Bench Reactions

On this week's episode the boys are back together to talk about Dan's dating life before continuing their preseason prep by talking about the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, and Boston Celtics: Can the Bulls finally trade Zach LaVine and go full tank mode (and maybe be more fun than we expect)? What exactly is the Lakers' long-term plan with this roster? How long can the Celtics&#39...

On this week's episode Jason, Zack, and Patrick dive into some news of the week, including French MVP Guerschon Yabusele signing with the Sixers and reports that Zion is in the best shape of his life, along with a photo that seems to prove just that. They then continue their preseason prep by discussing expectations around the Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers, and Minnesota Timberwolves:...

On this week's episode the boys dive into Team USA's Gold-medal win in the Olympics, including unbelievable crunch-time performances by all-time great players and an otherworldly Steph Curry shooting explosion against France. Then, they jump into their way-too-early preseason prep and talk about the Spurs, Heat, and Nuggets: Just how high is the ceiling of this Wemby-led Spurs team for the...

On this week's episode the boys break down the quarterfinals of the Olympics, including a disappointing showing by Canada and a barn burner between Serbia and Australia. Then, they dive back into their way-too-early preseason prep: After signing and trading for several veteran players, what exactly is the Wizards' plan for this year? Was Indiana's Eastern Conference Finals run a comple...

On this week's episode Zack, Dan, and Patrick hop on to discuss all the recent happenings with Team USA, including victories against both Serbia and South Sudan and DNP-CDs for Jayson Tatum and Joel Embiid. Then, they hop into their way-too-early preseason prep to talk about the Raptors looking like they're striving for mediocrity, what the Magic need to vault themselves into true contenti...

On this week's episode Zack, Dan, and Patrick get together to talk through Team USA's performance in their exhibition games before the Olympics kick off this weekend before starting their way-too-early-preseason-prep: The Hornets finally have a bright future with all their young talent, but how quickly can they get back into the playoff picture in the East? After landing DeMar, can the Kin...

On this week's episode the boys get together to do their second annual Winners and Losers Draft for the 2023-24 season and the offseason so far before diving into hot takes for the upcoming season. Then, they wrap up with Dan's Summer League Mudpie Moment of the Week.

On this week's episode Jason and Dan do a little pick and roll as they talk through more free agency moves that have happened over the last week, who's still available and what destination makes the most sense for each of them, a check in on Olympic basketball, and some House of the Dragon spoilers. Then, they wrap up with Jason's Mudpie Moment of the Week.

On this week's episode Dan, Zack, and Patrick get together to revisit the draft, talk through the recent trades of Mikal Bridges to the Knicks and Dejounte Murray to the Pelicans, and dive into the start of free agency and moves that have been made so far, including, most notably, PG to the Sixers. And finally, they wrap up with Patrick's Mudpie Moment of the Week.

On this week's episode the Bench Boys reunite to talk through the hottest news of the week: Monty Williams getting fired by the Pistons but getting to keep the $65 million of his remaining contract, JJ Redick being hired by the Lakers as their next head coach, OKC trading Josh Giddey to Chicago for Alex Caruso, and Malik Monk and Pascal Siakam securing the bag from their teams. We then jump in...

On this week's episode the guys get together to discuss the 2023-24 season ending with the Boston Celtics as NBA champions before a special presentation of the Benchies. And finally, they wrap up with a beautiful mea culpa Mudpie Moment of the Week from Dan.

On this week's episode we do something we've never done before: a live pod during the second half of Game 3 of the Finals. We break down everything we see during the game as well as other storylines we expect to dominate the NBA landscape in the coming weeks and months. Buckle up for an emotional rollercoaster of an episode!

On this week's episode the guys get together to reflect on Bill Walton's legacy after his passing this week from cancer at the age of 71 before diving into some other news of the week: Mike Brown finally getting the extension he wanted, Troy Weaver being dismissed by new Piston's President of Basketball Ops Trajan Langdon, and the swirling Jimmy Butler trade rumors. Then, they discuss...

On this week's episode Zack, Jason, and Patrick give their thoughts on the All-NBA and All-Defensive Teams being announced last week, along with the news of J.B. Bickerstaff being fired this week before diving into their analysis of the Conference Finals so far. Then, they wrap up with Patrick's Mudpie Moment of the Week.

On this week's episode the boys get together immediately following game 1 of Boston vs. Indiana to review the outcomes of each Conference Semis series before previewing the Conference Finals. Then, we wrap up with Zack's Mudpie Moment of the Week.

On this week's episode the boys are back to run through Jason's proprietary formula for his annual Lottery Karma Rankings before diving into all four second round series: Boston seems inevitably bound for the Finals despite playing with their food at times, Knicks vs. Pacers feels like it's going the distance, the role players in Dallas are popping, turns out the Timberwolves are, in f...

On this week's episode Zack, Patrick, Chase, and Jason get together to do a postmortem for the first round of the playoffs before diving into some Burning Burnham Questions and predictions for each second round matchup. Then, Chase brings us home with a very obvious, but still extra sloppy Mudpie Moment of the Week.

On this week's episode the boys are back to revisit every first round playoff series and revise some of our takes from last week before wrapping up with Jason's star-studded Mudpie Moment of the Week.

On this week's episode the boys get together to talk about the Warriors getting knocked out of the playoffs by the little brother Kings before diving into their predictions for all eight first round playoff matchups. Then, they wrap up by heading to The Cleve for the Mudpie Moment of the Week.

On this week's episode Jason, Zack, Chase, and Patrick attempt to craft the perfect collective NBA Awards for this regular season before all sitting down for a giant bite of humble pie as we revisit our preseason over/under predictions. Finally, we wrap up with Zack's Mudpie Moment of the Week where we all take another bite of humble pie.

The Bench Boys are BACK! After a three-week hiatus Jason, Zack, and Patrick (with a few minutes of Dan sprinkled in) reunite to talk through the return of our beloved Joel Embiid, which Western Conference play-in team has the highest potential of going on a deep playoff run, the currently lottery-bound team with the highest chance of jumping into contention next year. We then rank our top current...

On this week's episode Chase, Patrick, and Jason visit all of the many injuries that have taken place over the last couple of weeks in the NBA before giving out their confidence meters for top playoff teams. Then, Jason walks us through his thoughts on this year's Oscars before wrapping up with his Mudpie Moment of the Week.

On this week's episode Dan and Patrick run a little pick and roll action and visit some top questions from both the East and West. They talk about Boston being a juggernaut, playoff predictions, Warriors anxiety watch for Patrick, and revisit the 2021 NBA Draft before wrapping up with Patrick's Mudpie Moment of the Week and giving a mini breakdown of their experience watching Dune: Part Tw...

On this week's episode Chase, Jason, and Patrick get together to talk about Wemby's 5X5 game against the Lakers, Mike Conley getting an extension from the Timberwolves, and our beloved Jacque Vaughn getting fired by the Brooklyn Nets. They then go around the league and talk about which of the worst teams has the brightest future, Patrick's level of anxiety with the Warriors rolling aga...

On this week's episode all five of the Goblin Valley Dogs unite to break down all the festivities from All-Star Weekend. Which event was our favorite? Who were the winners from this weekend? Does the All-Star game need to be fixed, and if so, how would we go about fixing it? Then, we dive into our bold(ish) predictions for the rest of the season. If you're enjoying the pod, don't forge...