Chucking Darts NBA Podcast

Ep. 200: Dream Big: Zach Edey As 2024's No. 1 w @DraftPow (plus Donovan Clingan + Jonathan Mogbo)

For Chucking Darts' special 200th episode, Swish Theory editor-in-chief Matt Powers states his case on Zach Edey as the best player in the 2024 draft. In-depth scouting, philosophy, and projection talk on Edey, Uconn's Donovan Clingan, and one of the draft's most underrated players, San Francisco's Jonathan Mogbo. 3:30 Zach Edey's as Draft Outlier 13:10 Building NBA Offense Around Edey 18:45 Edey's Offense vs NBA Bigs 24:35 Edey's NBA Defense 34:30 Edey vs 5-out Offenses 45:00 Edey's NBA Com...

Ep. 199: The Final Four Xs and Os + Scouting UConn Darts with Brian Geisinger

The country's finest ACC analyst, 247 contributor, and NC State Wolfpack alum Brian Geisinger returns to provide in depth scouting reports on NC State-Purdue and UConn-Alabama. Can State pull the upset? (I think they can.) How the aesthetic difference between DJ Burns and Zach Edey may give them a puncher's chance. Plus, some draft thoughts regarding Zach Edey, Donovan Clingan, Stephon Castle, and Alex Karaban. 0:00 Intro + NC State-Purdue 54:10 Uconn-Alabama 1:06:05 Stephon Castle Scouting...

Ep. 198: Duke-Houston, UNC-Alabama, and the Sweet 16 ACC Party Crashers with Brian Geisinger (@bgeis_bird)

Acclaimed and accomplished ACC expert Brian Geisinger returns to analyze, in more depth than you will find anywhere, the 4 Sweet 16 matchups featuring ACC teams - Duke-Houston, UNC-Alabama, Clemson-Arizona, and NC State Marquette. Plus, draft talk on the darts therein. Enjoy! 6:00 Duke-Houston 47:00 UNC-Alabama 1:09:00 NC State-Marquette 1:30:00 Clemson-Arizona

Bonus: NCAA Bracket Sprint + Cody Williams, KJ SImpson, TDS Scout Updates

Merry Marchness! I do a quick sprint through my bracket after giving an update on the three NBA-relevant Colorado Buffs at the start of the ep (Cody Williams, KJ SImpson, Tristan Da Silva). Enjoy!

Ep. 197: All Most-Improved Teams with Esfandiar Baraheni (The NBA's 20+ MIPs)

Esfandiar Baraheni returns to discuss his article in Forbes calling for the NBA to debut five man teams for the Most Improved Player award. Then, he runs down his MIP winner, honorable mentions, and three five man units for 2024. We dive into the philosophy and importance of improvement, how the draft can predict it, which improvements matter the most, and what they say about where the league is going. Enjoy! 0:00 Intro + MIP Race and Maxey 14:40 First Team with Coby, Jalen Johnson, Seng...

Ep. 196: A Dalton Knecht Debate with Maxwell Baumbach (@BaumBoards)

Maxwell Baumbach, host of the Draft Sickos podcast and prolific writer for No Ceilings (Prospect Overview, No Stone Unturned) stops by to discuss SEC player of the year and likely lottery pick Dalton Knecht. Dalton is a clear NBA wing, but how will his game scale to winning? Which sorts of NBA wings and contexts are instructive to his skillset? What is trickier about finding a role on a contender, and how big would his role be? What other wings in the class might be better bets to eventu...

Ep. 195: NBA Playoff Races and Trade Deadline Wrap with TrillBroDude

Trill returns for a marathon on NBA contenders in the wake of the trade deadline. Who improved their chances, who did right and wrong by standing pat, and what teams can overcome their perceived "fatal flaw" come playoff time. 4:20 Mavericks as a true contender 11:15 Clippers Playoff Qs 18:00 West Favorite? 28:20 Warriors Trade Silence 36:00 Lakers Offensive Potential 50:00 Pelicans Trade Silence 58:00 Thunder Playoff Qs 1:09:30 The Bucks under...Doc 1:14:30 Celts by Default 1:17:00 Caval...

