This Week's Show
All of the Geeks are back to talk NBA previews and the GM survey. Apologies for some sound issues; Dre was in a room that echos a bit, and to top it off, his internet connection was rough!
Hosts
- Andres Alvarez(@nerdnumbers)
- Arturo Galletti(@arturogalletti)
- Patrick Minton(@nbageek)
- Produced by Brian Foster(@boxscorebrian)
Sources
Video Show
This Week's Poll
Show Notes
Predictions
Check out Arturo's regular season predictions. Of course, injuries and roster changes have already impacted some. Still, fun to see just what we were thinking. My caveat, as always, is that minutes are hard to predict.
The Lakers
It's fair to say our Lakers' projection is already shot, thanks to the loss of Nash. It's worth noting that Byron Scott's hate of threes is the opposite of his style when he was winning as a player with the Lakers (Editor's note: This is similar to how Kurt Rambis seemed to hate playing guys who rebound a lot. Maybe it's a Laker's thing).
Taking threes has been a key part of our two most recent title runs. The Lakers are taking another route.
Henry Abbott had a story on Kobe hurting the Lakers' rebuilding efforts. I do think the story is a bit misleading. The Lakers had been doing well getting top free agents, but health and vetoes have gotten in the way.
Reminder, Abbott has been bashing the myth of "Kobe Clutch" for years.
It's also worth noting recent CBA changes have hurt the Lakers' edge in negotiating for big names as they can't offer as much money.
Bad news for the NBA, despite their new TV deal, their ratings have declined as small markets have improved.
The Spurs
The Spurs could win 60 wins in their sleep. Of course, Popovich doesn't care about convention, so who knows?
The Cavaliers
We think the win total for them might be low. Of course, it's hard to know about injuries to Love, Irving, and Varejao. Also, the Cavs may rest their stars to ensure a long playoff run.
The Warriors
Can Kerr cure Klay Thompson's love of the midrange shot? Will Curry be able to play 2800 minutes again? Will the Warriors stop putting Barnes in the post? We'll have to see!
The Bulls
History doesn't side with Rose coming back full strength. Noah is amazing, but his history doesn't suggest he'll be full strength. Jimmy Butler's already out too. Health will be huge for this team.
The Wolves
Patrick says they'll walk to thirty wins if Flip the GM doesn't trade away all their good pieces.
The NBA GM Survey
Some great questions including how Anthony Davis is a franchise player but not the best PF in the league! Tune in to hear our thoughts.
Here is a great graphic of Anthony Davis' blocks in his first game this season.
Also, Anthony Davis is the frontrunner for our "Kevin Garnett Award", which goes to the top player stuck on a bad team.
Also, the famous "Lanky White Guy" question was absent this year.
Shout Outs
Thanks to Ben Gulker(@brgulker) and E.J. Fischer(@glorioushubris) for helping us finish our previews.
Thanks to Dave Berri(@wagesofwins) for general help this preseason.
Thanks to Bill James for a great article being skeptical of some advanced models.
I'll leave you with this:
"There is absolutely zero chance that Cleveland loses that game tomorrow" - Arturo on the Cleveland home opener.