Game Theory

Sam is joined by James L. Edwards III to give out some weekly awards, before examining the New York Knicks' title defense season. (00:00) Intro (07:10) Thunder trade for Nique Clifford (14:55) Team of the Week (31:15) Player of the Week (42:05) Favorite Performance of the Week (51:50) Knicks Check-in _ _ _ _ _ GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1-800-GAMBLER or 1-800-MY-RESET, 800-327-5050/visit gamblinghelplinema.org (MA). Call 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org (CT), mdgamblinghelp.org (MD), 800-981-0023 (PR). Wagering offered by DK Sportsbook: 21+. Present in most states. (18+ DC/NH/PR/WY). Void in CAN. On behalf of Boot Hill Casino (KS). Pass-thru of per wager tax may apply in IL. Event Trading offered by DraftKings Predictions, CFTC-registered: 18+. Trading involves risk of loss. Market availability varies. General: 1 per new DraftKings customer. Trade $5 get $200 Prediction Dollars (1-year expiry); or bet $5 get $200 in Bonus Bets (7-day expiry and stake removed from payout). Rewards issued in $50 increments every 7 days via click-to-claim for 21 days. Click-to-claims expire 7 days after issuance. Rewards are non-withdrawable. 7 days = 168hrs. Terms: dkng.co/offer. Get 1 promo code to redeem a 3-month NBA League Pass subscription, complimentary of DraftKings. Subscription auto-renews monthly at then-current price (currently $16.99/mo); cancel anytime. Terms, restrictions, and eligibility requirements apply. Redeem League Pass by 12/19/26 at 11:59 PM ET. Addt’l terms: support.watch.nba.com/hc/en-us/articles/9165532876183-League-Pass-Terms-of-Use_. Predictions offer void in NY.Ends 11/29/26 at 11:59 PM ET. Sponsored by DK. _ _ _ _ _

Sam is live right after Thursday's NBA slate reacting to Magic-Suns and Heat-Warriors before, examining the Hornets messy 3-6 start to the season, Hawks-Wizards, Victor Wembanyama's absurd performance vs. the Mavericks, and more, before listening to some listener voicemails. (00:00) Intro (03:45) Warriors Beat Heat 120-100 (19:45) Suns beat Magic 117-104 (26:35) Victor Wembanyama's Week of MVP Salvos (35:40) Charlotte Hornets Messy Start and Revisiting the LaMelo Trade (56:25) Would the Thunder Trade Jalen Williams? (1:00:00) Favorite Two Way Contracts League Wide (1:06:05) Outro _ _ _ _ _ GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1-800-GAMBLER or 1-800-MY-RESET, 800-327-5050/visit gamblinghelplinema.org (MA). Call 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org (CT), mdgamblinghelp.org (MD), 800-981-0023 (PR). Wagering offered by DK Sportsbook: 21+. Present in most states. (18+ DC/NH/PR/WY). Void in CAN. On behalf of Boot Hill Casino (KS). Pass-thru of per wager tax may apply in IL. Event Trading offered by DraftKings Predictions, CFTC-registered: 18+. Trading involves risk of loss. Market availability varies. General: 1 per new DraftKings customer. Trade $5 get $200 Prediction Dollars (1-year expiry); or bet $5 get $200 in Bonus Bets (7-day expiry and stake removed from payout). Rewards issued in $50 increments every 7 days via click-to-claim for 21 days. Click-to-claims expire 7 days after issuance. Rewards are non-withdrawable. 7 days = 168hrs. Terms: dkng.co/offer. Get 1 promo code to redeem a 3-month NBA League Pass subscription, complimentary of DraftKings. Subscription auto-renews monthly at then-current price (currently $16.99/mo); cancel anytime. Terms, restrictions, and eligibility requirements apply. Redeem League Pass by 12/19/26 at 11:59 PM ET. Addt’l terms: support.watch.nba.com/hc/en-us/articles/9165532876183-League-Pass-Terms-of-Use_. Predictions offer void in NY.Ends 11/29/26 at 11:59 PM ET. Sponsored by DK. _ _ _ _ _

Sam is joined by Jovan Buha to run through a bunch of teams' offensive/defensive starts to the season and wonder whether it's real or fake. Then they check in on the Lakers, Luka Doncic's MVP chances, what the Lakers must do to genuinely compete in the West, and more. (00:00) Intro (06:10) Rockets offense (11:05) Warriors offense (16:05) Knicks offense (18:50) Nuggets offense (23:35) Thunder offense (29:10) 76ers defense (33:15) Wizards defense (38:15) Grizzlies defense (42:25) Heat defense (46:50) Suns defense (51:05) Lakers check-in (1:25:10) Potential Lakers trades _ _ _ _ _ GAMBLING PROBLEM? CALL 1-800-GAMBLER or 1-800-MY-RESET, 800-327-5050/visit gamblinghelplinema.org (MA). Call 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org (CT), mdgamblinghelp.org (MD), 800-981-0023 (PR). Wagering offered by DK Sportsbook: 21+. Present in most states. (18+ DC/NH/PR/WY). Void in CAN. On behalf of Boot Hill Casino (KS). Pass-thru of per wager tax may apply in IL. Event Trading offered by DraftKings Predictions, CFTC-registered: 18+. Trading involves risk of loss. Market availability varies. General: 1 per new DraftKings customer. Trade $5 get $200 Prediction Dollars (1-year expiry); or bet $5 get $200 in Bonus Bets (7-day expiry and stake removed from payout). Rewards issued in $50 increments every 7 days via click-to-claim for 21 days. Click-to-claims expire 7 days after issuance. Rewards are non-withdrawable. 7 days = 168hrs. Terms: dkng.co/offer. Get 1 promo code to redeem a 3-month NBA League Pass subscription, complimentary of DraftKings. Subscription auto-renews monthly at then-current price (currently $16.99/mo); cancel anytime. Terms, restrictions, and eligibility requirements apply. Redeem League Pass by 12/19/26 at 11:59 PM ET. Addt’l terms: support.watch.nba.com/hc/en-us/articles/9165532876183-League-Pass-Terms-of-Use_. Predictions offer void in NY.Ends 11/29/26 at 11:59 PM ET. Sponsored by DK. _ _ _ _ _