Ep. 194 (bonus): NBA Trade Deadline Sprint

A quick solo recap of four most consequential trades of a Trade Deadline that contained plenty of insight. Knicks Sixers/Celtics Thunder Mavs Enjoy!

Ep. 193: Jonathan Kuminga, Aaron Nesmith, and How Wings Bloom Late with Charlie Cummings (@klaytheist11)

Swish Theory contributor Charlie Cummings (Klaytheist11) discusses the explosion of Jonathan Kuminga in the Warriors' offense, how his herky jerky development path led here, and the team's new imperative now that he has arrived. Then, we contrast Kuminga with Aaron Nesmith, a wing who has solidified his role and returned lottery value in a much different way, and how much more development he may have ahead of him in Indiana. Intro 0:00 Jon Kuminga's Scoring Explosion 2:40 How Kuminga Chan...

Ep. 191 (Corrected): Revisiting the Future Champ Pelicans with Shamit Dua

Credentialed New Orleans Pelicans reporter and author of the In the No Substack (see below), Shamit Dua returns to revisit the maturing New Orleans Pelicans, the NBA's most dominant team over the last several weeks. 2:00 Pelicans' new and elegant offense 15:30 Zion embracing a "0.5" star theory 26:00 Rotation Experimentation During Streak 30:30 Trade Target Jarrett Allen? 43:20 Trade Target Wendell Carter Jr.? 47:00 Trade Target Onyeka Okongwu? 56:00 Pelicans Playoff matchups 1:03:50 Trey Mu...

Ep. 192: Rob Dillingham, Reed Sheppard, and Draft Theory with The Ringer's Kyle Mann

The Ringer's Kyle Mann joins to talk about his beloved Kentucky Wildcats, and the two guard prospects polarizing opinions in this year's draft: Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard. In depth scouting report on each player, how each subtly defies a given "archetype," how each stacks up in recent Kentucky lore, and what recent draft history and theory tells us on how high to take each of them. First half of episode is on Rob, second half is on Reed. Enjoy! For Kyle's most recent video on elect...

Ep. 189: Big 12 Darts with Richard Stayman (@Mavsdraft)

Richard Stayman of Mavsdraft.com and Locked on NBA Big Board stops by to scout the "superconference," the Big XII. 28:30 Kevin McCullar and how to spot an "old" lotto pick 46:35 Ja'Kobe Walter and the narrow path for true shooting guards 53:40 Yves Missi 57:45 Emanuel Miller and the best of the rest

Ep. 190: OG Anunoby, Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett Trade with Esfandiar Baraheni

SDPN's Esfandiar Baraheni (twitter @JustEsBaraheni) stops by to unpack the Raptors-Knicks holiday blockbuster trade. 0:00 Opening Thoughts 9:50 OG Anunoby recent play on the Raptors 21:00 The "star value" question with OG 25:20 OG's fit in New York 39:30 IQ and RJ on the Raptors 50:40 The Pascal Siakam moves yet to come 57:20 Dreaming on IQ + Concluding Thoughts Enjoy!

Ep. 188: 5 NCAA Holiday Sleepers (Devin Carter, PJ Hall, Hunter Sallis, Matthew Cleveland, Otega Oweh)

A quick(-ish) rumination on the framework I am using to evaluate this year's prospects, and five in the NCAA that are severely underrated and why. Summer Article and Tier Framework 0:00 Devin Carter 11:30 PJ Hall 19:30 Hunter Sallis 26:00 Matthew Cleveland 32:15 Otega Oweh 35:20 For my article showing "average draft" tiers, click here https://chuckingdarts.substack.com/p/2023-dart-rank-the-nbas-100-most?r=l00xs&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Ep. 187: Dom Barlow, Sidy Cissoko, and Spurs' G League Development with Karl Schoening

The voice of the Austin Spurs, Karl Schoening (@KSMedia13) joins to talk life in the G League, why the league is becoming a much more relevant developmental environment, and how the Austin Spurs are helping Dom Barlow and Sidy Cissoko get ready for showtime in San Antonio. Enjoy!

