The Hockey Assist

In this episode, Nolan and Riley go back and forth on the topic that comes up every year at the beginning of free agency: tampering. Should the NBA take a stricter stance against obvious cases? Should they get rid of the rule altogether? What ramifications does it have for the league as a whole? The shootaround features Summer League overreactions as well as Nolan officially (finally!) chooses an NBA team to support.

Nolan and Riley break down one of the biggest remaining questions in the NBA- what should the 76ers do about Ben Simmons. Nolan and Riley speculate what short term options there are, but extrapolate into how important fit is with determining success in the NBA. In the shootaround, they wonder what the Warriors, Bulls, and other Free Agency adventures.

In this episode of the Hockey Assist, Riley has Nolan break down his most recent news- his engagement! After a few minutes more reflecting on the NBA Finals, they transition into discussing the NBA Draft's most essential question: what type of prospect should teams be looking to draft? At the end, they make some bold predictions for this year's selection!

The Hockey Assist is back! After a 2 month hiatus, Nolan and Riley get together to discuss some of their biggest takeaways of the NBA Playoffs. Recorded the night before NBA Finals Game 6, they first discuss some of their biggest takeaways from the Finals itself. They speak about the pendulum swing of media narratives throughout the finals, and whether that is beneficial for fans or just a product of the sport (6:02). Then, they talk about who has the most legacy at stake in this NBA finals and what that actually means (17:05). They finish with a shootaround of other playoff teams from PG-13 and the Clippers to the Atlanta Cinderella run to the impact of the injuries suffered on the Brooklyn Nets (53:50).

In an episode that we promise is not just Riley having a full blown homer induced Steph-gasm, Nolan and Riley jump into the shootaround so that Nolan can rain on the Knicks parade and they both wonder about the increased injuries to super stars and wonder whether it is bringing joy out of the game (2:00). Then, Riley has a full blown Steph-gasm. (21:20). The conversation marvels at how spectacular he has been able to play while maintaining super-efficiency and carrying a heavier load then ever, and then his play is held up against other superstars and debate whether it impacts the MVP race at all (40:00). Stick around to the end to hear Riley apologize to James Harden [!!!] (53:50).

We're back! Its been a few weeks since Nolan and Riley have posted an episode, so as a special treat 3 will be released this week. The first, recorded a few weeks back, details the twitter exchange between Kevin Durant and Michael Rappaport and whether the discourse around what celebrity athletes do on the internet is fair. Should Kevin Durant be lambasted for his comments? Or is he justified. Ultimately, they try to answer whether the standard that celebrity athletes are held to on social media is fair.

In this delayed-release episode of the Hockey Assist, Nolan and Riley redraft the NBA All-Star teams in a way that they think makes a lot more sense (1:50). Then, they welcome on their good friend Nick Lampe to discuss his fandom of the Timberwolves (21:00) why reffing is such a hot topic in the NBA right now (31:00) player ref relations (54:00) and more! This is one of those conversations that happens over a beer- it covers a lot of points, even if it isn't the most succinct path.

In this episode, Nolan and Riley jump into the shootaround with the super fun Hornets and ace coaching of James Borrego, the future of the Orlando Magic, and the fourth place Knicks (!!!) (8:10) In the Minutiae Minute, Riley tackles the Hawks/Thunder jersey snafu and Richard Jefferson as a color commentator (29:45). Then, they ask the question is setting the NBA world aflame right now: are nerds ruining basketball? In their own take on the "analytics vs. eye test" debate, they break down the viral Twitter video by @MasterTes, discuss the role that gatekeeping and social media contrarianism have on NBA discourse, whether paywalls are to blame, and the important but not oft-discussed racial component of the analytics debate. (33:50). Finally, they wonder what can be done to marry the ideas of the eye test and analytics to create a basketball world where both are appreciated (1:14:45).

In this absolute beast of an episode, Nolan and Riley begin with some friendly fantasy basketball trash talk (1:00) before spending the shootaround discussing the All Star game selections. They wonder if the selections should be entirely based off of fan service, whether the process should try to identify the best players in the league, and what other factors should involved in making the decisions (5:10). Then, they dive into the main idea of the episode: with all the league wide chatter on the MVP race, how should the MVP be determined? Riley goes deep on his own system to fix the MVP award, Nolan attempts to define what a “Most Valuable Player” actually is, and the pair attempt to sift through the current MVP candidates to test their definition of valuable (26:30)

In the newest episode of the Hockey Assist, Nolan and Riley jump into the shootaround talking about the excellent coaching of Stephen Silas for the Houston Rockets, as well as the renaissance of the power forward position (4:00). The minutiae minute takes several minutes with conversations on homer color commentators and potential improvements to basketball telecasts (23:20). Then, Nolan and Riley discuss the big question of the episode, inspired by the #freeBeal movement and Draymond's comments: is there a double standard between how players and organizations approach player movement, and what can be done about it? They go deep on what the player empowerment era really means, whether player empowerment can fit in with the league economy, and the effects on the NBA business when the product is also people (33:45).

