Iso Ball Podcast

Niko Moniz, Nick Raponi and Alex Azevedo join me to talk All Stars, Rookie of the year conversation, teams we like, som playoff talk and some good laughs in between. This was a fun one!

I break down the massive James Harden deal from the perspective of Brooklyn, Houston, Cleveland and Indiana.

I talk about whats real and what isnt with the small 10 game sample. Also talk about overarching things I've seen through 10 games. 

I go through all of the last minute extensions for some of the key players across the league, and make my picks for the 2021 awards including MVP, 6 man, ROY, DPOY, COY, MIP, and this years champion.

I go through all of the ins and outs of the 2020 Free agency moves in the Western Conference. 

I go through all of the ins and outs of the 2020 Free agency moves in the Eastern Conference. 

Nick Raponi joins me to go over the NBA draft, going into detail on the top 10 and which picks he liked and disliked in the 1st round. We also touch on the major draft day trades.  

I go over the 6 trades that went down before the draft (plus a suprise Knicks Jazz pick swap trade) and also dicuss why the Bucks had to give up so much for Holiday. Is this the offical death of the supermax and its effectiveness to keep superstars in small markets?

I teamed up with the guys from That's a Rap Podcast to discuss all things Toronto Raptors. We talk whether its time to panic on Pascal Siakam, Raptor's walk away number for Fred VanVleet, who could they get with the MLE, OG's potential extension, who the Raptors might pick with #29 and where are they going to play next season.   

Laying out what this off-season looks liek for the league from the persepctive of: The cap number, the draft, free agents, motivations to make the 8 seed and lack of money around the league. 

I go over the finals with a breif game by game overview including some overarching themes throughout the series. I also talk breifly about the legacies of Lebron James, Anthony Davis, Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo, and Jimmy Butler. 

Josh Matthews joins me again to talk about the Lakers Vs. Heat NBA finals matchup. 

More than happy to have had Josh Matthews as a guest to talk Coronavirus in the U.S, its affect on basketball, how he got started in basketball and going over the Eastern Conference Finals and both scenarios in the Western Conference Finals.

I talk about the 4 semi finals series in the NBA and my thoughts on Steve Nash as coach of the Brooklyn Nets. 

Airing out my sympathies for Jacob Blake and why I believe that the penalty for not listening to police, can't be death. I also go over all 4 western fonference first round series. 

Going over all 4 series of the Eastern conference. I can't watch every game of every series, so I did my best to give a summary of what I have seen for each. 

I had an incredible chat with Beno Memory from Hoop Dreams Basketball. We talk about his experience and multiple touch points in the game, the basketball scene in Portland, how players can get noticed during COVID-19, trends in skill development, the importance of basketball IQ, what makes Damian Lillard so dominant and SOOO much more. This is one of the best chats I have had and highly recommend listening. You can follow Beno & Hoop Dreams Basketball on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxZj...

This week I touch on our game of the week choice from last week Mavs Vs. Clippers, the race for 8th and 9th in the West and why are so many players hitting career highs in the bubble? I also touch on Maxi Kleber's versatility and reminding everyone that Kristaps Porzingis is just not a good post up player right now. 

This week I touch on the Rockets Vs. Mavericks high scoring affair, Raptors vs. Lakers, TJ Warren going off for 53, and why the Pelicans aren't out of the playoffs yet.  

I touch on some of my initial observations of the NBA's restart games + some league enws including players returning, Sabonis injury and Tom Thibodeau getting hoired by the Knicks. 

The NBA is a couple weeks away from a return so I catch up on transactions around the league Including J.R Smith and Jamal Crawford, who isn't joining the bubble, some body transformations including Nikola Jokic and Marc Gasol, and social justice messages on the jerseys. 

Breaking down the NBA's plan to return to action, the tradeoff between safety and money, and how I think the NBA did in putting this together. Also, a message at the beginning and end of the episode on my support for the #BlackLivesMatter movement. If you are not a part of the solution, you are part of the problem. 

Nick Raponi, Alex Azevedo, Niko Moniz and I go through our NBA awards: MVP, Rookie of the year, Defensive player of the year, Most improved, 6 man of the year, Coach of the year, and our All-NBA teams.

Nick Raponi and I review The Last Dance documentary. As 2 guys who never watched Jordan in his prime we discussed: What we learned about Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, Kerr, Krause and Jackson. We discuss our favorite and most interesting parts of the doc and whether the doc provides enough information to have an informed opinion on the LeBron-Jordan debate. 

What players and teams have done in the mean time, the importance of social distancing, when can we expect the league to continue?

Why was Kenny Atkinson fired? Waiters and Noah join LA teams, Giannis injury, Nurkic return. 5 things I saw from Lakers Clippers and did the Lakers figure out a way to get to the rim against the Bucks? 