Ep: 185: The Dart Rich Pac 12 (Isaiah Collier, Cody Williams, Kylan boswell, Kobe Johnson, Tristan Da Silva, more) with Zack Milner

Pro Scout Zach Milner (@ZachMilner13, formerly The Stepien, Tag the Roll) joins to talk about the conference laden with 2024 first round bets, the Pac 12. Isaiah Collier and the challenge of "star guard" prospects Kobe Johnson and connectors scaling up Tristan Da Silva and the High-Feel Vet profile Cody Williams and in-season development Kylan Boswell and dreaming on an outlier and more. Enjoy!

Ep. 186: Chet, Wemby, the Bulls Mess, and a Rookie Grab-Bag with Steph Noh of Sporting News

Steph Noh (@StephNoh) of the Sporting News drops by to look at the fascinating ROY race and rookie seasons of Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama. We also celebrate the rest of the rookie class while Steph manages an existential crisis regarding the Chicago Bulls. Enjoy!

Ep. 184: ACC dart preview with Brian Geisinger (@bgeis_bird)

Brian makes his return to after our triumphant March Madness troika this past year to preview the ACC and its darts. Kyle Filipowski, Jared McCain, and Tyrese Proctor. Woog Poplar, Matthew Cleveland, and Norchad Omier. Bub Carrington and Zack Austin. Carey Booth. Ryan Dunn. And of course, Brian's muse Reece Beekman. Plus plenty more. Enjoy!

Ep. 183: Early NBA Returns and a Dartbag

I go through a mailbag of early season NBA questions, plus give my impressions on Victor Wembanyama, Tyrese Haliburton, the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic, and more. Enjoy!

Ep. 182: The Nuggets Repeat Begins with Matt Brooks (@MattBrooksNBA)

Matt Brooks, writer and digital content provider for the Denver Nuggets, joins to talk about basketball nirvana, the "fun" repeat adventure the Nuggets are about to undertake, and how development looks for their crucial younger darts, including Christian Braun, Peyton Watson, Julian Strawther, Hunter Tyson, Zeke Nnaji, and more. Enjoy!

Ep. 181: NBA Preview pt. 3: Over/Under Locks and Awards with TrillBroDude

Trill from the You Know Ball podcast and patreon rejoins to contrast his NBA over/under locks with my own! Plenty debated here, including the regular season ceiling of the Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, the "boring" Chicago Bulls (not to me!), the darty Houston Rockets, Trill's own Sixers (we are both optimistic), and more! Plus, MVP, Most Improved Player, Sixth Man, and First Team All-NBA darts. Enjoy!

Ep. 180: NBA Season preview pt. 2: Defensive Rankings with Mat Issa

Forbes and Opta Analyst contributor Mat Issa (@matissa15) joins for part 2 of the Chucking Darts regular season preview: Defensive Team Rankings. We go through our 1-30 list, disagree on the Sixers and teams in Texas, and acknowledge a looming giant in California. Enjoy!

Ep. 179: NBA Preview pt.1: All-Rookie Teams and Offensive Rankings w Sam Ferris

Sam Ferris (@DraftDummies) rejoins for our annual offensive season preview, predicting the final regular season ranking of all 30 NBA offenses. But first, we give our predicted All Rookie First and Second Teams. Enjoy!

Ep. 178: Esfandiar Baraheni on Scottie Barnes' Star Bid, Most Improved Player darts, and East Play in Race

Esfandiar Baraheni (@JustEsBaraheni) of SDPN, Raptors Republic, and The Objective Basketball Podcast, stops by to ruminate on the star turn the NBA is skeptical of, the Scottie Barnes takeover in Toronto. He details how to weaponize Scottie at big usage alongside Siakam, OG and Poeltl and where the Raptors stack up in the East. Plus, we chuck darts at the 2024 Most Improved Player Award. Enjoy!

Ep. 177: OKC Thunder Dart Secrets and Preview with Derek Parker

Derek Parker (@DParkOK), co-founder of Draft Digest, comes to analyze and attempt to figure out everyone's preseason darling, the OKC Thunder. Chet integration, Jalen Williams and Giddey usage tension, rotation questions, and how the hell does this team do what it does? The darts chucked us on this one. Enjoy!

