Chucking Darts NBA Podcast

For Chucking Darts' special 200th episode, Swish Theory editor-in-chief Matt Powers states his case on Zach Edey as the best player in the 2024 draft. In-depth scouting, philosophy, and projection talk on Edey, Uconn's Donovan Clingan, and one of the draft's most underrated players, San Francisco's Jonathan Mogbo. 3:30 Zach Edey's as Draft Outlier 13:10 Building NBA Offense Around Edey 18:45 Edey's Offense vs NBA Bigs 24:35 Edey's NBA Defense 34:30 Edey vs 5-out Offenses 45:00 Edey's NBA Comps 49:45 Final Edey Pitches 1:01:35 Donovan Clingan 1:33:20 Jonathon Mogbo Enjoy!

The country's finest ACC analyst, 247 contributor, and NC State Wolfpack alum Brian Geisinger returns to provide in depth scouting reports on NC State-Purdue and UConn-Alabama. Can State pull the upset? (I think they can.) How the aesthetic difference between DJ Burns and Zach Edey may give them a puncher's chance. Plus, some draft thoughts regarding Zach Edey, Donovan Clingan, Stephon Castle, and Alex Karaban. 0:00 Intro + NC State-Purdue 54:10 Uconn-Alabama 1:06:05 Stephon Castle Scouting 1:16:50 Alex Karaban Scouting 1:22:45 Tristen Newton Scouting + Wrap Enjoy!

Acclaimed and accomplished ACC expert Brian Geisinger returns to analyze, in more depth than you will find anywhere, the 4 Sweet 16 matchups featuring ACC teams - Duke-Houston, UNC-Alabama, Clemson-Arizona, and NC State Marquette. Plus, draft talk on the darts therein. Enjoy! 6:00 Duke-Houston 47:00 UNC-Alabama 1:09:00 NC State-Marquette 1:30:00 Clemson-Arizona

Merry Marchness! I do a quick sprint through my bracket after giving an update on the three NBA-relevant Colorado Buffs at the start of the ep (Cody Williams, KJ SImpson, Tristan Da Silva). Enjoy!

Esfandiar Baraheni returns to discuss his article in Forbes calling for the NBA to debut five man teams for the Most Improved Player award. Then, he runs down his MIP winner, honorable mentions, and three five man units for 2024. We dive into the philosophy and importance of improvement, how the draft can predict it, which improvements matter the most, and what they say about where the league is going. Enjoy! 0:00 Intro + MIP Race and Maxey 14:40 First Team with Coby, Jalen Johnson, Sengun, Kuminga, JDub 40:00 Second Team with Herb Jones, Derrick White, Suggs, Deni, Sexton 53:40 Third Team with RJ Barrett, Vince Williams Jr., Nesmith, Strus, Watson

Maxwell Baumbach, host of the Draft Sickos podcast and prolific writer for No Ceilings (Prospect Overview, No Stone Unturned) stops by to discuss SEC player of the year and likely lottery pick Dalton Knecht. Dalton is a clear NBA wing, but how will his game scale to winning? Which sorts of NBA wings and contexts are instructive to his skillset? What is trickier about finding a role on a contender, and how big would his role be? What other wings in the class might be better bets to eventually help great teams? Maxwell covers it all, and sells me on why Dalton is sniffing the top 10 on his board. 0:00 Intro + Knecht scouting report 22:20 Knecht's NBA role 26:00 Knecht + "tools wings" on D 41:10 Knecht's NBA shot diet 47:15 Knecht vs Great shooters 52:00 Bad (and Good) Team Fits 1:02:00 Knecht on Contenders 1:12:00 Other 2024 wings + Wrap Enjoy!

Trill returns for a marathon on NBA contenders in the wake of the trade deadline. Who improved their chances, who did right and wrong by standing pat, and what teams can overcome their perceived "fatal flaw" come playoff time. 4:20 Mavericks as a true contender 11:15 Clippers Playoff Qs 18:00 West Favorite? 28:20 Warriors Trade Silence 36:00 Lakers Offensive Potential 50:00 Pelicans Trade Silence 58:00 Thunder Playoff Qs 1:09:30 The Bucks under...Doc 1:14:30 Celts by Default 1:17:00 Cavaliers' Rise 1:29:00 The Lurking Heat 1:32:00 Sixers with Buddy Hield 1:41:00 Maxey as Playoff Superstar 1:52:30 Sixers 2024 Draft + Wrap Enjoy!

A quick solo recap of four most consequential trades of a Trade Deadline that contained plenty of insight. Knicks Sixers/Celtics Thunder Mavs Enjoy!

