\**DISCLAIMER**\** SHITPOST/REPOST. THIS IS NOT FINANCIAL ADVISE. CHECK FLAIR.
SCVL: SHOE CARNIVAL
Price: $36.21Number of shares float: 9,100,000!!!Number of shares short: 4,990,000!!!% of shares short: 54.84 %!!!Days to cover: 19.9Latest earnings (EPS and REV BEAT): Nov 21, Q3 GAAP EPS of $0.94 beats by $0.05, Revenue of $274.65M (+2.0% Y/Y) beats by $1.45M.Guidance (RAISE): FY19 EPS from $2.77-$2.83 To $2.85-$2.89, sales $1.033B-$1.036B from $1.028B-1.033BFinancial health: NO debt, $33.7 million in cash, positive cash flowRepurchase program: ENABLED, $50 million total and $19.1 million remaining in buyback.Latest upgrade: Susquehanna PT raise from $37 to $47Market cap: $530MPE: 13.3Price range (52W): $21.47 - $41.84Dividend: YES (0.92%)
I just discovered this GEM of a stock a few days ago. It wasn't on my radar as it has very low volume which wouldn't trip on my scanner. The way I came about it was because I had to go shopping for shoes and a friend recommended Shoe Carnival to me. Now, I had heard of the company before but never really shopped there and didn't even know it was a public company. I ended up getting a pair of sneakers there for dirt cheap but that wasn't what interested me.
I went back home and was curious so I dug up some info on the company and realized it was traded. Being an non-autistic WSBer, I researched the shit out of it the last few days and come to the conclusion that this is a MONSTER squeeze candidate in the making. Just look at the numbers above.
With OVER 50% of the available shares shorted, and an extremely low float (only 9.1 million shares available), any major purchase of even a thousand shares is enough to move it like crazy. The bid-ask spread on this the last few days is usually 0.5% or more because of such low liquidity. This tells me that MM's and brokers won't be holding alot of this stock making gigantic moves more likely (ie. don't do market buys/sells!). The last few trading days, the volume that is SHORT is above 10% of the total volume which has been steady. This tells me that there is still a decent amount of short interest here (likely averaging UP) from existing shorts.
The earnings themselves beat AND raised. The after hours movement the stock touched $40 but the day after it dropped back down (many factors, $FL reported earnings the morning which disappointed so sympathetic drop, more shorts piling on averaging UP to play a rip-bounce reversal). The stock has seen a temporary rip generally in the mornings of 1-5% after the earnings only to reverse it all. It's been holding steady as I believe it looks to be accumulation. The company also has a buyback program with $19.1 million left on the books. If they were to buy it all back today, it will reduce the float even more (another 500K shares).
On their latest earnings conference call, they mention they are well-insulated from tariffs as the majority of their inventory comes from Viet Nam which means no Trump-China BS affecting them (other than weak bagholders causing price to drop on selling).
Shoes may not interest the common WSB. But given the numbers shown above, I can see this gapping slowly towards $50 in the next few weeks. This suggests a potential 30% gain in the next month on a relatively safe bet. Be warned though, that because of the low float, the daily movements in this stock may be stomach churning so my advice would be to buy it, forget it. Hell, even set up some buy limit orders that is 1-2% below the price and you may be surprised that you can pick it up on random stop loss picking dips.
I'm personally in this one at an average of 35.88 @ 3400 shares. I have firepower capital to buy another 4600 shares on dips. I will be holding and selling at $50 if it hits. I might sell 34 contracts of covered calls at either $40 or $45 for the Dec 20 monthly to protect myself a bit in case it has a random intraday dip, in which case I buy back the calls for a small discount. Usually, the intraday dip corrects itself quickly and I will probably sell the same number of calls again. Profiting on both dips and rips.
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Shoutout to u/cautiouslego for original post back November 28th, 2019 15:25:16 GMT
109 upvotes atm(will throw in his updates at the bottom for the full story, in the TLDR)
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If you want real numbers https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SCVL/key-statistics?p=SCVL I have no idea what im doing here i just started 2 weeks ago so i don't know any boomer shit. I just like short shorts. Is almost 1 billion revenue good with a market cap of 709 million good?? Ill try picking up 100, or whatever i can afford when i can buy. i don't know what options are and new things scare me.. just for shits n gigs, not about to do a DD i can bearly read.
