Shottakes

After some high-level brainstorming about how to get The Big Boat out of the Suez Canal, the gang digs into the action and inaction at this year's trade deadline. We can debate the winners and losers until the cows come home, but one thing is clear: do not, under any circumstances, watch a Magic game for the rest of the season.    Send marine salvage ideas to @ShotTakes or shottakes@gmail.com.

Catching up after a brief All-Star break of our own (get it, we are "all stars"), the guys recap All-Star Sunday, assess the Hawks decision to replace Lloyd Pierce with top assistant Nate McMillan (to fantastic early returns), and look at some of the DEALS that have gone down/might go down before next week's trade deadline. Tune in and remember: not everybody can be a small ball five. 

For the first time since the infamous Jimmy Butler + third-stringers practice, Minnesota became the center of the NBA universe this weekend: Anthony Edwards threw down the dunk of the year, and the team raised some eyebrows by firing coach Ryan Saunders and immediately replacing him with Raptors assistant Chris Finch, passing over Wolves assistant David Vanterpool, among others. As is tradition, more feathers were ruffled when the NBA dropped the full All-Star rosters (though some feathers were unruffled when Devin Booker was announced as Anthony Davis' injury replacement). Finally, we make history with the inaugural version of an exercise nobody asked for: the Theoretical Players Draft! You know that version of a player you keep hearing about, but haven't seen for whatever reason? They might appear on one of our "mind's eye" squads. Tune in for the full picks.

If you've been listening to our competition (waste of time, but that's not the point), you've probably heard the same narratives over the past few weeks: "nobody's playing defense," "this team doesn't deserve multiple All-Stars," "that guy's team isn't good enough for him to be in the MVP race," etc. We unpack all of these and more, starting with Draymond Green's impassioned commentary on the unequal dynamic between team and player power. Tune in for #truth. 

On the one year anniversary of the helicopter crash that claimed the lives of Kobe Bryant, Gianna Bryant, and seven others, we revisit the surreal nature of that day and pay tribute to the victims. Then, we take stock of the new look Nets, who have won four of six since acquiring James Harden but clearly have a lot of work to do on the defensive end. Finally, we assess the early returns on other notable acquisitions who are impacting their teams in good and not so good ways. Tune in.

Sustainability is one of the most important abilities—it's even a U.S. government value again! Scott and Eric join on the first full day of the Biden Administration to weigh in on which early season outliers—good and bad—are built to last. Remember: science is real, even if the Cleveland Cavaliers' defense isn't. 

James Harden pushes the Houston Rockets to a breaking point, and the team ships him to Brooklyn in a four-team blockbuster that sends Caris LeVert to Indiana, Jarrett Allen to Cleveland, Victor Oladipo and a boatload of draft picks to Houston, plus more. The Nets bring in one mercurial superstar the same week philosopher-king Kyrie Irving goes AWOL (seemingly violating COVID-19 protocols during his sabbatical), making the team's attempt to form a three-star marriage all the more volatile. Oh, and the NBA is desperately trying to keep the season going in the midst of a deadly pandemic that shows no signs of slowing down. 

We've got two weeks of regular season basketball to recap (after a brief pizza debate, of course). Who looks good, who looks bad, what we like, what we hate, you know the drill. 

They're baaaaaack! Warriors-Nets was a dud but the rest of the NBA's opening week slate holds many tantalizing matchups both on Christmas Day and beyond—let's be honest, we're all elated just to have basketball back regardless of who's playing. Plus, a deep dive on the James Harden situation, his trade prospects, and a never before reported ShotTakes insider story from 2012 on Harden's recreational habits that now seems prescient [eyes emoji]. Tune in to hear the sauce—and happy holiday season from the ShotTakes family to yours! Stay safe.

The irreversible tide of cannabis legalization is sweeping across America and the National Basketball Association as the U.S. House of Representatives votes to OK pot at the federal level and Adam Silver suspends random marijuana testing for at least this season. Plus, Giannis agrees to the five-year, $228 million supermax extension to remain in Milwaukee and, oh, yeah, we assess the entire Western Conference. Tune in and remember: two-thirds of Americans support legalizing it. 

The small lineup is here to kick off the fourth season preview of the ShotTakes Era with a look at this year's Eastern Conference. Can the Heat back up their remarkable showing in the Bubble by defending the conference crown? Has Milwaukee made the upgrades necessary to reach the Finals—and earn Giannis' commitment? Who else can stake a plausible claim to contention? And which other feisty squads, well, are worth talking about? Believe it or not, there are less than three weeks until Opening Night—so there's not time like the present to tune in for our perspectives on all the above.   Stay safe, everyone.   

We're used to dramatic offseason developments in the NBA, though not necessarily during November nor condensed into an action-packed week that saw the draft, free agency, trades, failed trades (plus investigations?), and even an audience with Pope Francis for a delegation of NBA players. We've got the full starting lineup here with thoughts on all the above—tune in!

The NBA offseason is in full swing: the draft has been completed, trades are flying left and right, and free agency is set to begin in less than 24 hours. We've got reactions, analysis, and speculation on all of the above—tune in.

We want Joe Biden—NEED JOE BIDEN! Also it's about time ShotTakes mentions the 2020 NBA Finals and the outlook for a very unorthodox 2020-21 season. Thanks for hanging with us—it's great to be back! 

The NBA's Orlando bubble has been a smashing success, and now it's time for an unlikely Finals in more ways than one: an October showdown between LeBron & AD's Lakers and the ascendent Miami Heat enable cast. We recap how the two teams earned their spots in the championship round, and shoutout and/or roast the squads they downed on the way to the Finals.    Welcome to title season.

We've got lots of game action to discuss and preview, but first, a conversation about the games that weren't played on schedule: the Bucks' refusal to take the floor in protest of the Jacob Blake police killing sparked a wildcat strike that yielded major results, both in the commitments NBA players were able to secure from the league as well as powerful demonstrations that reverberated throughout the sports world and beyond. We fully support the players' actions and are proud to be loosely affiliated with this sport. Plus, a look at the two Western Conference first round Game 7s (one of which has already concluded) and a preview of the conference semifinals. 

Black Lives Matter.

The 2020 NBA playoffs are finally underway and they are spicy—at least in the Western Conference. We empty our notebooks on Luka's scintillating playoff debut, the sluggish Clippers, a tight Rockets-Thunder matchup, Donovan Mitchell's torching of Denver (NOTE: recorded prior to the Nuggets' G5 win), the Lakers finding their footing, and....the sweeptastic Eastern first round. Tune in to catch that August basketball fever.

Playoff basketball is underway and we are HYPE to dive into each of the first-round matchups....okay, maybe not Bucks-Magic or Raptors-Nets. Definitely all the other ones though! But first, we pay tribute to the Suns' remarkable 8-0 bubble performance and Damian Lillard's heroics that denied Phoenix a spot in the play-in game despite their shocking play. Let's GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

After many not-so-coy allusions to betting lines and over/unders in prior episodes, ShotTakes finally steers into the skid of degeneracy and dedicates the entirety of the program to gambling talk. We've got Brother of the Pod, longtime podcast financier, and America's most transparent sports gambler Ryan Lynch here to offer his finely tuned playbook on how to beat the house (sometimes) and bets to watch for in the upcoming NBA playoffs. (NOTE: any tips dispensed by Mr. Lynch on this program do not constitute financial advice on the part of ShotTakes, LLC and should not be relied upon to generate income, etc.)