Playing in Space is an NBA-focused podcast hosted by SIS Basketball Strategy Analyst Henry Ward. The show covers the association through conversations on league-wide trends through a philosophical lens, driven by insights derived from SIS’s NBA data. From discussions of player and team performance to basketball decision-making theory, Playing in Space has you covered on all ideas NBA with weekly episodes. Find us @SIS_Hoops and @henrywward on twitter and at sportsinfosolutions.com.
The NBA Finals have arrived and Jackson Frank rejoins the show to break it all down. Henry and Jackson bid farewell to the Heat and Mavericks before going through every angle, including the overall stylistic battle of the Celtics defense against the Warriors offense, how Boston can maintain their style against a Warriors team that's built to compromise it, where Warriors role players such as Kevon Looney and Gary Payton II fit in on both ends, how the Celtics can guide their offensive approach to best capitalize on Golden State's sparse defensive holes, and where the Warriors can funnel Boston to slow some of their firepower. Of course, the episode concludes with some complicated and subject to change predictions.twitter.com/sis_hoopstwitter.com/henrywwardtwitter.com/jackfrank_jjfsportsinfosolutions.com
A bit of a different episode this week, where Henry is joined by Vic Law, a professional who's played for the Orlando Magic, Brisbane Bullets, and most recently the Perth Wildcats. The two cover a wide range of topics, including his experience with analytics as a player (1:50), how the NBA differs from the NBL (10:30), his views on the current NBA playoffs (17:51), the directions we think the game is going (23:11), and what his future might hold (29:08).twitter.com/sis_hoopstwitter.com/henrywwardtwitter.com/Followthe_LAWsportsinfosolutions.com
Nekias Duncan of BasketballNews, The Dunker Spot, and the You Late! Podcast joins Henry to analyze what trends may come of this seasons' NBA Playoffs that we may see pursued in future seasons by other teams. The two go through the validity to the NBA's copycat nature (2:22) before getting into the patterns they see potentially continuing elsewhere, such as the emphasis on rim deterrence at the expense of corner threes (9:17), the emergence of like-sized lineups (19:53), the emphasis on archetypal alignment across a team's rotation (27:13), and the unsightly return of the 3-and-D wing (42:40) .twitter.com/sis_hoopstwitter.com/henrywwardtwitter.com/NekiasNBAsportsinfosolutions.com
In a more philosophical podcast, Henry and guest Jake Rosen attack the validity of heliocentrism from all angles to try and wrestle with the sustainability of one the NBA's most common team-building and coaching approaches, largely through the lens of teams that employ it most notably, such as the Mavericks and Hawks. The two discuss the issues that arise from such an approach, the weight it places on off-ball teammates, the difficulty of finding complexity as a roster constructor and coach, the fragile nature of advantages created out of it, and the defensive solves for it (2:31). They also tackle questions in support of the idea, such as if potential alternatives are even preferable, how hard it is to construct an equally viable counter around the stars we see most invested in the approach, and more (30:15).twitter.com/sis_hoopstwitter.com/henrywwardtwitter.com/JakeInThePaintsportsinfosolutions.com
SIS Basketball Operations Analyst Evan Zaucha, formerly of Sense and Scalability, joins Henry to take stock of each remaining playoff team as title contenders. The two review every team one by one, starting with the Grizzlies' path forward (5:21), the Sixers ability to hold on without Joel Embiid (14:33), and the Mavericks reliance on Luka Doncic (24:11). They then get into the five teams sports books see as having more realistic title chances — the steady Heat (32:26), the reigning champion Bucks and the upstart Celtics (39:49), and the current favorites, the Warriors and the Suns. (48:08).twitter.com/sis_hoopstwitter.com/henrywwardtwitter.com/EZ_Hoopssportsinfosolutions.com
Host Henry Ward is joined by Jackson Frank, who returns to the show to talk through potential adjustments from teams facing uphill battles after the first few days of the NBA Playoffs' first round. The two break down how the Raptors can cool down the 76ers blistering shooting (3:08), how the Nets can optimize their stars against the Celtics' swarming defense (12:42), the Hawks path forward in freeing up Trae Young against the Heat's versatility (25:46), Khris Middleton and Jrue Holidays' potential improvements as an offensive duo (37:53), the Grizzlies ability to manipulate the Wolves' offensive firepower with their offense-first personnel (46:46), and ways in which the Jazz can regain their dominant offensive form from the regular season (57:48).twitter.com/sis_hoopstwitter.com/henrywwardtwitter.com/jackfrank_jjfsportsinfosolutions.com
Mark Schindler of BasketballNews rejoins the show to talk all things NBA Play-In ahead of this week's games. The two dissect each matchup (including those that had not happened prior to recording, but did prior to this episode becoming available!), going through how Jarrett Allen's absence affects the Cavaliers against the Nets, how the Clippers can best handle the match-up problems Karl-Anthony Towns provides, the challenges facing the Hornets in a playoff context against the surging Hawks, and what to look forward to in future iterations of these Spurs and Pelicans teams.twitter.com/sis_hoopstwitter.com/henrywwardtwitter.com/MG_Schindlersportsinfosolutions.com