I like shoos and im lazy.
38% still owned by insiders
9,377,282 owned by instatoes including mutual funds
8.68 million float
14.1 million outstanding shares
Only 1.96 million shorts, though. Half from the previous post.... assuming short numbers are accurate and they aren't being hidden through trickery and witchery!! could only see fail to delivers in December, somewhere in the 1000s and im a monkey trying to read so take that for what its worth(20201215|824889109|SCVL|4236|SHOE CARNIVAL INC (IN)|35.53). No GME.. and i refuse to sell those pretty shiny bags to make a play here.. i just really like gambling... the more money i can win the more bags i can collect! I can also expand my croc collection.
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Short Interest Ratio (Days To Cover)
12.7
Short Percent of Float
22.76 %
Short % Increase / Decrease
-12 %
Short Interest (Current Shares Short)
1,960,000
Shares Float
8,610,000 (Approx 7,035,000 million held by instatoes, 212 instatoes in total, blackrock owning the largest at 11.9%. So 1,561,070 to blackrock. why do i see their name every where i go now? also too lazy to find a list of all 212 toes. also do not know as far as institutions selling off.. 2,341,332 tied up in mutual funds. 9,376,332 in total)
Short Interest (Prior Shares Short)
2,230,000
% From 52-Wk High ($ 53.82)
-6.50%
% From 50-Day MA ($ 41.50)
21.24%
% From 200-Day MA ($ 32.84)
53.25%
% From 52-Wk Low ($ 12.56)
300.64%
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Looks like most are positioned under the 50$ mark. With a revenue of 962.74 mil divided by the circles radius around the surrounding outstanding shares multipled by 13.. then take some time to eat some pi.. and you get.. 68.27.. which if you follow the standard rule to always always round up when you measure.. is 69 inches.... -12.56(round down because the number looks bigger to -13) is 56 + 364 days in a year and you get... 420. so we know thats how much this stock is worth if it didnt keep getting smacked with ladders. i mean.. just read below about the volumes. I did not account for the rule of 11 though here.. in which case the value could be equal to the 24th character in this post. realistically the price point looks like it would need to be quite high in order to pressure what is probably the majority of shorts? although i wonder what those 52 week low at 12.56 are waiting for..
volumes on it have def spiked the last week, guessing its the big boys, but overall volumes are pretty low (say avg is around 90k. busy days the last month have been 200-400k.) whatever that means. maybe an actual autist can tell me how retarded i am.
Can someone tell me what not to do? I think i just bought 10 more shares of GME. I need an adult. I see shooting stars going upwards and a high man once told me to buy high.. and this stalk has never been higher since it came on the exchange back in 1993!!!
I'm in danger. Im a shoe addict. They go on feet.. beautiful feet. If i weren't so terrified of people i might go into a shoe store from time to time. aside, i do remember as a child trying on new^ shoes at the store and running around the isles.

Price: $50.32
Number of shares float: 8,680,000!!!
Number of shares short: 1,960,000!!!
% of shares short: 22.65%!!!
Days to cover: 12.7
Latest earnings (EPS and REV BEAT): ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ROCKET MAN
Financial health: 228.32M debt, $39.08 million in cash, positive cash flow??
Repurchase program: ~~ENABLED, $50 million total and $19.1 million remaining in buyback.~~ *(IM A NOOB JUST KILLING TIME WHILE I WATCH SNDL..1.5 billion shares...holy moly no bueno)
Latest upgrade: ~~Susquehanna PT raise from $37 to $47~~\*Market cap:\ $962.74MPE: 59.62 (not sure if this is right tbh)
Price range (52W): $12.56 - $53.82
Dividend: YES (0.84%)

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Shoe Carnival (SCVL) expects to report earnings for the quarter ending on Jan. 30, in the range of $0.50-$0.52 per share, which is higher than analysts' estimates of $0.32 per share. Furthermore, its 4Q EPS projection is more than double the earnings of $0.24 per share posted during the same quarter last year.
