The Unrestricted Area Presented by Basketball Intelligence

Parker Fleming, author of the Subtsakalidis newsletter, joins Aaron Bollwinkel to talk about the Grizzlies’ new offensive system under Head Coach Tuomas Iisalo, what the return of Zach Edey means, the struggles of Jaren Jackson Jr. in the new scheme, the superb play of rookie Cedric Coward, and getting a gauge on where the Ja Morant situation stands. Check out the daily newsletter at www.basketbal...

Ray and Aaron talk with Coach David Thorpe—longtime personal basketball coach, mentor, analyst, and author—about his recent TrueHoop story “ Jazz Lessons ,” which explores the success of incorporating improvisation into NBA offenses. The conversation touches on some of the all-time greats who set the standard, highlights a few teams thriving with free-flowing styles, and examines how Coach Thorpe...

Aaron is joined by basketball analyst, author, and Substack writer Bob Bellotti to discuss all the intrigue and storylines in the four first-round matchups for the WNBA playoffs beginning this Sunday.  Western Conference Preview with Bob Bellotti Fledgling WNBA Players Thrive in Second Half of Season Check out the daily newsletter at www.basketballintelligence.net for all the best NBA stories hand...

Aaron interviews The Athletic’s Law Murray about the state of the Clippers as they contend with the damaging allegations of salary cap circumvention laid out by the “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast on September 3.  Check out the daily newsletter at www.basketballintelligence.net for all the best NBA stories hand-curated from around the web!

Aaron Bollwinkel interviews Substack writer and longtime analyst Bob Bellotti about his recent findings regarding the ways in which the WNBA’s parity is affected based on expansion, and what that will likely mean for the league as it embarks on its most aggressive period of growth yet. Follow Bob’s work here Check out the daily newsletter at www.basketballintelligence.net for all the best NBA stor...

Ray and Aaron interview The Ringer senior writer Howard Beck about the different ways in which teams are going about building contenders in Adam Silver's new era of parity.  Link to Howard's original story:  There’s No Right Way to Build an NBA Contender Anymore Check out the daily newsletter at www.basketballintelligence.net for all the best NBA stories hand-curated from around the web!

Ray and Aaron are joined by Nick Agar-Johnson of No Ceilings and the Kings Weekly Podcast to review the 2025 NBA Draft. They start out by giving their first impressions in the wake of the draft, and discuss the impact that NIL had on this year's class. Then, they break down the biggest storylines from the draft, including some of their favorite and most confusing draft hauls. Finally, they wr...

Nick and Ray talk with The Athletic's Eric Koreen about his recent article detailing the issues concerning the quality of basketball come March for the NBA. The discussion touches on how to de-incentivize tanking, as well as the merits of potentially shortening the NBA season.  Click here to read Eric's piece.  Check out the daily newsletter at www.basketballintelligence.net for all the...

Ray LeBov and Nick Agar-Johnson talk with Sony Tiwari, Co-Founder and CEO of RefMasters, a platform created to educate people on officiating. The three discuss the mechanics of the platform and the community fostered around it, as well as several different areas of discussion regarding refereeing habits and common misconceptions of officiating. Check out RefMasters here Check out the daily newslet...

Ray and Aaron speak with Nick Agar-Johnson, Editor-in-Chief and staff writer for No Ceilings and co-host of the Kings Weekly podcast, about the ten most exciting wing defenders in the NBA.  Check out the daily newsletter at www.basketballintelligence.net for all the best NBA stories hand-curated from around the web!

Aaron Bollwinkel talks with The Athletic 's Law Murray about the false notion that all NBA offenses are operating the same, the 40/20 club, and the state of the Clippers. Law's articles discussed in this interview: What stands out and what separates NBA teams’ offensive identities? - The Athletic Luka Dončić is new to Lakers-Clippers rivalry, but he’s far from an unfamiliar face NBA Powe...

Aaron Bollwinkel interviews San Francisco Chronicle Warriors beat writer, Sam Gordon , about the Jimmy Butler trade, the state of several of the Warriors' young players, and what to expect for the team down the stretch of the season following their blockbuster deal. Check out the daily newsletter at www.basketballintelligence.net for all the best NBA stories hand-curated from around the web!

Ray LeBov and Aaron Bollwinkel interview Dean Oliver, the author of Basketball Beyond Paper and one of the most important figures in the history of sports analytics. Click the links below to purchase your copy of Dean's incredible book:  Basketball beyond Paper - Nebraska Press Amazon.com : basketball beyond paper Check out the daily newsletter at www.basketballintelligence.net for all the be...

