Sense and Scalability

The crew eases back into podcasting by answering some listener questions. Thanks to everyone who sent them in! Twitter: Evan (@EZ_Hoops), Cody (@codyhoudek), Premium Hoops (@PremiumHoopsNBA) Email Scott at scottlevine9@gmail.com Music: Canon in D Major recorded by Kevin MacLeod Art: Efrain Ramos (@BLKRZN)

The guys bring back Henry Ward to expand upon concepts found in Henry's first S&S appearance and apply them to the 2021 NBA Draft. They then do what they do best: get into a tizzy grappling with teambuilding philosophy and contradicting themselves. It turned out great, though. Twitter: Henry (@henrywward), Evan (@EZ_Hoops), Cody (@codyhoudek), Premium Hoops (@PremiumHoopsNBA) Email Scott at scottlevine9@gmail.com Music: Canon in D Major recorded by Kevin MacLeod Art: Efrain Ramos (@efraincarmelo)

The trynamic trio is back for a vibes-heavy podcast as Cody recovers from shock that his Milwaukee Bucks won an NBA Championship. The guys marvel over Giannis stepping up and the huge nights from his supporting cast. They then over litigate the Jrue Holiday trade for perhaps the last time. Twitter: Scott (off again but hmu at scottlevine9@gmail.com), Evan (@EZ_Hoops), Cody (@codyhoudek), Premium Hoops (@PremiumHoopsNBA) Music: Canon in D Major recorded by Kevin MacLeod Art: Efrain Ramos (@efraincarmelo)

The trio welcomes on Seth Partnow of The Athletic to further discuss a few points about defense brought up in the previous podcast. Seth then tells the boys that they sometimes try to draw too many conclusions from playoff series and he's right. Seth's book The Midrange Theory is out 11/2/21 Twitter: Seth (@SethPartnow), Scott (off again but hmu at scottlevine9@gmail.com), Evan (@EZ_Hoops), Cody (@codyhoudek), Premium Hoops (@PremiumHoopsNBA) Music: Canon in D Major recorded by Kevin MacLeod Art: Efrain Ramos (@efraincarmelo)

The basketball besties talk about the remaining teams, the concept of offensive "juice," and why it matters in the playoffs. Twitter: Scott (off again but hmu at scottlevine9@gmail.com), Evan (@EZ_Hoops), Cody (@codyhoudek), Premium Hoops (@PremiumHoopsNBA) Music: Canon in D Major recorded by Kevin MacLeod Art: Efrain Ramos (@efraincarmelo)

The fellas do their thing for the impending 2 vs. 3 matchup in the East. Before that, they weigh in on the Celtics hijinks. They end with what are now freezing cold takes about the Clippers vs. Mavs series. Twitter: Scott (off again but hmu at scottlevine9@gmail.com), Evan (@EZ_Hoops), Cody (@codyhoudek), Premium Hoops (@PremiumHoopsNBA) Music: Canon in D Major recorded by Kevin MacLeod Art: Efrain Ramos (@efraincarmelo)

The three basketeers tackle the series they are most excited to watch and spend an average of one half hour discussing each matchup. Twitter: Scott (off again but hmu at scottlevine9@gmail.com), Evan (@EZ_Hoops), Cody (@codyhoudek), Premium Hoops (@PremiumHoopsNBA) Music: Canon in D Major recorded by Kevin MacLeod Art: Efrain Ramos (@efraincarmelo)

The squad welcomes PD Web to the show to discuss his latest article on "Predrafting." They also discuss shooting development, small sided games, and connecting the various islands of NBA Twitter. Last but not least, Evan reveals his bad takes! PD's pieces Predrafting: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vwkCkSLHUVn2WL4u_aHQE-qVsATQT8gT1tZtQlJyuTo/edit NDSP1 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MuWbRZ0VYvy4x25kWuJBFa7dzSBYUR2d33w1PtYDEd8/edit Twitter: PD (@abovethebreak3), Scott (@ScottLevineNBA), Evan (@EZ_Hoops), Cody (@codyhoudek), Premium Hoops (@PremiumHoopsNBA) Music: Canon in D Major recorded by Kevin MacLeod Art: Efrain Ramos (@efraincarmelo)

Another mailbag pod? That's absolutely right. The three pals pick their favorite of the many awesome questions submitted by listeners. They talk about defense, drop coverage, Draymond's passing, and which NBA players are which of the 4 main Seinfeld characters. Twitter: Scott (@ScottLevineNBA), Evan (@EZ_Hoops), Cody (@codyhoudek), Premium Hoops (@PremiumHoopsNBA) Music: Canon in D Major recorded by Kevin MacLeod Art: Efrain Ramos (@efraincarmelo)