The company sees revenues of $253.9 million, compared to the consensus estimates of $242.8 million and the sales of $239.9 million generated during the same period a year-ago. The company forecasted comparable store sales growth of approximately 6.4% compared to 3.2% growth in the year-ago period.
Shoe Carnival’s CEO Cliff Sifford said, “We realized a comparable store sales increase in excess of six percent, drove an impressive bottom line through incredible margin growth, and continued our explosive e-commerce growth*.” (See Shoe Carnival stock analysis on TipRanks) ---https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/what-are-the-benefits-of-e-commerce-to-your-business
Following the results, Pivotal Research analyst raised the stock’s price target to $60 (18.2% upside potential) from $48 and maintained a Buy rating. In a note to investors, the analyst said, “We suspect that strong growth was led by athletic and boots, as the COVID-driven casual/comfort trend continues, and boots were likely also helped by favorable weather in December and January.”
Kummetz added, “We also remain bullish that SCVL’s momentum can continue, especially as another round of stimulus becomes more likely.”
The rest of the Street has a bullish outlook on the stock with a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 3 Buys and 1 Hold. The average analyst **price target of $47...4,206,996,024 implies downside potential of about ~~7.4~~ 0% to current levels. Shares jumped by about 38.3% over the past year.
****Price range (52W): $12.56 - $53*.82*******
PRETTY CHARTS
https://www.statista.com/statistics/976367/footwear-market-size-worldwide/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1038031/number-of-crocs-stores-worldwide-by-country/
EDIT:: added charts
https://ibb.co/Mh5krZK <-- Screenshot of SCVL Nov19-Dec19
https://ibb.co/PGJ7zXL <-- Screenshot of SCVL Oct19-Present
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UPDATE: Checked the insider transactions. Only 3 sells for all of 2019 for a total of $1 million USD. Checked the job postings, over 3800 positions meaning they can handle that many more employee expenses.
UPDATE 2 (11/29): I pretty much called that dip didn't I ;) And it pretty much corrected itself eh? Hope the non-autists listened to me and got in on that dip. Heck, you can even flip it for a nice 1-2% if you want.
UPDATE 3 (12/02): That dip and recovery. I'm like a prophet.
UPDATE 4 (12/02): FYI, I bought the dip the last 2 sessions. Average is now at 34.97 at 6000 shares. I have 2000 more shares of firepower left (I've also been flipping $35 covered calls on dips and recoveries to reduce my cost basis even more).
UPDATE 5 (12/03): So, that dip and recovery happened again right? You autists believe me now? Or you want to keep losing money on garbage plays?
UPDATE 6 (12/03): Markets down over 1%, SHOE FUCKING CARNIVAL GOES GREEN (from 33.87 low dip). Fucking called these daily dips and reversals. What else you autists want????
UPDATE 7 (12/03): OK, I just sold 40 $SCVL covered calls as a hedge for tomorrows morning dip. Will buy back those covered calls at a gain before it reverses again. My cost basis has now dropped down to 34.33 at 7000 shares.
UPDATE 8 (12/04): Damn, no dip today. It broke its dip and recovery streak so I wasn't able to get my last 1000 shares. I'm still holding my 7000 shares at 34.33 sitting on like $20K GAIN unrealized.
UPDATE 9 (12/05): Closed my covered calls for small gain and added my last 1000 shares at 36.28. Cost basis is now at 34.35 8000 shares. 16K unrealized gains.
UPDATE 10 (12/06): Still holding my 8000 shares. Nearly $27k unrealized gains now.
UPDATE 11 (12/06): As a test, I just tried to sell my 8000 shares at the ASK and the price dropped 20 cents. I cancelled my sell and the price slowly went back up. I think I hold enough shares in this thinly traded stock to actually manipulate the price and fuck around with the MM's ROFLMAO.