176: Houston Rockets Examination with Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA)

Salman Ali, creator of Red Nation Hoops, stops by to discuss the multiverse of the Houston Rockets' future. How does the organization navigate the growth and various star paths of Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason, Cam Whitmore, and Amen Thompson, while having time left over to "win now" like they want? Enjoy!

Ep. 175: 3rd Annual Dart Rank (2021-2023 Drafts, Pt 2) with Sam Ferris (@DraftDummies)

Sam rejoins to continue drafting the 2021-2023 classes, this time for picks 15-30. From Sharpe to Sochan and all points in between, join us in projecting the loaded young talent in today's league. Enjoy!

Ep. 174: 3rd Annual Dart Rank (2021-2023 Drafts, Pt. 1) with Sam Ferris (@DraftDummies)

Sam Ferris (@DraftDummies) returns for our annual Dart rank, where we draft 1-30 from the last 3 draft classes. Part 1 here, 1-14. Enjoy!

Ep. 173: Summer League Sunset with Aram Cannuscio

Aram Cannuscio (@AC_Hoops) is the country's leading NBA Summer league scholar. He joins the show to go through as many players, improvements, and emotions as we can in a 120 minute SL apprecation. Enjoy!

Ep. 172: NBA Slop and Signing Frenzy with TrillBroDude

@TrillBroDude returns to recap the and Damian Lillard trade request wild weekend in NBA free agency. Enjoy!

Ep. 171: The 2023 Draft with Derek Murray of Cerebro Sports

Derek Murray (@DMurrayHoops), Head of Basketball at Cerebro Sports, recaps the 2023 NBA Draft! He discusses the high picks that made sense based on his years of scouting the players on grassroots circuits, identifies draft strategies that stuck out, and makes his case for some second round steals. Afterward (1:00:00) I recap my board and written piece available on my twitter. Enjoy!

Ep. 170: Wembenyama, Scoot and Lottery Boards with Mike Gribanov

Mike Gribanov (@mikegrib8), good buddy and foremost authority on age-based NBA prospect evaluation, comes by to contrast his lottery board with mine and ruminate on the fate of the 2023 class in ruthlessly efficient NBA. Enjoy!

Ep. 169: Draft Sleepers Extravaganza with Ryan Hammer

Ryan Hammer (@RyanHammer09) and summarize the draft cycle through the lens of its sleepers. -Jalen Slawson and Tason Evbuomwan -Jordan Walsh and Ricky Council -Marcus Sasser -Lotto Dreams on Brandin Podziemski and Leonard Miller And More! Enjoy

Ep. 168: Kris Murray, Jett Howard, Kobe Bufkin, and Evaluation Traps with Alex Brown

Pro Insight's Alex Brown (@AlexBHoops) returns to cover his area of national expertise, the Big Ten. We look at several 1st rounders through a lens of possible traps in their evaluation, such as Kris Murray, Jett Howard, and Kobe Bufkin. Enjoy!

167: NBA Finals Preview with @AlexHoops

The Finals are here! Film Analyst Alex Hoops joins to break down the Xs and Os behind Heat-Nuggets, and Miami's gargantuan task. Enjoy!

Ep. 166: San Antonio Wemby and a deep lottery mock draft with @DraftPow

The draft order is set! Swish Theory's editor in chief gives his first 7 picks, I give the next 7, and we critique each other supportively. Enjoy!

Ep. 165: Annual Jayson Tatum Examination + Conference Finals Preview with Greg

The titular Greg returns on the heels of another Jayson Tatum masterpiece. We examine Tatum's game, the unique challenges he faces as a wing star, and preview both conference Finals series. Enjoy!

Ep. 164: Bilal Coulibaly and Athleticism Mystique with @DraftDeeper

Nate Gruebel of No Ceilings returns to talk about Bilal Coulibaly, Victor Wembenyama's extremely athletic teammate with a record of lower level dominance and upper level competence. We compare Bilal to other "athletic project" wings past and present, why that label can be misleading, and the pathways to number 3 starter or higher. Enjoy!

