Basketball Baatcheet with Nikhil & Arjun

With the one year anniversary of Kobe Bryant's unfortunate passing, the boys take a stroll down memory lane, as Arjun shares with Nikhil how he became a Kobe die-hard supporter and exactly what Kobe has meant to him and the rest of us. The boys also welcome their first guest to the pod, Keith Doubman, who has been hiking all the way across America for over 250 days to raise money for Cancer Research.

The boys introduce the weekly league roundup, a segment that will be released every Monday where Nix & AJ take turns giving a one-minute take on each of the teams across the league. This quick hitting segment is aimed to bring you baatcheetos a storyline/hot-take on each of the league's franchises, to help keep you apprised of what to look out for as fans of the NBA. This week's topic's include Kyrie's fit with the Nets, LaMelo looking like Next, Shaq casually hating on people, and whether Embiid's MVP calibre play is enough to win the East.

The boys catch up after taking the offseason off, before shifting to the Hoops topic-du-jour, the blockbuster Harden trade. With Kyrie already behaving perplexingly, how will he take to playing 3rd Fiddle? Grading the trade for all 4 teams, before shifting focus to the standings with early impressions of each team for the new season. The boys then discuss some of the fresh new talents to enter the league, bringing focus to the rookies to keep an eye on.

AJ & Nix finally get together face to face when AJ made a visit to the Michigan State campus. Sitting on the banks of the "Red Cedar" river, the boys contemplate the moves teams aught to make, and the targets they should pursue over the abbreviated NBA offseason. The Bucks & Giannis are in a critical offseason where retaining the league's reigning MVP is the league's foremost topic of discussion. The boys banter over other top trade and free agent targets who could be on the move, and play fantasy GM over what they would like to see teams do over this short free agency window.

LeBron & the Lakers silence the critics with a dominant close out game 6 win to wrap up one of the craziest seasons in NBA history. The boys share how they felt about this title, Arjun as a Laker fan, after a decade of futility to finally be back on top, contrasting Nik’s perspective as an LBJ fan. They get into the inevitable legacy talk with a look back at LeBron’s past teams, successes/failures & the significance of it all. The boys also discuss Dwight’s Redemption, examine AD’s fit with LBJ in contrast to past star teammates, and take a look ahead at 2021 contenders.

The boys discuss the first 4 games of the NBA finals, make their picks for the remainder of the series and discuss who deserves the Finals MVP

The boys wrap up the Lakers - Nuggets & Heat - Celtics Series

Ep 9 - BOS/MIA Game 1 recap & predictons, Clippers/Nuggets recap, Lakers/Nuggets Predictions

The boys introduce a new segment covering the top hoops-adjacent news stories of the past week. What does the Billy D departure signal for OKC? Was Nash's appointment fair or square? Will Becky Hammond break the head-coaching-gender-barrier? Giannis not requesting a trade...yet. Bucks moves to retain him (CP3?), and Danuel House gets shamed.

The boys breakdown each Conference Semi-Final. Toronto embrace small ball and grind out another win to take the Celtics to 7. Clips & their D enough to put them up on Denver despite Jokic balling out and putting his name up for Superstar consideration. Lakers ride LBJ & Playoff Rondo's inspired play, going small and beating Houston at their own game. Are bigs #cancelled? Gigi goes down as Bucks bow out - debating Giannis's role in this collapse & whether it's fair to call him a Pippen.

With ball resuming post player boycott, the boys chit chat on the series that have concluded, those wrapping up & those set to kick off. Listen to their differing takes on the Eastern Conference Semis, as well as on topics like the evolution of the step back 3, the end of “The Process,” Parity in the East, the evolving “Who’s Next” debate since Jordan, & the players powerful stand for social justice.

With the Wolves & Warriors securing the top 2 picks, the boys dive into a way-too-early breakdown of the draft, debating the various directions both teams can go with these picks.Given that the top two teams should be looking to retool rather than rebuild, and with the draft class lacking a "can't-miss-prospect," the discussion centers around what are some likely and attractive trade scenarios.The draft's most exciting prospects are broken down, with a spotlight on LaMelo Ball, one of the most controversial draft eligible players in recent history.The episode concludes with a quick shoutout to the NBA, its teams & players for all they are doing to address various social justice issues of these times.

Nikhil & Arjun discuss the remaining 4 Game 3's in part 2 of this episode. They cover the Thunder vs Rockets, Bucks vs Magic, Heat vs Pacers and Lakers vs Trailblazers. The boys also discuss CP3 the point god; Houston missing Westbrook; Bucks closing things out in 5; Miami being a potential threat to the Bucks next round; Lebron and father time; Blazers looking tired.

Nikhil & Arjun discuss 4 Game 3's in part 1 of this episode. They cover the Dallas Mavericks vs LA Clippers, Toronto Raptors vs Brooklyn Nets, Boston Celtics vs Philadelphia 76ers and Utah Jazz vs the Denver Nuggets. They also talk about Luka looking great, Toronto's great defense, Philly's struggles and potential shake up this off season and finally diverge on how they think the Utah - Denver series is going to pan out.

With the playoffs kicking off, tune in for the boys’ take on each of the opening round matchups. They assess each team’s performance for the season and in the bubble, discuss who they like in each matchup, and pick a result for each series. Stick around till the end of the episode for a roundup of the Game 1 Playoffs action.

As the bubble games wrap up, the boys review the outcome of the abbreviated NBA restart, who were the standout performers, along with whatever else caught their attention from the past two weeks of action. The All Bubble NBA Teams are discussed, where Damian Lillard's outstanding run kicks off the debate of his place amongst the best players and point guards in the League. The conversation turns to home court advantage, whether or not it plays a part in this unique bubble scenario as well as whether an asterisk deserves to be attached to this years NBA Championship.

Get to know the boys behind Basketball Baatcheet, as Nikhil and Arjun reminisce about what has shaped them into such avid hoops fans. The boys discusses "More Than a Game" and the influence the film's central character LeBron James has had on them, their views on fandom, and what their respective hoops allegiances, heroes and inspirations have been. The conversation jumps to NBA Basketball in the Orlando Bubble, what to look for and get excited about. From there the discussion moves to the DNA & psyche of a winner, which players have it, and which players are good enough to consider "hate-worthy." The boys then tackle "What to do about Ben (Simmons)?" and debate CP3's legacy before wrapping up with a discussion on the state and future of Indian basketball.