It's never too early to start talking about the draft, but here at The Unrestricted Area , we were fortunate enough to be the first to pick the brain of Bleacher Report's draft expert, Jonathan Wasserman, who recently dropped his Mock Draft 2.0 . Aaron Bollwinkel ( Live. Breathe. Ball. and No Gimmes ) and Jonathan talk about his current projected lottery, players above and below the rada...

Ray LeBov and Aaron Bollwinkel interview author and basketball historian Bob Kuska about his new book, Balls of Confusion: Pro Basketball Goes to War (1965-1970) —the most in-depth look we've been provided about the early days of the ABA. Please click the link to purchase your own copy of Bob's excellently written book: Balls of Confusion: Pro Basketball Goes to War (1965-1970): Kuska, B...

Ray Lebov ( @ticketrules ) talks with BI’s own, Aaron Bollwinkel, from Live. Breathe. Ball. , as well as draft expert, Nick Agar-Johnson, from No Ceilings , about their thoughts regarding who they believe will be this season’s most impactful rookies. Check out the daily newsletter at www.basketballintelligence.net for all the best NBA stories hand-curated from around the web!

Mike Shearer ( @bballispoetry ) talks with NBA shooting coach Marc Campbell ( @LowManHelp ) about the teams they feel Vegas misjudged. Marc is the writer of the Low Man Help Substack and host of the Low Man Help Youtube channel , so check those out for shooting mechanic breakdowns, player development plans, player profiles, and so much more! Check out the daily newsletter at www.basketballintellig...

Mike Shearer and Ray LeBov speak with Dr. Lindsay Sarah Krasnoff, a leading world expert on sports diplomacy and French sporting history. Dr. Krasnoff speaks to us from Paris, where she’s attending the Olympics. We cover basketball’s place in the French sporting world, what sports diplomacy is and how it has real-world impacts, how Tony Parker and Joakim Noah helped turn around the mindset of the...

Mike Shearer (@bballispoetry) and Ray LeBov (@raylebov) are delighted to chat with Atlanta Hawks’ broadcaster Bob Rathbun. We discuss load management, the burden of travel, why broadcasters knew something had changed with the officiating before anyone else, the state of the Hawks, the excitement around the #1 pick, and much more! Check out the daily newsletter at www.basketballintelligence.net for...

Ray LeBov and Mike Shearer chat with James Herbert of CBS Sports. We primarily cover James’ piece discussing whether or not the NBA’s regular-season alterations, like the IST and officiating changes, had an impact on the wave of injuries afflicting the playoffs. We also leave plenty of room for Finals coverage, including how the Mavericks can claw their way back into the fight, and spend a few mom...

Mike Shearer(@bballispoetry) and Ray LeBov (@raylebov) are once again delighted to chat with the legendary analytics pioneer Dean Oliver (@DeanO_Lytics). We cover some anecdotes and insights from his forthcoming book (Basketball Beyond Paper, now available for preorder on Amazon!), including a story about Shane Battier and the Observer Effect. We also dive deep into the NBA Finals, with Dean givin...

Mike Shearer and Ray LeBov speak with Kerry Eggers about Bill Walton. Eggers spoke with more than a dozen of Waltons’ closest associates to paint a complete picture of the player and the man. He wrote a compelling piece that warranted further discussion. We also spend some time discussing why Wilt Chamberlain should be the GOAT, for some reason. It’s an insightful conversation that we think you’ll...

Ray LeBov and Mike Shearer break down some of the 2024 playoffs’ biggest surprises and standouts. They discuss the new wave of superstars, coaching improvements, the officiating, injury resilience, and so much more. Check out the daily newsletter at www.basketballintelligence.net for all the best NBA stories hand-curated from around the web!

Once again, Ray LeBov and Mike Shearer speak with the godfather of modern NBA analytics, Dean Oliver. Dean talks about the trade-off between offensive rebounding and transition defense, the existence of momentum, what he'd tell armchair analysts today, and his new book, Basketball Beyond Paper , in which he quantifies some of the ways to train and improve players (among many other things). Ch...

BI’s Mike Shearer and Ray LeBov are joined by Alex Squadron, who recently authored a book called Life in the G: Minor League Basketball and the Relentless Pursuit of the NBA . We talk about his season embedded with the Birmingham Squadron (no relation to Alex) and what he learned while covering the players, coaches, and staff during a uniquely tumultuous time. He describes the choice every G-Leagu...