Chucking Darts NBA Podcast

Esfandiar Baraheni (@justesbaraheni) of The Athletic's Daily NBA Show, Raptors Republic, Forbes, and elsewhere joins to talk Most Improved Players, the Thunder's title chances, a R2 upset pick, and the Raptors rebuild and draft strategy this year. Enjoy! TIME STAMPS (0:00) Intro + Ivica Zubac (5:55) MIP Ty Jerome (12:00) Thunder Improvements and Title Path (28:00) Obi Toppin and Pacers/Cavs (44:05...

Brian Geisinger (Split the Action substack; @bgeisinger.bsky.social) returns to check in on number 1 pick Cooper Flagg, then a deep look at his teammate Kon Knueppel, and whether he can be an unconventional NBA star. Plus, discussion on Jase Richardson and a debate on Khaman Maluach. Enjoy! TIME STAMPS (0:00) Intro (3:00) Cooper Flagg Check In (29:30) Kon Knueppel (1:16:05) Jase Richardson (1:26:4...

Trill returns from his triumphant YouKnowBall Extravaganza in New Orleans to crack off another 2024 redraft: this time, in Doubles format. Trill takes two players, then I take two, and so forth. The Doubles format illustrates how tight this draft is, how many cases there are to make, and how we can differentiate among so many "role" players. Plus, an intro taking a peek at Sixers' 2025 draft strat...

CT Fazio ( @CTFazio24 ) rejoins to draft scout two of the trendiest teams in the NCAA tournament, Big East Champion St. John's and SEC Champion Florida. Draft these players and enjoy! TIME STAMPS (0:00) Intro/St. John's (7:25) RJ Luis (48:30) Zuby Ejiofor (1:08:00) Florida/Walt Clayton (1:20:00) Alex Condon/Thomas Haugh (1:28:00) Will Richard + Wrap

Ben Pfiefer (@_bjpf, Sportscasting, Sportskeeda) rejoins to examine the Rookie class and find 10 players whose contributions we have enjoyed, plus we sneak in a Rookie of the Year Pick. Note: There are more than 10 enjoyable rookies! HM to those without enough run (Reed Sheppard, Rob Dillingham, Jared McCain, Ja'Kobe Walter, Justin Edwards, Devin Carter, etc) or who we just missed discussing in mo...

Chucking Darts returns with a solo sprint through the most fascinating confounding trade in recent NBA history, plus the rest of a very eventful trade deadline. Plus, an epilogue on filmmaker David Lynch. He was quite good. Enjoy! TIME STAMPS (0:00) Intro (3:00) Luka Doncic Trade (45:00) De'Andre Hunter to Cavs (49:30) Jimmy Butler to Warriors (57:40) Sacramento Kings (1:03:40) De'Aaron Fox to Spu...

Caleb Mueller (@CalebMueller23), creator of The Center Hub (@thecenterhub_bb), joins to discuss the current top 2 players on his board for the 2025 draft: Kasparas Jakucionis of Illinois and Dylan Harper of Rutgers. After a deep look into each of their games and projections, we discuss Ace Bailey, Dylan's electric and polarizing teammate, who may get drafted the highest of all 3. Enjoy! And check...

ACC expert Brian Geisinger (@bgeisinger.bsky.social; @bgeis_bird) returns to scout the NBA prospects in the bi-coastal ACC. For part 1 where we discuss Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, and Khaman Maluach in depth, see our previous episode. Find Brian's excellent work at briangeisinger.substack.com. Enjoy! TIME STAMPS (0:00) Intro + Brian's Substack (6:30) Maxime Raynaud (28:30) Jaylen Blakes (36:50) Hu...

The foremost ACC analyst in the country, Brian Geisinger, returns to go deep into the Duke Blue Devils, and specifically number 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg. We discuss his role with Duke's offense, how it may be impacting his offensive strategy, and how his early play affects our draft projection. Plus, Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach. Enjoy! TIME STAMPS (0:00) Intro (7:48) Cooper Flagg on Offense...

Mike Gribanov (@mikegrib8 on all platforms, including his excellent Patreon) returns to discuss the 17-1 Cleveland Cavaliers, their hitherto dominant offense, and a developmental check in on Evan Mobley. Then, we discuss the gnarly Houston ROckets' defense and where their team goes from here with so many darts and so little time. Stay tuned for a more in depth draft philosophy discussion later thi...

Jack Quantrill, of the excellent Drop Step NBA Podcast, joins to offer some early season NBA conclusions that we feel are permanent and will hold through the rest of the season. Standings, win totals, rookie awards, and more. Enjoy! Time Stamps (0:00) Intro (4:30) OKC, Dallas, Minnesota (25:35) JAYLEN WELLS (38:30) All-NBA Lamelo (55:30) OKC and Cavs (1:04:30) Zach Lavine Redemption (1:14:25) Wiza...

Draft Strickland's Prez (_prezidente) rejoins for an omnibus preview of the 2024-2025 NBA regular season. Playoff seedings, awards, All-Rookie, title picks, the works. Plus, plenty of Knicks, some team building talk, and Rookie Extension analysis. Enjoy! TIME STAMPS (0:00) Intro (3:25) Mikal Bridges Shot Doctor (12:00) Knicks Projection (16:25) East Top 6 Seeds (33:00) KAT Integration (41:30) East...

