2011-12 Linsanity and the Heatles Part 5
We break down our four featured teams--the Heat, Thunder, Clippers, and Bobcats--and reveal a surprising metric that can lead teams to NBA championships.
Aug 12, 2025•32 min
NBA Retrospective
Statistics tutor Josh Lowe breaks down the greatest NBA seasons from the Last Dance Bulls to LeBron and the block, all with an eye toward accessible analytics.
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Episodes
2011-12 Linsanity and the Heatles Part 4
We look at Four Factors performance for the 2011-12 NBA season including some surprising results from playoff teams.
Jul 17, 2025•30 min
2011-12 Linsanity and the Heatles Part 3
We break down four teams in terms of Elo progression, and note surprising parallels between the 2012 and 2025 Oklahoma City Thunder, our most recent NBA Champions.
Jun 27, 2025•29 min
2011-12 Linsanity and the Heatles Part 2
We discuss the 2011-12 playoffs. We note a major underachievement, a major overachievement, and talk about two "new classic" teams who reached the finals.
Jun 17, 2025•17 min
2011-12 Linsanity and the Heatles Part 1
We introduce the 2011-12 NBA season, noting several key parallels with current league events. We also look at Elo projections for regular season performance and compare with reality.
Jun 04, 2025•43 min
Days of Our Lakers Part 3
The long-awaited conclusion to our coverage of the 2004 Lakers season. We go behind the scenes of the Western conference finals against the Timberwolves and the NBA Finals against the Pistons. We also compare defensive metrics for the Lakers and Pistons based on a game plan from Phil Jackson.
May 13, 2025•45 min
Days of Our Lakers Part 2
Time to talk about the Lakers in the 2004 PLAYOFFS! Plus, inside Shaq's free throw trouble and a potential fix with whom the team parted ways.
May 01, 2025•27 min
Tanking Tendency
We discuss the NBA's worst-kept secret--teams tanking for top draft picks-- and what the league can do about it.
Apr 01, 2025•26 min
Days of Our Lakers Part 1
We chronicle the soap opera-like drama--and relate it to the data--of the 2003-04 Lakers regular season. This was the NBA's first "superteam" that I can remember. Also, if statistics are not your cup of Mountain Dew, this episode is for you.
Mar 25, 2025•46 min
2004 Lakers Soap Opera, Linsanity
We are taking a break due to statistics tutoring business, but we still have the 2004 Lakers episode coming up, which resembles a soap opera. We also have Linsanity ahead. Stay tuned!
Mar 11, 2025•3 min
2003-04 Wild Wild West Part 6
We break down six teams in Elo and Four Factors projections and show why defense wins championships.
Feb 24, 2025•33 min
2003-04 Wild Wild West Part 5
We discuss the Four Factors model as it applies to the 2004 season. We also compare it to the previous Elo model. Finally, we talk about the state of the NBA All Star Game.
Feb 15, 2025•25 min
2003-04 Wild Wild West Part 4
We break down six teams in terms of Elo achievement. We also briefly discuss the groundbreaking trade that went down in the current NBA.
Feb 06, 2025•22 min
2003-04 Wild Wild West Part 3
Finally talking about PLAYOFFS! We had some epic Western conference clashes; especially Lakers-Spurs in second round. Also an epic matchup in the Eastern Conference Finals that unfortunately invokes a painful memory for the NBA.
Jan 30, 2025•23 min
2003-04 Wild Wild West Part 2
We continue to explore the dichotomy between the East and that Wild Wild West. Specifically, we look at the Atlantic Division in the East and Pacific in the West. We discuss an absurdly high number of overachievers, underachievers, and accurate achievers for the season. Your host then leaves to tutor statistics before he can talk about PLAYOFFS! You'll hear about those in the next episode.
Jan 22, 2025•24 min
2003-04 Wild Wild West Part 1
We discuss the 2003-04 Lakers team who went for it all and missed this season. We also talk about some major overachievements in Elo projection and an extremely elite Western conference.
Jan 14, 2025•31 min
Spirit of '76: 2001 Style Part 3
We break down the 76ers season using Elo and Four Factors metrics. Does it matter that AI and Brown didn't get along? Did the 76ers make the right decision to trade Ratliff for Mutombo? We break that down too.
Jan 07, 2025•39 min
Spirit of '76: 2001 Style Part 2
We continue to chronicle the 2001 76ers season from the big Dikembe Mutombo trade to the historic Game 1 Finals win over the Lakers. You'll hear player reactions from Theo Ratliff, Allen Iverson, Shaq, and others.
Dec 31, 2024•39 min
Spirit of '76: 2001 Style Part 1
We discuss the 2001 Philadelphia 76ers, particularly the relationship between Allen Iverson and Larry Brown, the massive trade that never was, and one of the greatest NBA All Star Games of all time.
Dec 24, 2024•35 min
We are BACK 2000-01 NBA Season Part 4
We discuss Four Factors metrics for the 2001 Lakers, Clippers, and Wizards and explain how they achieved the records they did. We also offer concluding remarks on the season.
Dec 17, 2024•28 min
We are BACK 2000-01 NBA Season Part 3
We discuss the Four Factors metrics for the 2001 NBA season and some notable discrepancies from Elo. Take care of the basketball!
Dec 10, 2024•29 min
We are BACK 2000-01 NBA Season Part 2
Talking about PLAYOFFS?! We're definitely doing it. Plus some unusual regular season results and a surprise overachieving team. Hint: the team is in California, but it's not the California team you're thinking.
Dec 03, 2024•23 min
We are BACK 2000-01 NBA Season Part 1
We break down the actual and Elo simulated playoff seedings for the 2001 NBA season. Simulation was surprisingly accurate. We also note extremely strong correlation in the Atlantic Division between simulated and actual performance.
Nov 26, 2024•26 min
RIP Dikembe Mutombo
We acknowledge the basketball and analytics contributions of Dikembe Mutombo and regrettably announce his passing. RIP, Dikembe.
Sep 30, 2024•2 min
Nothing Gold Can Stay
Thank you to all who listened to this podcast. Join me for this episode as we chronicle NBA Retrospective's genesis, its peaks, and ultimately, its conclusion.
Aug 30, 2024•7 min
2007-08 Anything is Possible Part 4
We discuss Four Factors performances by the Celtics, Lakers, Suns, and Heat and discuss the question of when to fire first year head coaches given success of Heat's Eric Spoelstra.
Aug 15, 2024•32 min•Season 7Ep. 4
2007-08 Anything is Possible Part 3
We discuss the Four Factors model for the 2007-08 season, the surprising number of significant predictors, and the future of NBA Retrospective.
Jul 22, 2024•30 min
2007-08 Anything is Possible Part 2
We discuss the 2007-08 playoffs and assess how teams fared compared with their Elo simulation. We also provide deeper statistical analysis for the Celtics, Lakers, Suns, and Heat. Finally, we note some interesting parallels between the 2007-08 season and the 2023-24 season.
Jun 20, 2024•30 min•Season 7Ep. 2
2007-08 Anything is Possible Part 1
We simulate the 2007-08 season using Elo and report on the strength of the simulation and anomalous teams. We also discuss a blockbuster trade and striking conference disparity.
May 27, 2024•46 min•Season 7Ep. 1
Western Conference War: 2018 Rockets vs. Warriors Part 2
We compare the 2018 Rockets and Warriors using the Four Factors model and reveal how the Warriors got it done.
May 07, 2024•24 min
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