UPDATE 12 (12/09): Yep, another day, another $10K up unrealized gain. Just waiting for the autistic idiots here to believe me or keep losing money on turd shit like $CRWD, $BYND, $TSLA, $ROKU etc.
UPDATE 13 (12/13): No major updates the last few days as this has been range bound (and also some profit taking). Thesis still in play, more so now with the tariff Phase 1 deal complete.
UPDATE 14 (12/16): Nice little bump today. Consolidated the last week but still in play.
UPDATE 15 (12/17): Another little bump but still in consolidation. Will be range bound between high 36's and 38's for a few days before jumping to 40.
UPDATE 16 (12/18): Still rangebound, tiny bump up today.
UPDATE 17 (12/19): As expected, still rangebound.
UPDATE 18 (12/22): Still within range, will see a bounce to 38's this week again.
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TL;DR
Cool story, nice play u/caustiouslego u/cautiouslego<-- edit & formatting

I made a pretty comprehensive voting guide.

It's full of curse words to make it more palatable.
Google Doc Here
President Endorsement: Joe Biden As a nation, we cannot continue to plummet into a fascist regime. The most change happens locally, and so please pay attention to the less sexy details.
US Senate Louisiana Endorsement: Adrian Perkins Close your eyes and imagine a world where Mitch McConnell is not our majority leader. Feels good, right? Well, it is gonna be an uphill battle that starts with Adrian Perkins. To win this election over incumbent, Bill Cassidy, would be a multifaceted victory. Cassidy vehemently opposes climate change, medicare for all, abortion access, mail in ballots and continuing unemployment stimulus amidst Covid-19. Perkins has the exact opposite platforms. Perhaps, most importantly, he wants to overturn Citizens United. Holy shit. Now a girl can really dream. And finally, fun fact- if Perkins wins, he would be the first black senator to represent Louisiana since 1887.
US House Louisiana District 2 Endorsement: Colby James Oh, what a gerrymandering mess the second congressional district is. The Republicans that drew out this district really wanted to pack all the minorities together essentially guaranteeing there is only one Democratic seat up for grabs in the House of Representatives. Since all this gerrymandering has pretty much ensured the incumbent and Democratic darling Cedric Richmond the election, I feel comfortable indulging the third party voter locked deep in my heart for this election -not a game I’m willing to play with the rest of the ballot. We all know that Democrats and Republicans are two wings of the same bird that only serve the interest of the rich. That is why Colby James has caught my eye. James understands that you cannot truly fight corruption in government. He instead has a plan to work around the corruption to actually serve the people. The plan includes implementing new social aid programs, changing the federal tax code, and instituting a racial wealth divide audit. There I go dreaming again.
Associate Justice Supreme Court 7th District Endorsement: Sandra Cabrina Jenkins Whoever wins this election will be the only black female to sit at the Supreme Court bench amongst the six white men. While there are three very capable candidates to fill the seat of the esteemed Chief Justice Johnson, Sandra Cabrina Jenkins is my favorite option. Piper Griffin seemed to rely too much on stock answers in the debate and seldom actually had details or formulated a well-rounded plan. Terri Love is a very compelling candidate, especially as she talks about holding transparency in the courtroom. Love understands the importance of community education and engagement. She wants to utilize social media to inform the public about judicial issues. This community outreach plan even involves “School House Rock like videos” to explain the issues in more palatable ways. Although I would love to see more dancing legal bills, it was not enough to stray my attention from Jenkins. Jenkins speaks in depth about the need to collaborate with legislation in order to obtain the real changes we seek in the justice system. This is particularly important for getting more funding allocated to the courts so that the financial burden of fines and fees can be taken off defendants. Furthermore, Jenkins wants to be present during legislature hearings in order to educate the policy makers on the issues within the judiciary branch. This is how we see real progressive reform.Ultimately I believe Jenkins is the best candidate to fill this seat because Griffin and Love talked of compromise with the other conservative judges, while Jenkins promised to always maintain her position and write powerful dissents that could eventually pave out the future we all deserve. I want a Justice with the balls to stand up to six white men.
