Early look at episode 7 and one of the more overlooked players of the 3-point era. I think the '92 and '93 are fairly close, although there's a little extra scoring polish and passing in these seasons that brings them to the top.
Reminder: If you have access to this post, you are invited to vote in the Patreon Top-10 peaks...
2020-12-28 14:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Early look at episode 6...Michael Jordan. Pretty clear 3-year peak to me during these 3 seasons (although '88 or '92 aren't exactly much of a drop-off on either side).
Reminder: If you have access to this post, you are invited to vote in the Patreon Top-10 peaks at the end of this series. Voting will take place after...
2020-12-21 13:30:59 +0000 UTC View PostWe discuss a little of the currently running Greatest Peaks series, hit on the pressures of winning now versus winning later, LeBron James's early years and also hit on the value of coaches...and whether there is *coaching* portability...
2020-12-14 17:18:14 +0000 UTC View Post
Early look at episode 5...Magic Johnson. I thought about 1986 here where his athleticism and defense were a little better, but landed on this late '80s period where his post aggression ramps up and his outside shooting adds polish.
Reminder: If you have access to this post, you are invited to vote in the Patreon Top-...
2020-12-14 13:30:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Early look at episode 4...Larry Bird. Could have just as easily titled this 1985-87, although his defense starting to slip in 1987 gave me some pause.
Reminder: If you have access to this post, you are invited to vote in the Patreon Top-10 peaks at the end of this series. Voting will take place after the final player...
2020-12-07 13:30:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe next Live Q&A for Deluxe ($7) subscribers in the Discord will take place on December 12. (Saturday at 6pm EST / 3pm PST.)
If you can't make it, send me a question via Patreon messages and we'll answer it during the recording or next time. Looking forward to talking to you all there and hopefully meeting some new members!
Step...
2020-12-02 20:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Early look at episode 3...Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. I'm open to his true peak starting in 1976 or even 1974, although the cutoff made it easy to start in 1977 where there's more footage of him in LA.
Reminder: If you have access to this post, you are invited to vote in the Patreon Top-10 peaks at the end of this series. V...
2020-11-30 13:01:03 +0000 UTC View PostThe 2nd episode is now unlocked for Insiders ($4 tier). I've set it up so that you (should!) receive an alert when it is unlocked. Please confirm below that you received an alert (at least one person from that tier).
If you are in the $4 tier and you received an alert for this post but NOT one saying Peaks Ep. 2 is n...
2020-11-27 20:07:35 +0000 UTC View Post
Early look at episode 2...A deep dive on a healthy Bill Walton in Portland. This was probably the hardest video in the series to find footage for, both because of era and because Portland was only relevant for these two seasons.
Reminder: If you have access to this post, you are invited to vote in the Patreon Top-10 peaks ...
2020-11-23 13:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe Greatest Peaks series prelude is now unlocked for Insiders -- enjoy!
2020-11-20 20:00:44 +0000 UTC View Post
Early look at the first episode of the Greatest Peaks series! This episode is a prelude to the series, providing background, philosophy and criteria through the lens of the Wilt vs. Russell debate, and summarizes the statistical argument for Russell over Chamberlain. All following episodes until the series finale will be player profiles. 2020-11-16 13:01:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Based on research from this week's video on the history of shooting, I stacked up the greatest free throws in league history: https://backpicks.com/2020/10/28/the-goat-free-throw-shooters-shooting-video-data/
2020-10-28 16:12:45 +0000 UTC View PostHey everyone -- Happy offseason! Thanks for all your support this year during a wild and unstable ride. A few updates as we head into a very strange offseason (in November?):
Top 40
First, many of you have asked about updating the Top 40. My intention is to do this after every season, however I'm not sure I'll actually get around to ...
2020-10-22 00:06:14 +0000 UTC View Post
Early release of next week's video taking a look at LeBron James in the last 3 games of the 2016 NBA Finals.