In the 8th episode of “The Hockey Assist,” Nolan and Riley explain their one week absence (1:50) and talk about whether All-Star Game is a good idea, whether Draymond Green should be considered for that game, and the muddled state of the Western Conference playoff race in this weeks shoot-around (4:30). Then, they move into the big question of the episode: considering style of play, what is the state of the NBA game today (29:00)? They first look through the eyes of Charles Barkley to figure out whether the NBA today is “stupid a** basketball” and whether the over reliance on threes is damaging the sport, then they dive deep into a recent quote from Kevin Garnett to see if they agree with his analysis that the game is creative, competitive, and saucy. 

In this Warriors-centric episode of "The Hockey Assist," Nolan and Riley use 'The Shoot-around' to talk about whether the Jazz are for real (answer: yes), the rise of OG Anunoby, Point God Javale McGee, and if the Inside the NBA guys are funny anymore (2:20). Then, Nolan and Riley welcome their second ever guest, Nolan's cousin Zach Hernandez of the "Grab Don't Slap" podcast, to break down the early season lineup decisions by Steve Kerr and to debate whether a team in the position of the Warriors should be prioritizing development or winning in the regular season. The conversation ranges from Wiseman vs. Looney to Kerr's usage of Steph Curry to what the right amount of playing time for maximum development looks like. (19:25)

In this episode, Nolan and Riley break down things Things They Like, including Riley's Tyrese Haliburton playergasm, the defense of Myles Turner, and the fun level of Tacko Fall and Lu Dort, as well as Things They Don't Like, such as the Pelicans lackluster play, Giannis' god-awful shooting, and the snakebit Jusuf Nurkic (4:40). Then, the co-hosts get to the big questions of the podcast: should teams engage in Mega trades like the Anthony Davis, Paul George, or James Harden 2.0 trades? Is it worth it for small market or large market teams? Is the risk worth a shot at a title? But more importantly: are mega-trades good for the success of the NBA? The guys have a really good conversation about whether the NBA will end up better off because of these deals, or if they are a symptom of NBA Twitter hijacking the story the story the league is trying to tell.

Nolan and Riley break from their normally scheduled episodes to react to the James Harden to Brooklyn trade. They break down the Winners and Losers of the trade and both the Rockets and Nets are... losers? Houston added a treasure trove of draft options, but will it tip the scales long term? Brooklyn just assembled the best on-paper "Big 3" in NBA history, but will that translate to on court success? Plus, the sneaky good moves of the Pacers and Cavs, Steve Nash's new headache, and the effect of the deal on Kevin Durant's legacy.

In the newest episode of the Hockey Assist, Nolan and Riley discuss the Celtics surprising depth, the Clippers bottom 5 defense, the Andrew Wiggins revival and whether his basketball doppelgänger, Anthony Edwards, replaced him in Minnesota. Then, they move on to the episodes big question: what can (or should) the NBA do as COVID-19 sweeps through the league? They discuss whether the league's new protocols will be effective, what the best solution is, and player responsibility in the matter. They also break down whether sports are a reward for a functioning society, or whether sports are a priority, both in the public mind and in the vaccine line.

In this episode, Nolan and Riley put some respect on Steph Curry's name and admire Jaylen Brown's rise to superstardom, before welcoming on their first ever guest, Jake Hazeltine, to answer the main question of the show: what do NBA teams need to do in order to successfully rebuild their franchise into a playoff contender? They look at the history of rebuilding in the national awareness starting with Sam Hinkie's "The Process" in Philadelphia, before analyzing the rebuilds of the Atlanta Hawks and Phoenix Suns, to try to answer whether or not all three have completed their rebuild. These three teams are compared to Jake's favorite team and antithesis of a successful rebuild, the New York Knicks.

In this episode of "The Hockey Assist," Nolan an Riley share their thoughts on the opening week of the NBA Season, including a defense of Paul George and an analysis of the bleak start for Golden State. Then, they break down what leads to winning in the modern NBA and wonder if the Kyrie and KD led Brooklyn Nets have cracked the code.

"The Hockey Assist: A Basketball Podcast" is a show designed to have conversations that give basketball fans deeper perspective on the game by connecting what's happening on the court to the sport at large.In the first episode of The Hockey Assist, co-hosts Nolan Cope and Riley Gaucher preview the 2020-2021 NBA season by going through their lists of "contenders" and "pretenders" in search of the teams that have the best chances of winning the title this year. Can Luka Dončić carry the Mavs to a title? Can the Heat replicate last year's recipe for success? Are the Nets for real? Tune in for all these questions answered and more! Episode recorded on Monday, 12/21