Orleans Parish District Attorney Endorsement: Jason Williams New Orleans has the highest incarceration and false conviction rate in the world. This alarming statistic is the fault of the District Attorney. Fuck crooked Leo Cannizzaro. We deserve better. One of the most important names on this ballot is Jason Williams. Something that reiterates throughout the debates is that he will not try a case that does not deserve to be on the desk of the prosecution. He says, ”just because we can win the case doesn’t mean we should try the case.” This means dropping menial cases that relate to mental health issues, drug addiction, nonviolent offenders, and unjust arrests through practices like stop and frisk.Williams goes on to denounce unjust arrests like incarcerating people for material witness – a practice of Leo’s that has been exclusively used against minorities. Furthermore, he is the only candidate who does not want to ever try juveniles as adults. He is also the only candidate to consistently condemn the death penalty. Arthur Hunter is not prepared. Keva Landrum is a vote for the status quo. Jason Williams is the candidate New Orleans deserves.
Judge Civil District Court Division E Endorsement: Omar Mason Omar Mason is the incumbent and the chair of a committee that oversees the Covid procedures in the civil court. He has been endorsed by Forum for Equality, Voters Organized to Educate, Independent Women’s Organization, and Alliance for Good Government. Diane Alexander’s campaign website offers no compelling information that renders her more deserving of the job.
Judge Civil District Court Division F Endorsement: Chris Bruno It ain’t often that an election for civil court gets juicy, but here we are. These two candidates found themselves in court over a heated fight regarding an attack ad. In this ad Jennifer Medley accused incumbent Chris Bruno of being a “deadbeat dad". Their day in court divulged into Bruno’s messy divorce, but did not produce enough evidence for Medley to be allowed to air the ad. But here is where things get good. Bruno’s defense was that Medley was carrying out revenge for fuckface Sidney Torres. Torres lost a case in Bruno’s courtroom last year, and has since been endorsing Medley. Torres called the ad “clear as day.” Anyone endorsed by a man who wants to put our entire city up for sale is not someone I want to vote for.
Judge Civil District Court Division G Endorsement: Schalyece Harrison A neighbor of mine worked in close proximity with Schalyece Harrison at City Hall and fucking loved her. She describes Harrison as always prepared, respectful and competent. Not things you see often in City Hall. As the Administrative Hearing Officer, Harrison currently oversees safety and permits, short term rental violations, historic districts, and code enforcement. Think of all this as bootcamp. If she can stay prepared, respectful and competent with all this one her plate, Harrison can definitely run a courtroom.
Judge Civil District Court Division I Endorsement: Elroy James Man, it is tempting to vote for Lori Jupiter solely because she was a research attorney for Chief Justice Johnson and so you know she has a sharp legal mind, but I would rather vote for a judge that emphasizes compassion. Jupiter has no promise on her campaign page to advocate for the disenfranchised. What she does have is an endorsement from the Sheriff and City Council, and so it is pretty clear that her candidacy is more of the same old status quo. Elroy Judge wants to “restore your faith in justice.” His campaign is centered around compassion and respect which is certainly something our courtrooms need more of.
Judge Civil District Court Domestic Section 1 Endorsement: Bernadette D’Souza Bernadette D’Souza is the president of the National Association of Women Judge. She presented on “Integrated Domestic Violence Courts” at the United Nations Convention. For fucksake, she was invited by Pope Francis to speak on “Equal Access to Justice: The Importance of Civil Legal Aid and Delivery of Justice to Eradicate Poverty” at the First Pan American Judges Summit. Her opponent LaKeisha Jefferson might be good, but not that good.
Judge Criminal District Court Section A Endorsement: Laurie White Dennis Moore is campaigning on “streamlining” and “modernizing” the courtroom. That was not enough to convince me that he is more qualified than the incumbent, Laurie White. White is a progressive judge who applies reasonable bonds, mental health care, and drug rehabilitation over just incarceration. In fact, she is in the midst of a three year, million dollar grant dedicated to drug treatment. While Moore might like to present himself as a more progressive candidate, there are obvious limitations to his plans. For instance, when asked about how he would uphold transparency of prosecutor case files, Moore said that he would allow the defense access to the prosecution's office. But what public defender has time to go to the prosecution's office? White puts the burden on prosecution to deliver this information. Moreover, White is much more realistic about repealing conviction fees. Moore wants to abolish these fees with no alternative plan on how to maintain the courts. White, while not opposing these fees, knows that the state legislature needs to allocate more money to the courts in order to alleviate this directly from the defendants who are often financially struggling. Essentially Moore is making false promises. Still, perhaps my favorite thing about White is that she has been a constant critic of crooked Leo Cannizzaro. Because, once again, fuck that guy.
