mo Dakhil joins to break down the rest of the NBA Trade Deadline. We chat Simmons-Harden for a bit at the top, then move to the Kristaps Porzingis move, the Derrick White trade to Boston, the four-teamer involving Donte Divincenzo and Marvin Bagley, the Thad Young-Goran Dragic deal and everything else that occurred -- or in the Lakers case, did not occur -- on a wild deadline day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Haliburton-Sabonis trade; McCollum deal; LeVert deal; CHET HOLMGREN BREAKOUT; NBA Draft Centers, and POTWs Feb 09, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, Matt Pennie joins Sam Vecenie to dive deep into the trades that have occurred in the NBA thus far at the deadline. They start with the Tyrese Haliburton for Domantas Sabonis deal. They talk a lot about the Kings, and what exactly their plan is here. Then they move to the McCollum deal, one that seems almost impossible to evaluate without knowing the context of where Zion Williamson is in his recovery. Finally, they talk Levert, and he figures to help Cleveland. Then they move to Chet Holmgren, and discuss how the Gonzaga center has upended the Race for No. 1 in our weekly segment. They get into the center crop of Walker Kessler, Mark Williams and Christian Koloko next, wondering if the two of us are collectively underrating that trio given their relatively high floors. Finally, they move to Prospects of the Week, and some final Oscars nominations talk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Harden/Ben Simmons deal still have a shot? Powell/Covington for Bledsoe/Winslow/Johnson deal analysis; Wizards and Lakers are a mess Feb 05, 2022

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Sam Vecenie is joined by The Athletic contributor and pro basketball player Cole Huff to run through some things within the NBA. They start on the Norman Powell/Robert Covington/Keon Johnson deal briefly, then they move to the Wizards being kind of a mess. Should Bradley Beal ask out? What should the team do at the deadline? They then chat about 76ers and the Nets potentially talking again about a Ben Simmons-James Harden swap, they give a fake trade that might make some sense, then discuss whether or not such a trade makes sense. How would Simmons and Harden fit in their respective situations? Then they chat about the Lakers, and they finish on some of their favorite players to watch right now league-wide -- including a discussion on guards Darius Garland and Jalen Brunson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NBA Draft Episode! Best Guard in the 2022 class, Ivey or Davis? Race for No. 1; Rising Freshmen; Mailbag and Prospects of the Week Feb 03, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, Matt Pennie is here and Sam is sick with vaccine side effects! They trudge through anyway, diving deep on a few topics. First, they break down the race to be the first guard selected in the 2022 NBA Draft. Is it Wisconsin's Johnny Davis, or Purdue's Jaden Ivey? Then, we move to the race to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. We recap Jabari Smith, Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren's weeks, or look forward to what they have coming up. We move on to a group of freshmen that have stood out in recent weeks, including Peyton Watson, Max Christie, Jeremy Sochan, AJ Griffin and Josh Minott. Finally, we close on mailbag questions, which were awesome this week. And on our Game Theory Prospects of the Week, Justin Lewis from Marquette and DaRon Holmes from Dayton. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NBA All-Star Starters Named! NBA All-Star Reserves Picks! Kings Out on Simmons? With James Edwards Jan 29, 2022

Show notes

James Edwards from The Athletic joins the show! We break down a few items from the NBA Trade Deadline market, including the Kings apparently being out on Ben Simmons and the Pacers setting a hilarious Caris LeVert price tag, per reports. Then, we chat about the All-Star teams. We break down the All-Star starters that were named in the East and West last night, including the Andrew Wiggins inclusion. Then, we make our picks for All-Star reserves, including what is an absolute bloodbath in the East and a pretty straight forward choice in the West. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ben Simmons/James Harden Idea? Chris Mack Out at Louisville; NBA Draft News/Notes on Shaedon Sharpe, Auburn, OTE, G League Ignite Jan 27, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, Matt Pennie joins Sam Vecenie to run through a million things. First, we start with the Ben Simmons/James Harden rumors that have percolated in the last 24 hours. Then, we move to the Shaedon Sharpe report, and what makes him such an interesting prospect for the 2022 NBA Draft if he is eligible and decides to go down that route. Then we talk #PennieFieldTrip, where this weekend Pennie went to Auburn-Kentucky, a G League Ignite game, and an OTE game. We break down Walker Kessler, Jabari Smith, the Auburn crowd, Jaden Hardy, Dyson Daniels, MarJon Beauchamp, Michael Foster, the OTE experience, Jean Montero, Dom Barlow and more. We close with mailbag questions and our two Game Theory Prospects of the week, Isiaih Mosley from Missouri State and Colby Jones from Xavier. Then we talk "Random Movies Sam sees on TV while searching for Australian Sports." We close on Yellowjackets for a 10-minute, spoiler-ridden conversation that goes from 1:35:00 to 1:48:00. Then a late breaking addition to the pod comes at the end, when they talk Chris Mack and Louisville consciously uncoupling, per a report from The Athletic's Seth Davis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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