The guys are joined by Ben Taylor of Thinking Basketball fame to discuss Ben's latest major project: the "Greatest Peaks" video series. They also talk about how certain teams are innovating the NBA on offense and appreciate Nikola Jokic. Thinking Basketball on YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/ThinkingBasketball Twitter: Ben Taylor (@ElGee35), Scott (@ScottLevineNBA), Evan (@EZ_Hoops), Cody (@codyhoudek), Premium Hoops (@PremiumHoopsNBA) Music: Canon in D Major recorded by Kevin MacLeod Art: Efrain Ramos (@efraincarmelo)

With Scott taking a week off, Evan and Cody discuss their collective disappointment with the underachieving Chicago Bulls. What all has gone wrong for them since the deadline and what can they do to right the ship? The dynamic duo break it down in depth and offer some ideas to get things back on track. Twitter: Scott (@ScottLevineNBA), Evan (@EZ_Hoops), Cody (@codyhoudek), Premium Hoops (@PremiumHoopsNBA) Music: Canon in D Major recorded by Kevin MacLeod Art: Efrain Ramos (@efraincarmelo)

The S&S lads are joined by fellow Premium Hoops contributor Joe Hulbert to discuss analyzing basketball from a tactical perspective. The crew talk about learning how to see the game like a coach, ponder how strategy might evolve in the next few years, and share some salient examples of good and bad coaching. Twitter: Joe (@JoeHulbertNBA), Scott (@ScottLevineNBA), Evan (@EZ_Hoops), Cody (@codyhoudek), Premium Hoops (@PremiumHoopsNBA) Music: Canon in D Major recorded by Kevin MacLeod Art: Efrain Ramos (@efraincarmelo)

The crew peels back the layers for something different. They talk about their journeys (and pitfalls) when covering the NBA and how they go about keeping themselves engaged in a landscape that sometimes feels like it's pulling them from every direction. Minimal basketball analysis in this one but a lot of earnest anecdotes and experiences. Twitter: Scott (@ScottLevineNBA), Evan (@EZ_Hoops), Cody (@codyhoudek), Premium Hoops (@PremiumHoopsNBA) Music: Canon in D Major recorded by Kevin MacLeod Art: Efrain Ramos (@efraincarmelo)

Wowee! What a deadline. Instead of trying to capture every trade the guys dove deep on the Vucevic and Gordon trades while also bringing in some other Bulls moves, the Fournier trade, and the Oladipo trade. Twitter: Scott (@ScottLevineNBA), Evan (@EZ_Hoops), Cody (@codyhoudek), Premium Hoops (@PremiumHoopsNBA) Music: Canon in D Major recorded by Kevin MacLeod Art: Efrain Ramos (@efraincarmelo)

The ragtag group of basketball besties takes a crack at figuring out how to appraise defense. They are just scratching the surface here but spent a good hour laying groundwork for evaluating guards, wings, and big men. Twitter: Scott (@ScottLevineNBA), Evan (@EZ_Hoops), Cody (@codyhoudek), Premium Hoops (@PremiumHoopsNBA) Music: Canon in D Major recorded by Kevin MacLeod Art: Efrain Ramos (@efraincarmelo)

The S and S crew is down one for the week. Scott and Cody talk the Bucks, where they're at, what they're doing different this year, and answer some listener questions. Twitter: Scott (@ScottLevineNBA), Evan (@EZ_Hoops), Cody (@codyhoudek), Premium Hoops (@PremiumHoopsNBA) Music: Canon in D Major recorded by Kevin MacLeod Art: Efrain Ramos (@efraincarmelo)

Mailbag Episode! With not many recent games to cover, the guys took some great listener questions and tried to do them justice. They covered adjustments they'd like to see in the second half of the season, best lineups, impact of coaching, the future of the NBA, and many more topics. Thanks to everyone who sent one in! Twitter: Scott (@ScottLevineNBA), Evan (@EZ_Hoops), Cody (@codyhoudek), Premium Hoops (@PremiumHoopsNBA) Music: Canon in D Major recorded by Kevin MacLeod Art: Efrain Ramos (@efraincarmelo)