Mat Issa (@matissa15), basketball writer for Forbes, Basketball Insider, Opta Analyst, and Fansided, returns to rank NBA Defenses 1-30 heading into the 2024-2025 season. As with every year, rankings are based on projected defensive efficiency (points per 100 possessions). Enjoy! We had different rankings and jumped around a bit, so the order of discussion below is not necessarily a strict 1-30 ord...

Charlie Cummings (@klaytheist11), the great contributor to Swish Theory and author of the Know Your Role series, returns to rank NBA Offenses 1-30 heading into the 2024-2025 season. As with every year, rankings are based on projected offensive efficiency (points per 100 possessions). Enjoy! We had different rankings and jumped around a bit, so the order of discussion below is not necessarily a str...

Welcome to the Season Premiere of Chucking Darts! Today, Forbes contributor and freelance journalist Esfandiar Baraheni returns to discuss the player improvements that will define the 2024-2025 season. Enjoy! Time Stamps (0:00) Intro (7:00) Victor Wembanyama (16:20) Cade Cunningham (24:20) Chet and Evan Mobley (40:00) Houston Rockets (57:15) Immanuel Quickley (1:02:45) Jaime Jaquez + Nikola Jovic...

Keandre Ashley (@HoopIntellect) the foremost NBA draft analyst on Youtube, discusses 2024 NBA Summer League's top rookie performers. Subscribe to his excellent channel and enjoy our discussion projecting Matas Buzelis, Ron Holland, Kel'El Ware, Jaylon Tyson, and more! Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (07:15) Matas Buzelis (30:30) Ron Holland (47:00) Bobi Klintman (1:00:00) Kel'El Ware (1:16:00) Donovan C...

You Know Ball's Bartleboys join to address the 2024 NBA offseason, looking specifically at 9 teams who changed their franchise direction most drastically. We ruminate on short and long term consequences, ruminate on future trades, crown the unimpeachable truths of summer league, and dissect the slop tides that have subtly turned. The conversation winds around basically the entire league, so sit ba...

A mammoth episode I did not get to release pre-draft, please enjoy the great international scout Ignacio Rissotto of No Ceilings (and writer for Fiba, formerly the Stepien) give deep background and insight on the French prospects that may well come to define the 2024 draft in years to come. 0:00 Intro 5:00 Alexandre Sarr 1:01:20 Zaccharie Risacher 1:37:30 Tidjane Salaun 2:19:30 Pacome Dadiet 2:47:...

The 2024 Draft is in the books. I sprint through every team in order, starting with the Hawks at pick no.1, and discuss every move they made. Along the way, I talk about my write up (linked below) and where and why I ranked the players. Steals, risks, blunders we can debate. But they're all darts, and that's what matters. My full write up: https://chuckingdarts.substack.com/p/2024-nba-draft-dart-b...

Ersin Demir, contributor to Shot Quality ( @shotquality5054 and author of a fantastic scouting substack, joins to go through his predictive mock draft and which teams he (and we) deviate from. Enjoy! 3:10 Atlanta Hawks 9:05 Washington Wizards 15:05 Houston Rockets 24:05 San Antonio Spurs 37:05 Detroit Pistons 39:50 Charlotte Hornets 44:45 Portland Trail Blazers 48:30 Memphis Grizzlies 50:25 Utah J...

Draft Strickland's Prez (_prezidente) comes back for another odyssey into his favorite scouting type: slippery creators, or as he calls them, "prezbait." Deep looks into 5 prospects that no one quite knows what to do with, and full throated cases for aggressive placements on Ajay (Prez) and Carrington (me). 0:00 Intro + T10 creators 10:00 Ajay Mitchell 46:05 Bub Carrington 1:24:00 Jaylon Tyson 1:5...

Ben Pfeifer (@bjpf) returns to discuss 3 prospects with extreme talents and physical traits that have confounded me this cycle: Nikola Topic (post ACL news), Kel'el Ware, and Dillon Jones. Ben Sells me on high outcomes for all 3, we examine their historical draft context, and we marvel at Dillon Jones' savant abilities. Enjoy! Nikola Topic 5:00 Kel'el Ware 47:35 Dillon Jones 1:09:35 + wrap

Who will win and why? Enjoy!

Premier draft analyst Brian Schroeder (patreon.com/BrianJNBA) stops by to discuss the deep well of power wing prospects in the 2024 draft. The playoffs have reinforced the perpetual truth that role wings with power-based athleticism have a valuable role on advancing teams (PJ Washington, Aaron Gordon, Josh Hart, Jaden McDaniels, Kyle Anderson, Aaron Nesmith, etc). The 2024 draft has several darts...

Nate Grubel (@DraftDeeper, 2024 Draft Consultant and Analyst) returns to kick off a mini-series exploring the optimism within the 2024 Draft. Here, we each select 7 players who we think could thrive in a valuable NBA role, and how several have a unique productivity or athleticism that may hint at something more. Great conversation and episode for those with draft curiosity. Enjoy! Stephon Castle 7...