Judge Criminal District Court Section D Endorsement: Graham Bosworth Since there was no debate for this seat, I am following the endorsement by Nola Defenders for Equal Justice. “Graham has been an advocate for a fair judiciary throughout his career, as a public defender, and a Pro Tem judge in criminal district court. Graham has the legal training to make a knowledgeable judge. He serves as a Chair of the LA Bar’s criminal Justice Committee, and previously served as the Co-Chair of the Subcommittee on Incarceration Reduction. Graham understands how it feels to appear in front of a judge. He vows to treat everyone in his courtroom with respect.”
Judge Criminal District Court Section E Endorsement: Derwyn Bunton Rhonda Goode-Douglas declined to partake in the debate, which gave me a full hour to listen to the soothing voice of Derwyn Bunton. The timbre of his voice aside, Bunton is an amazing candidate for judge. He refuses to accept the common mentality of a judge dismissing injustices in the courtroom as not their responsibility. New Orleans is both the incarceration and false conviction capital of the world. Bunton promises to withhold his signature from material witness arrests, fake subpoenas, illegal warrants, and hold prosecutors withholding evidence in contempt of court. These are all necessary measures to balance the scale currently tipped in the favor of prosecution to achieve true justice. Bunton has also promised to give five dollar bonds in nonviolent cases where the law mandates a bond. That’s freedom for the price of a footlong. So why did Goode-Douglas opt to skip this debate? Well there were still questions asked that were clearly meant for her. I guess she has a history of imposing conviction fees to punish those represented by a public defender.
Judge Criminal District Court Section G Endorsement: Nandi Campbell Nandi Campbell is a career-long criminal defense lawyer. She understands the racial and financial injustices that are prevalent in the courtroom. While some of her plans for reform might seem overly idealistic, I would much rather see her win this seat than her opponent Lionel Burns. Burns has some very dangerous preconceived notions about equity in the courtroom. Most upsettingly, he is of the opinion that defendants requesting public defenders are “taking advantage of the system.” Burns insists that fifty dollars is too nominal of a fee for this service. By ”service” does he mean constitutional right to legal counsel? Burns goes on to say that defendants always have money for bail, and then go on to request a public defender as if it were a hand-out. So this dude is saying that if someone falls into the predatory system of bail bonds for sake of their freedom, they should have the money for private defense. That’s some bullshit. Finally, Burn’s demeanor in the debate is unprofessional. He takes little jabs at Campbell and shakes his head while she speaks. This is not how I want a judge to behave. Please vote for an idealist over an asshole.
Judge Criminal District Court Section K Endorsement: Charles “Gary” Wainwright Yes, Wainwright's mustache might be unnerving, but he is the best candidate for this election. In his thirty years of experience in New Orleans courtrooms, he prides himself in being consistently liberal and tuned in to the intricacies of the system and its racial injustices. His plan to expedite the docket bogged down by Covid is to take all drug cases and “throw ‘em in the garbage.” In the middle of the debate, he holds up a handwritten sign that reads, “NO MORE DRUG WAR.” Meanwhile, the other candidates only provide vague information on plans, stock answers, and very much reflects the status quo of the system. It certainly also helps that Wainwright slams our crooked Leo Cannizzaro, and calls Trump “Criminal in Chief.” He sure is quotable.