Ep. 163: Nuggets-Suns G5 Preview with CT Fazio, plus Andre Jackson, Colby Jones, and more draft values,

Nuggets analyst CT Fazio (@CTFazio24) returns for an in-depth preview on the most exciting G5 we have yet seen in these playoffs. How he expects the Nuggets to adjust, what creative solutions might exist for their bench, subtle differences between guarding Booker and KD, and more. We finish with a look into likely values on draft night, starting with Big East standouts Andre Jackson and Colby Jones. Enjoy!

Ep. 162: Steph Curry forever, Knicks-Heat and Warriors-Lakers, Lotto Mock with @_prezidente

Draft Strickland's CEO returns to codify Steph Curry's masterpiece, dive into matchups in Knicks-Heat and Warriors-Lakers, and deliver a delirious 2023 lottery mock drafts as we battled delirium. Enjoy!

Ep: 145: Cleveland Cavaliers, Plus Keyonte George and Nae'Qwan Tomlin with Bennett Herbert

Ep. 161: Sidy Cissoko, Leonard Miller, and drafting to win with @TheBoxAndOne_

Coach Adam Spinella (youtube Adam Spinella, @TheBoxAndOne_, Game Theory with Sam Vecenie) returns to discuss the G Leagues "other" prospects providing lotto value in plain sight. Enjoy!

Ep. 160: Warriors-Kings, Projecting the West, and East Favorites with Trill

Trillbrodude of the You Know Ball Podcast returns to unpack the wonderful Warriors-Kings series, dissect the West once again, and take a closer look at the Celtics as East favorites. Enjoy, and Subscribe to the You Know Ball Patreon.

Ep. 159: Finals MVP Candidates and First Round Darts

In a solo ep, I present my theory from my debut substack article on how to find Finals MVPs before the playoffs begin, who the 2023 candidates are, and how the first round is playing out. Enjoy!

Ep. 158: Rookie Graduation Day with Mat Issa

NBA Rookie analyst for Forbes, The Analyst, and SBNation @matissa15 joins to go through all-rookie teams, and to project stardom on this year's exceptional class. Enjoy!

Ep. 157: Jordan Hawkins' Special Talent, UConn-Miami, and Final Four Picks with Brian Geisinger

@bgeis_bird, the best college hoops analyst in the business, comes back to finish off our tournament coverage with a deep look at Jordan Hawkins' game, Uconn - Miami from every angle, and pick the Final Four. Enjoy!

Ep. 156: The Best Sweet 16 Matchups with Brian Geisinger

@bgeis_bird comes back to dive headlong into Houston-Miami, Gonzaga-UCLA, Arkansas-Uconn, and all of the draft intrigue surrounding the sweet 16. Enjoy!

Ep. 155: Top 10 picks Taylor Hendricks and Jarace Walker with Brian Schroeder (@BrianJNBA)

Brian Schroeder (patreon.com/BrianJNBA) stops by to discuss big wings Jarace Walker and Taylor Hendricks, both big wings very likely to return near top of draft value. Plus: Nae'Qwan Tomlin, Andre Jackson, Thompson twin questions, and more! Enjoy!

Ep. 154: ACC dart dive pt. 1: Underrated Duke (?) and Reece Beekman with Brian Geisinger

Brian Geisinger (@bgeis_bird), the country's preeminent ACC analyst, returns to take a look at Dereck Lively, Kyle Filipowski, Dariq Whitehead, and Reece Beekman. All four seem misevaluated this draft season; we debunk why. Enjoy!

Ep. 153: Alabama and Arkansas Darts with Hunter Cruse and Andrew Parrish

Hunter Cruse (@huntercruse14), cohost of Locked On WBB and contributor Tide Illustrated, as well as Andrew Parrish (@andrewparrish1) of CrimsonXOver, break down six (!) nba prospects between Alabama and Arkansas (4:00), and examine why two teams so loaded with talent have gone in different directions heading into tournament season DISCLAIMER: This episode begins with my reasoning for releasing the episode despite the investigation into the death of Jamea Harris.