Swish Theory contributor Charlie Cummings (Klaytheist11) discusses the explosion of Jonathan Kuminga in the Warriors' offense, how his herky jerky development path led here, and the team's new imperative now that he has arrived. Then, we contrast Kuminga with Aaron Nesmith, a wing who has solidified his role and returned lottery value in a much different way, and how much more development he may have ahead of him in Indiana. Intro 0:00 Jon Kuminga's Scoring Explosion 2:40 How Kuminga Changes the Warriors 9:30 Kuminga's Future and Ceiling 30:15 Aaron Nesmith's Rise in Indiana 57:00 Nesmith's Defense 1:05:20 Another Nesmith Leap? 1:11:10 Other Late Breaking Wings 1:23:30 Enjoy!

Credentialed New Orleans Pelicans reporter and author of the In the No Substack (see below), Shamit Dua returns to revisit the maturing New Orleans Pelicans, the NBA's most dominant team over the last several weeks. 2:00 Pelicans' new and elegant offense 15:30 Zion embracing a "0.5" star theory 26:00 Rotation Experimentation During Streak 30:30 Trade Target Jarrett Allen? 43:20 Trade Target Wendell Carter Jr.? 47:00 Trade Target Onyeka Okongwu? 56:00 Pelicans Playoff matchups 1:03:50 Trey Murphy III stardom and imminent contract Enjoy! Shamit's recent piece on the Pels' trade deadline: http://intheno.substack.com

The Ringer's Kyle Mann joins to talk about his beloved Kentucky Wildcats, and the two guard prospects polarizing opinions in this year's draft: Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard. In depth scouting report on each player, how each subtly defies a given "archetype," how each stacks up in recent Kentucky lore, and what recent draft history and theory tells us on how high to take each of them. First half of episode is on Rob, second half is on Reed. Enjoy! For Kyle's most recent video on electric but iffy shooting NBA wings (Ausar Thompson, Anthony Black, more) see below: https://youtu.be/nCuydWtN1dU?si=2oiy-E70o6fRUTmC

Richard Stayman of Mavsdraft.com and Locked on NBA Big Board stops by to scout the "superconference," the Big XII. 28:30 Kevin McCullar and how to spot an "old" lotto pick 46:35 Ja'Kobe Walter and the narrow path for true shooting guards 53:40 Yves Missi 57:45 Emanuel Miller and the best of the rest

SDPN's Esfandiar Baraheni (twitter @JustEsBaraheni) stops by to unpack the Raptors-Knicks holiday blockbuster trade. 0:00 Opening Thoughts 9:50 OG Anunoby recent play on the Raptors 21:00 The "star value" question with OG 25:20 OG's fit in New York 39:30 IQ and RJ on the Raptors 50:40 The Pascal Siakam moves yet to come 57:20 Dreaming on IQ + Concluding Thoughts Enjoy!

A quick(-ish) rumination on the framework I am using to evaluate this year's prospects, and five in the NCAA that are severely underrated and why. Summer Article and Tier Framework 0:00 Devin Carter 11:30 PJ Hall 19:30 Hunter Sallis 26:00 Matthew Cleveland 32:15 Otega Oweh 35:20 For my article showing "average draft" tiers, click here https://chuckingdarts.substack.com/p/2023-dart-rank-the-nbas-100-most?r=l00xs&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

The voice of the Austin Spurs, Karl Schoening (@KSMedia13) joins to talk life in the G League, why the league is becoming a much more relevant developmental environment, and how the Austin Spurs are helping Dom Barlow and Sidy Cissoko get ready for showtime in San Antonio. Enjoy!

Pro Scout Zach Milner (@ZachMilner13, formerly The Stepien, Tag the Roll) joins to talk about the conference laden with 2024 first round bets, the Pac 12. Isaiah Collier and the challenge of "star guard" prospects Kobe Johnson and connectors scaling up Tristan Da Silva and the High-Feel Vet profile Cody Williams and in-season development Kylan Boswell and dreaming on an outlier and more. Enjoy!

Steph Noh (@StephNoh) of the Sporting News drops by to look at the fascinating ROY race and rookie seasons of Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama. We also celebrate the rest of the rookie class while Steph manages an existential crisis regarding the Chicago Bulls. Enjoy!

Brian makes his return to after our triumphant March Madness troika this past year to preview the ACC and its darts. Kyle Filipowski, Jared McCain, and Tyrese Proctor. Woog Poplar, Matthew Cleveland, and Norchad Omier. Bub Carrington and Zack Austin. Carey Booth. Ryan Dunn. And of course, Brian's muse Reece Beekman. Plus plenty more. Enjoy!

I go through a mailbag of early season NBA questions, plus give my impressions on Victor Wembanyama, Tyrese Haliburton, the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic, and more. Enjoy!

Matt Brooks, writer and digital content provider for the Denver Nuggets, joins to talk about basketball nirvana, the "fun" repeat adventure the Nuggets are about to undertake, and how development looks for their crucial younger darts, including Christian Braun, Peyton Watson, Julian Strawther, Hunter Tyson, Zeke Nnaji, and more. Enjoy!