Ep. 11: Old Heads vs. Stat Heads- are Nerds ruining the NBA?

The Hockey Assist

In this episode, Nolan and Riley jump into the shootaround with the super fun Hornets and ace coaching of James Borrego, the future of the Orlando Magic, and the fourth place Knicks (!!!) (8:10) In the Minutiae Minute, Riley tackles the Hawks/Thunder jersey snafu and Richard Jefferson as a color commentator (29:45). Then, they ask the question is setting the NBA world aflame right now: are nerds ruining basketball? In their own take on the "analytics vs. eye test" debate, they break down the viral Twitter video by @MasterTes, discuss the role that gatekeeping and social media contrarianism have on NBA discourse, whether paywalls are to blame, and the important but not oft-discussed racial component of the analytics debate. (33:50). Finally, they wonder what can be done to marry the ideas of the eye test and analytics to create a basketball world where both are appreciated (1:14:45).