A new series here on the Iso Ball Podcast, Nick Raponi and I are going on a mission throughout the years to visit all 29 NBA arenas. We do these podcasts with an eye toward the viewing experience giving you an idea about what it would be like to visit each arena through our eyes. We also touch on the Thunder vs. Pistons game recap and discuss if the Thunder are actually playing too many close games. 

Injury and buyout updates, Game of the week - Raptors Bucks recap, Is Giannis actually skilled? 

Where buyout guys have landed, Beilein out as Cavs head coach, Kyrie gets surgery, what I'm keeping an eye on the last 25 games of the season

Going over all the trade deadline trades, explaining the repeater tax, buyout guys have landed already, Darren Collision isn't coming back to the league. 

This week I talk: Mavericks trade to replace Dwight Powell, All-Stars announced (where did I go wrong), Damian Lillard's hot streak, Zion's first 5 games and did Kobe actually study the refs?

We remember the legacy of Kobe Bryant, the basketball player, the person, the Oscar winner and the Mamba Mentality. I also touch on how Kobe impacted me in my own life and some advice we can all learn from this unfortunate tragedy. 

I talk the 2 trades that went down this week, Steph Curry's return, Royce O'Neal's extension, Celtics Vs. Bucks, and are players actually reading the scouting reports?

Oladipo and Zion Injury return dates, Kyrie is back, Rockets continue to duck the tax, East all stars, West all stars, why is the 14th and 15th man causing so much commotion in front offices?

Where have I been, Top 8 teams in each conference, where will Andre Drummond end up?

This week in basketball we touch on: Injury Updates - What is a Disabled Player Exception? - Mexico G League team in 2021 - Game of the Week - The problem with counting stats (Pts, ast, reb, FG%, 3 point %)

This week in Basketball I touch on:News: Injury updates + Fizdale firedUnder the radar - Standout Players so farGames of the weekThe value of your #9, 10, 11 guys in your rotation  

Nick Raponi joins me to touch on Some topics around the league. Is the Nuggets defense just good, or are they lucky What is Luka Doncic's Ceiling? Toronto Raptors love, should they make a trade and push for a title? Projecting our rosters for Canada Basketball

This week in basketball we look at: Injury Updates, Carmelo Anthony signs with the Blazers, My 3 games of the week, Understanding a player's gravity when they may not deserve it.

This week in Basketball we talk news updates, my 2 games of the week, who is at the top and the bottom of the league and net rating and finally... load management. 

First edition of this week in basketball. I went through my top 3 games of the week, analyzed whether some teams and player starts are real or unsustainable. I also went through a little mid range rant, when is it appropriate to use and should everyone be taking them?

Going through the Rookie and veteran extensions. Which ones I liked and didn't like. Plus I give my 5 takeaways after the first 2 nights of the NBA season.

I rank the top 10 players in the NBA going into 2019-2020.I ranked these players with criteria, the main one being, who would I want to have if my goal is to win a championship in the 2019-2020 season. 

It was an honor to have my first beat writer on the podcast, Tom Westerholm (@Tom_NBA) joins me to talk (and by talk I mean take me to school) all things Celtics. - The life of a beat writer after the Celtics were eliminated- Celtics recent picks: Romeo Langford, Grant Williams, Carson Edwards and Tacko Fall- Jaylen Brown vs. Jayson Tatum, why I think its closer than some think- Chemistry differences between Kyrie and Kemba- Celtics center rotation

Massive trade once again in the association as CP3 is traded for Russell Westbrook - Who won this trade?- How does Russ fit with the Rockets?- Is Russ THAT much better than CP3?- What is next for Chris Paul- What does this trade say about Huston?

Breaking down the CRAZY news that not only is Kawhi Leonard going to the Clippers, but he is being joined by Paul George! I talk about what the trade was, how it came about, and the impact on all 4 teams involved (OKC, Raptors, Lakers, Clippers).

Going over every single signing... did some of the major ones in more detail. Got into some themes as well as winners and losers. This is going to be a wild season.

Reviewing all of the 2019 NBA Draft with Nick Raponi. Going over all of the top 10 in decent detail and some of our favorites for the rest of the draft.

Going over this blockbuster trade as Anthony Davis has been traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. What are the options now for the Lakers and Pelicans? Logistics of when it is best to complete the trade. What should the Lakers do with the rest of their cap space? Did the Pelicans get a good haul?

Reviewing Game 6 of the NBA finals with the Raptors capturing their first NBA Championship. Quarter by quarter breakdown, Giving credit to Nick Nurse and Masai Ujiri. Where do the Raptors go from here? Where does Golden State go from here? Briefly discussing the impact of the Durant and Thompson injuries and their effect on the rest of free agency. 

Going over Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals. Opinion on Raptor fans cheering the KD injury, Klay and Curry carrying the load. Can the Warriors score reliably without KD? Who should feel better about themselves going into Game 6?