Sam is joined by The Athletic's Andrew Schlecht to run through some weekly NBA awards including Team of the Week, Player of the Week, and Favorite Performance of the Week, before trying to figure out how the Thunder can whether the injury storm that just intensified with Chet Holmgren expected to miss 8-10 weeks. (00:00) Intro (05:00) Team of the Week (23:25) Player of the Week (29:50) Favorite Performance of the Week (40:20) The Thunder’s Path Forward

Sam is joined by The Athletic Daily’s Dave DuFour for an early rookie check-in on Dybantsa (00:00), Peterson (18:51), Boozer (28:22), and Wilson (35:34). Plus, they discuss the Mavs as the most fun team in the NBA right now (47:43), the Jaylen Brown-Jayson Tatum Celtics drama (1:06:39), Tyrese Haliburton’s latest injury (1:19:28), and what the Pelicans are doing with Herb Jones (1:27:17).

Sam is live after Tuesday's NBA slate to react to games, as well as a slew of early-season injuries including Anthony Edwards, Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace, Jalen Suggs, and Jaren Jackson Jr. (00:00) Intro (04:20) Trail Blazers Beat Lakers (14:20) Pistons Beat Knicks (22:10) Injuries Ravage NBA (30:50) Anthony Edwards out for possibly two months? (36:05) Jaren Jackson Jr out for up to two months (40:10) Oklahoma City might be without Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace for the year; do they make a trade? (52:20) Voicemails! (52:50) Cooper Flagg, How Many Players Would you take to start a franchise over him? (1:01:40) What is Ron Holland's trade value? (1:06:20) Nets, is there anything to be excited about this season? (1:11:55) What is the Hawks ceiling with Onyeka Okongwu? (1:19:20) Outro

After Sunday's NBA action Sam is joined by Tyler Britton to look back on the first week of the NBA season and hand out some awards including, "Best Player Performance of the Week", "Most Surprising Team", "Most Concerning Team", and more. They also talk a bit about the injuries to Jalen Suggs and Jalen Williams that looked pretty bad on Sunday night.  (00:00) Intro (02:00) Jalen Williams and Jalen Suggs injured; What does Oklahoma City do now? (10:00) Houston Rockets, Team of the Week (18:05) Minnesota Timberwolves, Team of the Week (28:00) Paul George Best Performance of the Week (29:55) Luka Doncic Best Performance of the Week plus Lakers Talk (40:55) Ty Jerome, Favorite Performance of the Week (46:35) Amen Thompson, Favorite Performance of the Week (52:20) Philadelphia 76ers, Most Surprising Team of the Week (57:10) Detroit Pistons, Most Surprising Team of the Week (1:05:20) New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns, Most Disappointing Team (1:10:20) Miami Heat, Most Disappointing Team (1:29:39) Phoenix Suns, Most Concerned (1:30:20) Golden State Warriors Most Concerning Team (1:45:50) Outro and where to find Tyler Britton!

Sam is LIVE directly after Nuggets-Thunder to discuss SGA vs. Jokic, 76ers-Cavaliers, and the best parts of Day 2 of the NBA season! (00:00) Intro (03:00) Thunder Beat Nuggets, Thoughts on OKC's Defense, Denver's Offense (23:55) 76ers Beat Cavaliers in Massive Comeback, Plus Philadelphia Offense Thoughts (42:40) Lakers Destroy Warriors with Luka vs. Yaxel Lendeborg taking Center Stage (56:50) Grizzlies Dominate Jazz Behind Ty Jerome's 45 (1:09:30) Timberwolves Dominate Heat Behind Anthony Edwards' 45 points (1:20:10) Trail Blazers Blow Away Suns, Listener Voicemails Start! (1:29:02) Voicemail on Who Will Be the Best NBA Coach Among Current Players? (1:37:09) Outro

Sam is joined by Ryen Russillo to recap to NBA Opening Night! They react to Celtics-Pistons, 76ers-Knicks, and Thunder Spurs. (00:00) Intro (03:15) Thunder beat Spurs on Opening Night (17:20) 76ers beat Knicks after Ring Ceremony (35:40) Celtics blow big lead vs Pistons (54:25) Why calling winning the possession battle is not some new idea in basketball (1:03:55) Brandon Miller, Jaden McDaniels, Cason Wallace Extensions (1:10:10) Is it a good idea to bet on shooting-only prospects in the NBA Draft? (1:22:40) Outro

Sam and Terrence Ogelsby discuss the Top 10 NBA offenses and defenses including the Thunder, Spurs, Wolves, Celtics, Heat and plenty others. Then, we take a look at the 2026-27 college basketball season and NBA Draft from a watchability perspective. What teams and players do NBA fans need to know? (00:00) Intro (08:00) Top 10 NBA offense predictions (25:00) Top 10 NBA defense predictions (36:30) NBA draft watchability index (1:19:45) Bryce Simon joins