Terry Horstman's (@terryhorstman) beautiful essay about Dwyane Wade and Prince at Flagrant Magazine, what it's like to be a Minnesota Timberwolves fan for your entire life, follow-up on the Timberwolves coaching hiring and firing, the terrible timing of the Lloyd Pierce firing and Travis Schlenk's culpability, and the all-Prince NBA starting five.

Shot Tower

Coaches Getting Canned (and It Ain't Right) with Terry Horstman

The crew talks about Chris Finch’s surprise hiring in Minnesota, the Brooklyn Nets rounding into form, James Harden playing a more team-friendly style, Jaden McDaniels’ breakout potential, and NBA Top Shot—the blockchain-backed digital trading card system developed by Dapper Labs. Gotta love #thisleague.

Equity in NBA Coaching and NBA Top Shot

Players speak out about the All Star game, Draymond speaks out for better player treatment, the amazing Jae'Sean Tate, and a big trade in Scorekeeper.

Basketball in the Time of Coronavirus

The crew is joined by Andrew Kelly (@andlankell) to talk all things Hawks—Trae Young’s ceiling, De’Andre Hunter’s progress, Cam Reddish’s stagnation, Kevin Huerter’s secondary playmaking, and a list of potential trade and free agent targets. They also take a look at some of the leagues exciting young (fantasy) players—LaMelo Ball, Immanuel Quickley, Keldon Johnson, Théo Maledon, and Nickeil Alexandar-Walker.

The NBA Youth Movement with Andrew Kelly

The usual crew of Michael Kimball (@MichaelKimball), Kyle Stine (@kjstine), and Jalen Eutsey (@jaleneutsey) get together in week 6 of the NBA season to discuss the surging Denver Nuggets, with particular focus on Michael Porter Jr’s impressive performances; the Brooklyn Nets steadying themselves after back-to-back surprising losses to the Cleveland Cavaliers; and Jerami Grant and Bam Adebayo continuing their breakout seasons.

Fantasy Breakouts and Real Surprises

The crew gets together with David Smooke to talk about the “Jarrett Allen trade” and all of the attending real and fantasy-NBA fallout for James Harden, Caris LeVert, Victor Oladipo, Taurean Prince and their respective teams, the Houston Rockets, Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers. We discuss the string of short-sighted cost-cutting decisions from Tilman Fertitta that lead to the recent mass exit out of Houston. The crew also talks about the Cleveland Cavaliers handling of the Kevin Porter Jr situation, the hot start for the New York Knicks and Thibs being Thibs. Finally, an unexpected knock-down drag-out argument over Cole Anthony’s value and potential in both the real and fantasy-NBA.

The Jarrett Allen Trade and the Vagaries of the Fantasy Waiver Wire

In a tumultuous week in and around the NBA, we come together to reflect on the role the league and players have played in recent politics and the worsening coronavirus situation that has postponed several games. The Pelicans' playoff situation, the Grizzlies' perseverance, and the never-ending Thunder enter the discussion. And Trae Young and John Collins get a surprise comparison to Kyrie and Dion Waiters.  

NBA Politics and COVID with John Wilmes

The crew is joined by Micah Wimmer to discuss the best current basketball writers, best sports books, the defining traits of today’s NBA superstars, and how the basketball internet has helped develop their fandom. They take a look at Russell Westbrook’s legacy and the war of words between Kyrie Irving and NBA media. The conversation closes with a nostalgic look at the fever dream that was the 2015-16 Steph Curry and Golden State Warriors season and the Philadelphia 76ers quietly strong start to the 2020 season.

On Basketball Writing with Micah Wimmer

The crew talks about the wild ups and downs of the early season and what they mean for fantasy managers. The high highs of the Brooklyn Nets, the low lows of the Detroit Pistons, and the extreme highs and lows of the Clippers and Sixers. Darius Garland hitting his stride for the undefeated Cavs. Plus some surprise fantasy values we're seeing on the waiver wire: Terrence Ross, Rudy Gay, Cole Anthony, and the biggest of all, Garland himself. We can't help but talk Harden trades, and we take some time considering the struggling Warriors. Will it be variance for them, too, before a solid season? Only time will tell. 

Early Season Variance

After a flurry of fantasy drafts for our various leagues, the guys on Shot Tower reflect on trends: the ebbs and flows of auction drafts, players who were overdrafted, and picks that might be sneaky values. We follow up on our discussion of rookies and recap how they were valued in the draft. And with the NBA kicking off, we make some predictions on conference finals matchups and the teams most likely to meet in the Finals.

Post-Draft Fantasy Review and NBA Kickoff

All fantasy all the time. The Shot Tower crew sits down with the amazing Stan Son (fantasy NBA writer for Razzball, DraftKings, and RotoBaller) to talk about draft value, overdrafted players, drafting rookies, pace, punts, H2H benchmarks, and the fantasy implications of recent trades. We talk about rookies LaMelo Ball and Killian Hayes, the Sixers and Celtics as they played live, the fantasy ripple effects of Giannis's recent max extension with the Bucks, potential fallout from the inevitable James Harden trade, Stan's hometown favorite and NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers, and a little scenario involving Lebron, Steph, Kyrie, and KD. 

Fantasy Draft Preview with Stan Son of Razzball

We talk about five teams that made move in hopes of getting a taste of the playoffs—the Hornets, Hawks, Suns, Pelicans, and Wizards.

Playing for the Play-In Games

Kyle Stine, Michael Kimball, and Jalen Eutsey recap the top draft picks and early free agency signings from the Pistons, Sixers, and Heat. They also touch on the Oklahoma City Thunder's offseason because there is zero NBA business at the moment that Sam Presti doesn't have a hand in—#TrustTheProcess reborn. Hope springs eternal for these Pistons fans!

Free Agency Recap- Pistons, Sixers, Heat, (Thunder)

The full gang is back together again. Kyle Stine, Michael Kimball, and Jalen Eutsey discuss the top 2020 NBA draft prospects as well as the way these prospect are covered and talked about in the media, especially LaMelo Ball. The group lists the players they like in the draft, where they'd like to see the draft's best players wind-up, and even throw out a few blockbuster trade options. Kyle questions who's more to blame for the fall of the Houston Rockets, James Harden or Russell Westbrook?

2020 NBA Pre-Draft & Free Agency

In this episode we review the 2020 NBA Finals up to this point, detailing the adjustment dance Frank Vogel and Erik Spoelstra have undertaken and highlighting the strong play of Jimmy Butler. We dive into Heat Culture, Mamba Mentality, and the irksome experience of watching your favorite team battle with one of the game's most inevitable, all-time great players (LeBron James). We give the Los Angeles Lakers their due credit and preview what should be a bright future for the Miami Heat.

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Shot Tower

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