2010BA Lev Akabas

Professor Mike Hyland returns to the show to pitch some hot takes specifically related to how we evaluate NBA players in the modern era: the notion of a "two-way player" is non-sensical (0:35), many player evaluation metrics have lost their meaning due to Goodhart's Law (8:49), and the league is at a dangerous point with analytics (18:05). 

Four different guests each join the show to present a different hot take about the modern NBA: Kawhi Leonard is grossly overrated (0:40), Jeremy Lin was robbed of his career by Carmelo Anthony (13:02), Phil Jackson could have coached the Durant-Westbrook Thunder to multiple championships (19:52), and who is the most attractive player in the NBA? (26:07) 

My friend and stats expert, Todd, joins me for a numbers-filled episode. We discussed the most surprising decade leaders in various statistical categories, including three-point shooting (0:53), turnovers (7:44), and best individual postseason runs (13:23). Then, we each shared our three favorite 2010s-related stats, covering the 2016-2019 Warriors' dominance (16:13), Brook Lopez as a prototypical stretch five (17:59), winningest regular season players (22:42), Draymond Green's value (27:19), my favorite Lance Stephenson fun fact (30:28), and more. 

Chris, Brian, and I walk through the last three rounds of our hypothetical tournament between the best teams of the 2010s: 2017 Warriors vs. 2019 Raptors (1:08), 2014 Spurs vs. 2018 Rockets (1:36), 2016 Thunder vs. 2012 Heat (3:22), 2013 Heat vs. 2016 Cavaliers (10:06), the semifinals (11:37), and the finals (20:22). We finish by discussing if any historic teams could have beaten the 2017 Warriors (31:00). 

Chris and Brian join me to simulate a hypothetical 16-team tournament between the best teams of the 2010s. In Part 1, we run through the first round matchups: 2017 Warriors vs. 2010 Celtics (2:08), 2015 Warriors vs. 2016 Thunder (4:01), 2013 Heat vs. 2019 Bucks (8:46), 2014 Spurs vs. 2012 Bulls (13:51), 2018 Warriors vs. 2018 Rockets (16:36), 2016 Cavaliers vs. 2016 Spurs (22:35), 2011 Mavericks vs. 2012 Heat (26:36), and 2010 Lakers vs. 2019 Raptors (29:55). 

Andrew Stafford and I answer another batch of questions, including "Which teams from the 2010s could have used Robert Horry the most?" (0:25), "What were the top five narrative-changing games of the decade?" (5:35), and "Is Draymond Green not that good?" (17:22).