The boys take this week to deep dive the Phoenix Suns who are playing fun, high-level basketball halfway through the season. The show passed the 16 review milestone on Apple Podcasts this week. To celebrate, they end with a bonus segment rehashing some of Scott's worst takes. Twitter: Scott (¯_(ツ)_/¯), Evan (@EZ_Hoops), Cody (@codyhoudek), Premium Hoops (@PremiumHoopsNBA) Music: Canon in D Major recorded by Kevin MacLeod Art: Efrain Ramos (@efraincarmelo)

The usual trio is joined by Pro Insight analyst Henry Ward. They explore the seldom talked about aspects of spacing that Henry wrote about on his personal blog The Kick Ahead. We recommend you read both parts (linked below) as they are foundational both to this episode and to the concept of floor spacing. Henry's Piece Part 1: https://thekickahead.com/home/exposing-the-blueprint-part-1 Part 2: https://thekickahead.com/home/exposing-the-blueprint-part-2 Twitter: Henry (@henrywward), Evan (@EZ_Hoops), Cody (@codyhoudek), Premium Hoops (@PremiumHoopsNBA) Music: Canon in D Major recorded by Kevin MacLeod Art: Efrain Ramos (@efraincarmelo)

A past time of the podcast is to watch struggling or rebuilding teams and pick out players who would scale to a winning context. It is not always obvious, but Scott, Evan, Cody try their hand at identifying players on below average teams whose games could be unlocked if put in a better situation. Twitter: Scott (@ScottLevineNBA), Evan (@EZ_Hoops), Cody (@codyhoudek), Premium Hoops (@PremiumHoopsNBA) Music: Canon in D Major recorded by Kevin MacLeod Art: Efrain Ramos (@efraincarmelo)

The Nets are wild. They have been a historically good offense and historically bad defense since acquiring James Harden. Scott, Evan, and Cody look into why this has been the case and do their best to project the rest of Brooklyn's season. Twitter: Scott (@ScottLevineNBA), Evan (@EZ_Hoops), Cody (@codyhoudek), Premium Hoops (@PremiumHoopsNBA) Music: Canon in D Major recorded by Kevin MacLeod Art: Efrain Ramos (@efraincarmelo)

We know about who runs an offense. The initiators. The engines. But what key skills should the other players have to maximize the team's offensive output? Scott, Evan, and Cody tackle that question and get sidetracked on tangents along the way, some involving food. Twitter: Scott (@ScottLevineNBA), Evan (@EZ_Hoops), Cody (@codyhoudek), Premium Hoops (@PremiumHoopsNBA) Music: Canon in D Major recorded by Kevin MacLeod Art: Efrain Ramos (@efraincarmelo)

Scott, Evan, and Cody apply concepts introduced in the first three episodes for an exhaustive discussion of Zion Williamson. They answer some questions asked on Twitter and ask each other a few questions about Zion and how best to build around him. Twitter: Scott (@ScottLevineNBA), Evan (EZ_Hoops), Cody (@codyhoudek), Premium Hoops (@PremiumHoopsNBA) Music: Canon in D Major recorded by Kevin MacLeod Art: Efrain Ramos (@efraincarmelo)

Scott, Evan, and Cody drill into what constitutes rim protection and the various forms it comes in. They then switch gears to talk about a few "tweener" bigs who seem trapped between the 4 and 5 positions. Twitter: Scott (@ScottLevineNBA), Evan (EZ_Hoops), Cody (@codyhoudek), Premium Hoops (@PremiumHoopsNBA) Music: Canon in D Major recorded by Kevin MacLeod Art: Efrain Ramos (@efraincarmelo)

Scott, Evan, and Cody expand on a few ideas introduced in the first episode. Then, they get go in-depth about Evan's provocative piece "The Art and Science of 'Feel' in Basketball" and apply it to skill development. Cody's references: https://academics.hamilton.edu/documents/themundanityofexcellence.pdf and https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190418141614.htm Twitter: Scott (@ScottLevineNBA), Evan (EZ_Hoops), Cody (@codyhoudek), Premium Hoops (@PremiumHoopsNBA) Music: Canon in D Major recorded by Kevin MacLeod Art: Efrain Ramos (@efraincarmelo)

In this debut episode of Sense and Scalability, Scott, Evan, and Cody discuss the importance of primary creation and what causes a player to be a "wrong initiator." They also discuss how team context can be the difference between a viable primary initiator and a wrong initiator. Twitter: Scott (@ScottLevineNBA), Evan (EZ_Hoops), Cody (@codyhoudek), Premium Hoops (@PremiumHoopsNBA) Music: Canon in D Major recorded by Kevin MacLeod Art: Efrain Ramos