Hey guys, I’m so excited about this episode. We jump into a bunch of fascinating topics in and around the NBA, as well as the “outside world.” If you’re on TikTok or Youtube, I highly recommend you subscribe to see what I’m doing there. There’s a ton of cool BASKETBALLWEATHER shit going on on those platforms. Have a great week. ❤️, - Allen
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Chapter Highlights
Intro Navigating Politics and Personal Views
05:58 Media Influence and Information Leaks in the NBA, and beyond
09:07 Aging Politicians and Power Dynamics
18:03 The Importance of Local Fandom in Sports
36:19 Chris Paul's Future in the NBA
39:20 Relegation and Competition in Basketball
44:11 The Role of Media in Shaping NBA Narratives
51:10 The Future of the NBA and Tech Companies' Influence
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We start with the Dylan Brooks trade. Was that the beginning of the end for the Memphis Grizzlies? Then we explore the importance of toughness in the NBA, and the broader context of player empowerment and contract dynamics in the league. Also the the psychological aspects of coaching, the expectations placed on players like Austin Reaves, and the Timberwolves' success as a case study in effective team building.
Chapters
00:00 The Dylan Brooks Trade: A Turning Point for the Grizzlies
03:00 Assessing Team Toughness and Player Value
06:02 The Ja Morant Dilemma: Availability and Impact
09:09 Team Discipline and Culture: The Grizzlies' Challenges
12:07 Future Decisions: Rebuilding or Retaining the Core
14:52 Weak Link Theory: Rethinking Team Construction
23:12 Team Building Challenges in the NBA
28:51 The Dynamics of Player Relationships
30:42 Coaching Decisions and their Impact
33:45 JJ Reddick's Coaching Growth
37:33 Austin Reaves and Playoff Performance
41:57 The Minnesota Timberwolves' Surprising Strength
44:46 Lakers' Future: LeBron's Contract and Team Dynamics
46:57 Giant Contracts and Player Movement: The Giannis Dilemma
49:29 Contracts in the NBA: Fairness and Player Rights
53:14 The Impact of Player Movement on the League
57:19 The Future of Trades in the NBA: A Chaotic Landscape
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Benching one of your best players before the start of a playoff run when your team is trying to win a championship is... weird. So when Steve Kerr benched Jonathan Kuminga on the very last game of the regular season, was... he... a.... weirdo? We use that microscopic coaching decision to discuss the evolution of NBA coaching, team dynamics, vibes, money, and more.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Playoff Anticipation
01:05 Grizzlies' Playoff Performance
04:34 Assessing the Grizzlies' Core Players
06:50 The Unpredictability of the NBA
10:02 Oklahoma City's Future
14:00 Building a Championship Team
16:57 Coaching Dynamics in the NBA
19:57 The Evolution of NBA Coaching
22:58 Shifting Dynamics in Player-Coach Relationships
26:00 The Rise of the Oklahoma City Thunder
30:08 Warriors vs. Thunder: A Clash of Generations
34:00 Lakers and Timberwolves: Da fuck happened?
39:38 Timberwolves' Future and Expectations
40:55 Long-Term Planning in the NBA
42:49 Oklahoma City's Strategic Advantage
44:49 Kuminga's Bench Situation and Development
49:02 Warriors' Draft Decisions and Player Development
52:06 The Alchemy of Team Success
55:58 Closing Thoughts on NBA Strategies
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The balance between offense and defense.
The dark art of defense gets much less screen time than the sexy three-point splashes and acrobatics of offense. But like a bewitching voodoo, operating underneath the surface, defense plays a major role in winning. We delve into this oft misunderstood and shadowy side of basketball, discussing the various ways defense impacts a game, and try to find some parallels to the real world.
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Blindspots via the lens of the NBA Playoffs.
The NBA playoffs are so many things. Mostly, this NBA playoffs appears to be a referendum on teams who try and take short cuts. Adios, Matt Ishbia. The best teams like the OKC Thunder and Boston Celtics have been building their squads slowly but surely over years. And yet, talent might still reign suprreeme in the from of the LA Lakers, who have one again assembled a team on the fly in time for the playoffs. We get into all of it: Achilles Heels, the will to win, the secret weapon of winning teams, Kawhi Fucking Leonard.
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We start with a deep dive into the mercurial NBA career of Kevin Durant, and end up finding all kinds of hidden gems about the human need for stability, nostalgia, and the virtue to search our souls. We also dip into Kobe's clutch struggles, the desire we have for stability that we, as fans, project onto our superstars, Lebron's final chapter (aka Lebron 2.0), and so much more.
More Culture and Art via an NBA lens: basketballweather.substack.com
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With the NBA playoffs on the horizon and beautiful competition on our shores, it’s tempting to think about what a sudden death format might feel like for the entire NBA season? NBA media extraordinaire Jarod Hector and I talked about a new format for the NBA, one where 2 NBA teams would be eliminated from the NBA at the end of each season, and sent to the G League to atone for their sins. Trigger warning: a conversation about capitalism occurs in this episode.
More Culture and Art via an NBA lens: basketballweather.substack.com
Syd Field meets the NBA this week on BASKETBALLWEATHER. It’s not Being John Malkovich, but it’s not that far because NBA Trade season is the new Super Bowl. Why the NBA should do a better job at telling the trade season story, before it’s too late. We take a surgical look at the NBA regular season, reimagining it as a sweeping Three Act Story, complete with stars, co-stars, and even a little Syd Field! and come up with some fresh thinking that can breathe some narrative juice into the sport, before it’s too late!!!
We all just want to be Spike Lee — the Luca Doncic trade via the lens of fan culture.
