NBA All-Star Steph Curry is out for three months after breaking his hand, seriously hurting Golden State’s prospects this season. But could this unfortunate injury end up working in the Warriors’ favor? The Hot Takedown team breaks down the different strategies the Warriors might employ going forward, discusses whether tanking is ever advisable and examines how the strategy differs in the NBA from other major sports.
College basketball starts tonight, and we have new teams atop the preseason AP polls. On the women’s side, the No. 1 spot is occupied neither by historically dominant UConn nor defending champ Baylor, but by Oregon, led by Sabrina Ionescu. On the men’s side, Michigan State is the preseason No. 1 for the first time in school history. We discuss what to expect out of the Ducks and Spartans and what the preseason polls shows us about college basketball success.
In honor of a historic World Series upset, our Rabbit Hole celebrates “paper champions” — the data-designated true kings and queens of each season.
What we’re looking at this week:
- An argument from The Athletic that the Warriors should tank.
- Peculiar metaphors from Michigan State coach Tom Izzo.
- FiveThirtyEight’s The Complete History Of MLB, which helped Neil down his Rabbit Hole.