BASKETBALLWEATHER: The Podcast

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 TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@basketballweather Youtube: www.you...

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 effect...

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 P...

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 p...

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 ag...

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 Cultur...

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...

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...

We all just want to be Spike Lee — the Luca Doncic trade via the lens of fan culture . Subscribe! To! BASKETBALLWEATHER! On! Substack! 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’...

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...

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?...

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 i...

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...

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,...

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.substa...

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: ba...

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

On Episode 2 we talk about nepotism, a BBW favorite if you’ve been keeping up with the newsletter on basketballweather.substack.com. We jam on Bronny James and expand into meritocracy in general, as well as some shit-talking about billionaires, I mean, capitalist pigs.

In this episode, we rap about a whole range of things: from  toxic masculinity  and misogyny, the three-point shot,  Steph Curry as feminist icon , identity, and perhaps my favorite of all —  the sacrifices necessary to be elite at something , be it basketball, art, or anything else. The launch point for the episode was a BASKETBALLWEATHER essay I wrote a few months back called “ The Feminism of S...