2020-10-14 17:14:52 +0000 UTC View PostWe recorded before Game 6 of the Finals, so we start with some Heat-Lakers, move onto to the battle of the Magic and Wizards, Russell-Hakeem-Garnett today, and many many more topics...
2020-10-12 21:41:50 +0000 UTC View PostAs I've mentioned on the prior podcasts/videos, today is our final Live Q&A of the season for Deluxe ($7) subscribers in the Discord. (Saturday at 6pm EST / 3pm PST.)
If you can't make me, send me a question via Patreon messages and we'll answer it during the recording or next time. Looking forward to talking to you all there and...
2020-10-10 18:34:44 +0000 UTC View PostI unveil a new framework for describing players to Seth! We also discuss Jonathan Isaac and what Kevin Durant might look like when he returns.
2020-10-09 23:51:36 +0000 UTC View Post
My retrospective on the incredible Eastern Conference semifinal coaching matchup between the Celtics and Raptors. It's a few days late, but hopefully worthwhile.
2020-09-16 13:50:05 +0000 UTC View PostHave you ever wondered what would happen if every basketball player stayed in his prime forever? We went there on this Q&A, along with discussion about the Clippers, the remaining East vs. West divide, some historical volume scorers (Wilkins, Gervin, Erving, Dantley) and more.
Also there was a question about how often I'm right w...
2020-09-13 00:30:15 +0000 UTC View Post
A quick look at the Lakers defensive principles that have led to such suffocating defense at times in this series. Some high-level thoughts:
There's only one game scheduled for Saturday, so we're slotting in a playoff Q&A for Deluxe ($7) subscribers on the Discord this Saturday at 6pm EST / 3pm PST.
If you can't make me, send me a question via Patreon messages and we'll answer it during the recording. Looking forward to talking to you all there and hopefully mee...
2020-09-10 23:26:21 +0000 UTC View Post
Some additional thoughts on Tatum's progress moving forward:
In my first video on him (almost 2 years ago!) I said that a ceiling for Tatum was looking "like Paul Pierce." I still think that's a plenty reasonable projection, but there's an extra gear that this pullup 3-pt shooting could potentially unlock in today's game.
What ...
2020-09-09 21:22:02 +0000 UTC View PostHi everyone -- I'm not entirely decided on how to handle the bubble as it pertains to my annual player valuations. I see two distinct philosophies here that I've added in the poll (feel free to comment below as well).
1. "Count the bubble" -- For the 2020 season, the bubble counts, which means any drop offs, injuries...
2020-09-07 18:31:44 +0000 UTC View Post
Commentary on the final 7 minutes of the Rockets offensive approach and the Thunder's defense versus Houston and James Harden down the stretch of Game 6.
2020-09-01 23:44:09 +0000 UTC View Post
The Director's Cut version of my latest video on some surprising takeaways from the Rockets super small ball experiment.
2020-08-31 23:00:35 +0000 UTC View PostMany of you have asked about Steve's dad, the legend Steve "The Snapper" Jones, so Steve discusses a few stories about him and getting lost in old YouTube games. That leads to some historical discussion comparing the game then and now...
2020-07-30 21:43:22 +0000 UTC View PostThanks to all those who participated. Some really interesting questions on elite perimeter defender value, defensive influence over time, optimizing offenses without "Moreyball," and much more.
2020-07-26 00:34:10 +0000 UTC View Post
Here's an early release (and slightly extended version) of this week's video comparing the Los Angeles superstars on defense in 2020.
2020-07-25 17:01:00 +0000 UTC View PostIf you're a Deluxe ($7) subscriber, our next Q&A will be July 25 at 6pm EST / 3pm PST. If you can't make me, send me a question via Patreon messages and we'll answer it during the recording. Looking forward to talking to you all there and hopefully meeting some new members!
Steps to join the Discord are below.
Below are the...
2020-07-16 23:55:07 +0000 UTC View Post
Early release of this week's video: Defensive profile of Boston's Marcus Smart.
2020-07-12 17:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post