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As fans, we can’t help it. We never want to grow up. We want to stay tapped into that thing that made us fans in the first place. For me, it was that first spark watching Kareem on my grandparent’s carpet in a small apartment on Curson Street. Unforgettable, and I’ve been a fan of the Lakers ever since. It’s human nature. As adults, we want to root for our teams as children do. We all want to be Spike Lee on the sideline screaming at the ref. We want to pretend like our teams, and the people who run them, are making the decisions that will always put us in a position to win. But is that really the way it works? Is that even fair to expect? Do we sorta have to grow up? We examine the Luka Doncic trade through the lens of fan culture.
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International basketball players are the best players in the NBA, but American audiences don’t seem to really care.
Writer/Performer/Filmmaker Allen Landver ("The Fan") and NBA writer Jarod Hector ("The Media") discuss the way that American audiences ignore the best international players in the league in favor of the old schoolers. You know, Lebron/Curry/Durant, or as they will be known forever: LCD. What does the resistance to international players say about the NBA, and what does it say about American culture in general?
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and Jarod Hector and the gang via
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Rest is expensive.
Writer/Performer/Filmmaker Allen Landver (“The Fan”) and True Hoop’s Jarod Hector (“The Media”) discuss rest in the NBA, and some of the factors in society that prevent us from resting more in the real world. A lot more.
Check out more of Allen's work via
basketballweather.substack.com
and Jarod Hector and the gang via
truehoop.com
WOULD YOU STOP SOMEONE FROM BEING VIOLENT IF YOUR CAREER WAS ON THE LINE?
WRITER/PERFORMER/FILMMAKER ALLEN LANDVER ("THE FAN") AND NBA JOURNALIST JAROD HECTOR ("THE MEDIA") DISCUSS THE DIFFERENT WAYS PLAYERS HAVE USED ANGER, INTIMIDATION AND VIOLENCE TO ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS ON THE COURT. FROM BILL LAIMBEER TO DRAYMOND GREEN, DIRTY PLAYERS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A PART OF THE NBA, BUT DO THEY HAVE TO BE? RECENT EXAMPLES PERHAPS SHOW US A DIFFERENT WAY FORWARD. BUT CAN YOU “REALLY” WIN THAT WAY?
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and Jarod Hector and the gang via
Writer/Performer/Filmmaker Allen Landver (“The Fan”) and True Hoop’s Jarod Hector (“The Media”) discuss General Manager Daryl Morey, the leader of the Philadelphia 76ers, a basketball team that many said “won the summer,” and is currently one of the NBAs biggest failures. Known for being a General Manager who is willing to take “big swings” in order to win a championship, Morey’s gamble to bring in the injury prone L.A. native Paul George has so far turned out to be a disaster. Is there something wrong with Morey’s star fucking approach, or is the intense pressure to win at all cost to blame?
Check out more of Allen's work via
basketballweather.substack.com
and Jarod Hector and the gang via
truehoop.com
The! NBA! Sucks! WRITER , PERFORMER, AND FILMMAKER Allen (“The Fan”) and Jarod Hector FROM TRUE HOOP (“The Media”) go head to head in this cage-match style debate to decipher what critics of the NBA really mean when they say “THE THREE POINTER IS KILLING THE GAME.” From HOMOPHOBIC UNDERCURRENTS TO THE NOSTALGIA FOR THE SLAM DUNK, we investigate and uncover what’s behind this latest negative trend.
Writer/performer/filmmaker Allen Landver (“The Fan”) and Jarod Hector from True Hoop (“The Media”) discuss Bronny’s first games, and the feels that Allen says were unavoidable, watching him share the court with his father. They then zoom out into a larger discussion about Sacrifice, the sacrifices that all NBA players have to make in order to play the game they love, and the sacrifices we all make when chasing our version of greatness.
Writer, performer, and filmmaker Allen Landver ("The Fan") & Jarod Hector from True Hoop ("The Media") discuss how injury, the 82 game season, and various other factors have transformed fan culture in the NBA to one where fans are mostly left rooting for their team's "potential." Longevity is the key in the modern NBA, and the teams (OKC, BOS, etc) best prepared for it, are the new alphas. So, what does that say about the rest of us in the real world? About the way we navigate our potential in the era of late stage capitalism. Listen to find out.
Writer, performer, and filmmaker Allen Landver & Jarod Hector from True Hoop discuss why more of us seem to be getting disturbed by the growing salaries of NBA players. Topics include the gooey territory of money, the NBA salary cap, leverage, what it means to to be a role player in the real world, and the Orlando Magic’s fourth year guy, Jalen Suggs.
More NBA/comedy: basketballweather.substack.com
Writer, performer, and filmmaker Allen Landver & Jarod Hector from True Hoop make funnies about Shaq and the mainstream media punching down on modern day players. Defense, and its metaphysical value to the game. Why it’s disrespected. Resisting change, falling out of grace, ego death, status envy, & even a little economics. Take a listen, and let us know what you think!
More NBA/comedy: basketballweather.substack.com
Using the Knicks as a lens, we talk about why winning is so hard in the NBA, fentanyl, nepo babies, American Exceptionalism, Matt Ishbia (billionaire NBA owner and nepo baby), James Dolan (billionaire NBA owner, nepo baby), Dan Gilbert (billionaire NBA owner) and the Los Angeles Lakers, who are also run by nepo babies.
Do NBA players have “the right” to phone in their performances over the course of an 82 game season? We go deep on the difference between entertainment and competition. I learn some things that I wish I could unlearn. You’re not going to want to miss it. Check out the OG newsletter on basketballweather.substack.com