Judge Criminal District Court Section L Endorsement: Angel Harris Since there was no debate for this seat, I am following the endorsement by Nola Defenders for Equal Justice. “As a public defender and a civil rights lawyer, Angel has watched those in power disregard people simply because they were given the label ‘criminal.’ As judge, Angel will give every person the opportunity to stand before a judge who is impartial and fair. Angel will work to stop criminalizing poverty through the use of money bail and exorbitant fines and fees. Angel will expand the use of alternatives to incarceration, promoting a system rooted in rehabilitation, not mass incarceration.”
Magistrate Section Criminal District Court Endorsement: Steve Singer Since there was no debate for this seat, I am following the endorsement by Nola Defenders for Equal Justice. “As a public defender and law professor, Steve has dedicated his career to the principle that money should not determine someone’s freedom. As judge, Steve will work to transform the Magistrate court from a system that processes people into incarceration to a court that works to serve our community. Steve will end money bail and incarceration first policies that criminalize poverty.”
Judge Juvenile Court Section A Endorsement: Clint Smith Clint Smith is campaigning on putting the child first. He speaks on “engaging the family as a whole, as well as professionals and community-focused organizations, to collaborate across systems and support our youth before, during and after sentencing occurs.” This is a hell of a lot more than any of the other candidates. Kevin Guillory and Geraldine Baloney do not even have campaign pages. When you look-up Marie Williams all you get is a controversy in which the former Judge of this court, Frank Marullo, and her got caught up in a bribe. So if campaign style is any indicator of the work ethic that these candidates will invest in this job, the only suitable candidate is Clint Smith.
Judge Juvenile Court Section F Endorsement: Tenee Felix Since there was no debate for this seat, I am following the endorsement by Nola Defenders for Equal Justice.”Tenne Felix is a brilliant, caring, competent professional. She thoroughly researches and litigates her cases and works tirelessly for her clients. Tenne is always prepared and organized for court. She forms strong relationships with the children she represents as well as with their families… she truly understands childhood development needs and obstacles.”
Judge Municipal and Traffic Court Section A Endorsement: Meghan Garvey Incumbent Paul Sens does not deserve to even be a judge of a fucking dancing competition. The Inspector General has accused Sens of nepotism and is quoted, "I've never heard of a case where so many relatives of the leader of the organization were working at the organization." Sens shares a close relationship with Sheriff Marlin Gusman whose career goal was to expand the prison system. I have watched his demeanor in court which is aloof, at best. Sens seldom addresses the defendants and never asks for qualifying information from the prosecution or defense. Yet, he still manages to have a huge backlog on his docket. Meghan Garvey deserves the seat at that bench. Garvey wants to implement staggered subpoena times, hold remote courts in less accessible neighborhoods and develop childcare programs for parents attending court. These are three community focused ways in which she can begin to clean the mess of a backlog that Sens has created.
Judge Municipal and Traffic Court Endorsement: Charlene Larche-Mason Since there is absolutely no campaign information available about Alexandre Bonin available online, by default my endorsement goes to Charlene Larche-Mason. It is kinda ironic because Larche-Mason is responsible for digitizing the city attorney’s office. She wants to apply similar technological innovations in this courtroom. With the looming threat of Covid, hurricanes, and government cyber-attacks (remember those?), it is imperative to have virtual courts done right.
Member of School Board District 7 As a disclaimer, I only researched the school board election for my district. Endorsement: Jamar Wilson Nolan Marshall has had his seat on the board for eight years. Let’s knock out the incumbent with someone willing to do the work to actually create positive changes in schools. Jamar Wilson is that candidate. He openly supports that police officers in schools be replaced with social workers. He also wants to include parental and student voices on the accountability framework. I believe this promise, because his campaign has been significantly more engaging than the other two candidates.
Amendment 1: No Right to Abortion Endorsement: No It fucking kills me to see the feminist legacy of the late Justice Ginsburg being thwarted by the nomination of Amy Coney Barret. This bill would essentially be undoing Ginsburg’s lifetime of work as a one-two punch. Denying women access to abortion is denying women equal rights and opportunity. Abortion is healthcare. With the federal threat of overturning Roe v. Wade under Barret, I urge you to protect women in Louisiana and vote no.