On this week's episode of Playing In Space, host Henry Ward is joined by Thinking Basketball's Cody Houdek to run through a set of “Season Superlatives” in place of typical NBA award season discussion, handing out some atypical awards to players who shined this season but may not fall into mainstream award consideration. Awards handed out include Most Creative Coach (3:16), Most Must-Watch TV (9:42), Sophomore of the Year (18:07), Rarest/Most Unique Impact (26:40), Biggest Skeleton Key (36:05), and Greatest Leap (45:05), before the two wrap up with some off-the-wall, more niche shoutouts (54:45).twitter.com/sis_hoopstwitter.com/henrywwardtwitter.com/codyhoudeksportsinfosolutions.com
SIS Basketball Research Analyst Connor Ayubi joins host Henry Ward to discuss the evolution of role in the NBA and how we can change our perspective to create language that better suits what players bring to the table and the avenues in which they contribute and fit together. The two discuss Connor's in-progress data-driven roles project (2:58), and examine the nuances behind our understanding of role through several examples, such as the Suns duo of Cam Johnson and Mikal Bridges in contrast with the development of Trey Murphy (10:34), the Grizzlies backcourt of Ja Morant, Tyus Jones and DeAnthony Melton (23:35), and the economies of scale at play with big men like Bam Adebayo, Jonas Valanciunas, Steven Adams, Kevon Looney and Isaiah Hartenstein along with the emergence of “featherweight fours” such as Gary Payton II and Bruce Brown (34:37).twitter.com/sis_hoopstwitter.com/henrywwardtwitter.com/AyubiNBAsportsinfosolutions.com
Samson Folk of Yahoo! Sports and Raptors Republic joins the show for a discussion of trends currently being pioneered in the NBA through the exemplary Toronto Raptors. The two discuss how Toronto has outpaced expectations this year by embracing trends that the two speculate could become more commonplace league-wide. These include how they operate on offense without a heliocentric creator (7:32), the value of offensive and defensive rebounding and actioning off-ball shooters' gravity (30:11), democratic rim protection (42:37), and principles based roster-construction (56:05).twitter.com/sis_hoopstwitter.com/henrywwardtwitter.com/samfolkksportsinfosolutions.com
Mark Schindler of BasketballNews joins the show to run through this year's rookie class. After a discussion of the class in general (1:49) and the philosophical lens they each use to evaluate rookies in their first year through the proxies of Josh Giddey and Herb Jones (8:09), Henry and Mark go through their cream of the crop, breaking down the things that have made Evan Mobley (17:45), Cade Cunningham (32:49), Franz Wagner (46:20), and Scottie Barnes (55:41) stand out above the rest. They close the show with some brief shoutouts for Ayo Dosunmu, Ziaire Williams, and Brandon Boston Jr (1:05:39).twitter.com/sis_hoopstwitter.com/henrywwardtwitter.com/MSchindlerNBAsportsinfosolutions.com
Jackson Frank joins host Henry Ward as the show's first non-SIS guest to evaluate the developments and projections of some non-all star, non-rookie rising talents who are filling crucial roles on contending teams. The two discuss the optimization of Tyrese Maxey following the James Harden trade (3:14), how Desmond Bane's actualization as an off-ball creator has helped weaponize the Grizzlies offense (19:34), Jaren Jackson Jr.'s leap into the Defensive Player of the Year conversation (41:09), the unlocking of Robert Williams in his new defensive role (1:05:29), and Deandre Ayton's growth as a cornerstone for the first-place Suns (1:20:20).twitter.com/sis_hoopstwitter.com/henrywwardtwitter.com/jackfrank_jjfsportsinfosolutions.com
Host Henry Ward is joined by VP of Basketball and New Initiatives Jake Loos to cut through some common misconceptions and closely held ideas about analytics and their creation, use, and interpretation in the world of basketball decision making. They cover the often-discussed divide between analytics and qualitative analysis (1:35), the areas of decision making in which analytics are most helpful (8:26), the limitations of analytics and how they can be addressed (13:38), how bias affects both quantitative and qualitative decisions (16:48), how analytics are used in NBA front offices decision making (26:25), and why players have the most to gain from the expansion of analytics (41:13). twitter.com/sis_hoopstwitter.com/henrywwardtwitter.com/jake_loossportsinfosolutions.com
Our inaugural episode! Host Henry Ward brings on SIS Sr. Basketball Strategy Analyst Max Carlin to discuss what SIS Basketball has been up to (0:50), how their views on basketball evaluation have shifted over the past year (5:13), Tyrese Haliburton's development (12:30), Domantas Sabonis' fit with the Kings (26:06), the Celtics' acquisition of Derrick White (33:41), the partnership of James Harden and Joel Embiid (47:58), and some general thoughts on other deadline deals (1:07:56).twitter.com/sis_hoopstwitter.com/henrywwardtwitter.com/maxacarlinsportsinfosolutions.com
Coming soon! Playing in Space is an NBA-focused podcast hosted by SIS Basketball Strategy Analyst Henry Ward. The show covers the association through conversations on league-wide trends through a philosophical lens, driven by insights derived from SIS's NBA data. From discussions of player and team performance to basketball decision-making theory, Playing in Space has you covered on all ideas NBA with weekly episodes. Find us @SIS_Hoops and @henrywward on twitter and at sportsinfosolutions.com.
© 2020-2025 Ivy Podcast Discovery LLC
