Ep. 62 Learning Basketball with Yash Kumar! @mathketball1

Yash Kumar covers the NBA & WNBA; is a Video & Analytics Coordinator for the Cal Poly Men’s Basketball team; and cohosts the Beyond the Arc pod.

Today we learn about Yash’s journey in basketball, how OKC contained Jokic to win GM 7 vs Nuggets, how the Cavs Wheel relocation concept created space for their scorers this season, how the Pacers defensive gameplan and offensive attack beat Cleveland, and a preview with predictions of the NBA Conference Finals in the East (Pacers-Knicks) and West (Thunder-Timberwolves)

Timeline

00:00

Introduction & Background with Cal Poly Basketball

08:00

How Thunder won Game 7 over Nuggets

14:00

How Pacers made Cavs look human

17:00

Film Breakdown: How Cavs Create Space for Scorers

20:00

Film Breakdown: Pacers' Defensive Gameplan to stop Cavs

23:00

Film Breakdown: Ty Jerome's Struggles

46:00

Western Conference Finals Preview: OKC Thunder vs MIN Timberwolves

57:00

Eastern Conference Finals Preview: IND Pacers vs. NY Knicks

Ep. 61 Learning Basketball with Ryan Girardot! @rmgbuilds

Ryan Girardot is the CEO and Co-Founder of Cerebro Sports, a basketball scouting data company that is out to collect every box score on earth and put it in one place.

Today we learn about Ryan Girardot's journey to running a basketball data company, how he convinced Mark Cuban to invest, building analytic scouting tools to improve decision making, and the role of analytics in basketball scouting.

Timeline:
00:00

Introduction & Background: Ryan Girardot’s Journey to Cerebro

04:29

The Evolution of Player Data Tracking, Mark Cuban investing in Cerebro

09:02

Understanding C-RAM and 5MS - Cerebro’s Player Evaluation Metrics

13:13

Creating Player Archetypes through Cerebro with Data Visualizations

23:14

Running a Basketball Data Company: The Cerebro Team’s Dynamics

25:56

Analytics as a Tool for Decision Making

26:34

Predictive Modeling in Basketball

28:07

Communicating Data to Players

30:59

How Cerebro can assist Players, Skill Development Coaches, College Scouts, Front Office Evaluators

37:41

Breaking News: The Global Scoreboard Initiative and Future Possible Partnerships

41:04

The Role of Data in Scouting: a tool that tells you the odds that can create advtange and improve decision making in the front office, in the practice gym, and in the middle of the game right on the court

45:00

Advice for Aspiring Basketball Analysts + Ryan’s Cerebro Data Viz Portfolio

Ep. 60 Learning Basketball with Ahmed Jama! @SlipTheScreen

Ahmed covers the NBA Draft and does Grassroots Scouting with Swish Theory and Next Up basketball.

Today we learn about the 2025 NBA Draft lottery, as we bounce around the best matches of player and team when it comes to the player's longterm development chances of success

Timeline:
0:00 Introduction & Background
4:30 Insane NBA Playoffs, Nuggets-Thunder thoughts
13:30 2025 NBA Draft Lottery - Best Prospect/Team Fits

15:00 Cooper Flagg

22:00 Dylan Harper

27:00 Ace Bailey

35:00 VJ Edgecombe

40:00 Tre Johnson
47:00 Kon Knueppel

53:00 Khaman Maluach
59:00 Derek Queen

01:02:00 Asa Newell

01:15:00 How would Jeremiah Fears look on the Toronto Raptors? How about Kasparas Jakucionis on the Dallas Mavericks or the San Antonio Spurs? What if Jase Richardson joins the Washington Wizards?

01:21:50 Collin Murray-Boyles

01:29:00 Liam McNeeley

01:33:00 Noa Essengue & Danny Wolf

01:38:00 The Results: Draft Stock Risers Post-March Madness

01:45:00 Sleeper names you might hear called on Draft Night in and around the NBA Lottery