Amendment 2: Include Oil and Gas in Tax Assessment Endorsement: Yes The idea behind this bill would be to allow tax assessors the ability to quantify the worth of a well, based on the production of oil and not the cost of building a replacement. Essentially, it is a more accurate way to assess property value. This bill has unanimously passed through our state House of Representatives and Senate without public criticism. Is it too optimistic to think this might elicit higher taxes on this billion dollar industry? Oil money, oil, money, oil money.
Amendment 3: Use of Budget Stabilization Fund Endorsement: Yes Alright, so this bill would allow the legislature to use up to one third of the state’s “Rainy Day” fund, in the event of a federally declared emergency. It would still require a two-thirds majority vote through the House and the Senate to access this fund. Hurricanes are an obvious financial concern. Should this bill be denied, the State would have to continue to find the money needed for reconstruction somewhere else in the budget. And do you know what always gets cut first? Fucking education, social programs, and healthcare. Just let our politicians take the damn money from the “Rainy Day” fund instead.
Amendment 4: Expenditures Limit Growth Endorsement: No Tax and expenditure limits are self-imposed restrictions that state governments create to restrict the amount they can tax or spend. Sounds sexy, right? Long term studies of states with expenditure tax laws in place do not actually have a positive impact on growth because of structural deficits and higher borrowing costs. Furthermore, critics of the bill fear that limiting growth will only hurt education and healthcare. Not so sexy now.
Amendment 5: Payment in Lieu of Property Taxes Endorsement: No I am having trouble reading about this bill and finding any merit. What the politicians deem an “incentive” for manufacturers to conduct business in Louisiana really just seems like more corporate handouts. I mean, are we really proposing another way for businesses to get out of paying their fair share of taxes? And the cherry on top of this fucking bill is that it is supported by the Louisiana Sherriff’s Association.
Amendment 6: Homestead Exemption Special Assessment Income Limit Endorsement: Yes Do you like old people? Do you want old people to be able to retire and not lose their homes? Cool, you’re a human. Special assessments freeze the property value on a home, so that their taxes cannot go up. This bill would expand this benefit to those making less than $100,000 annually. But old people are not the only ones who qualify. So do veterans, surviving spouses of veterans, and the totally disabled. Give these folks stability and peace of mind by voting yes.
Amendment 7: Unclaimed Property Personal Trust Fund Endorsement: No Louisiana very well may owe you money. Every year, millions of dollars that you overpaid in taxes, insurance and bills goes to the State Treasurer’s Unclaimed Property Program. The purpose of this program is to find you and return your money. Perhaps, because of technological innovations, this program worked better than ever in 2019 and now the Treasurer is worried they are going to run out of money. But even with the increase in claims, there was still $12 million bucks left in the program. This bill would lock that $12 million in a trust just in case they run out of money instead of being allocated towards education and healthcare as the system currently allows.
PW Authorize Sports Wagering Activities Endorsement: Yes We eat crawfish and wear cotton-blended shirts without fearing the wrath of god. Maybe it is okay to gamble on sports too.

An Industry Deep Dive on How Games Became a Service

Disclaimer: All facts stated in this essay are verifiable and have been researched beforehand.
2013 marked a big year in many aspects for the video game industry, it was a good year for new IPs and (some) sequels if you were a AAA developer. Sony fans may remember being introduced to The Last of Us for the first time as you embarked on a journey as Joel Miller through a post-apocalyptic United States, or if your name was Artyom continued a post-apocalypse Soviet Russian adventure in Metro: Last Light. Reboots were also in affair; Tomb Raider and Devil May Cry made their comebacks with flair and breathed new life into some of gaming's historic franchises. It was also a year that marked the end of certain beloved trilogies with titles such as Bioshock: Infinite and Crysis 3. These were times of big feels, new beginnings, and more importantly: new ideas to create the proverbial ten year cash cows.
You see while all this time you were reminiscing about a heartbroken Joel crying to the tune of Gustavo Santaolalla’s emotional guitar riffs in the background, 2013 was also a year that changed gaming in subtle ways you may not have realized. GTA V made its meteoric rise to the top of the unquenchable stream of revenue in digital media history, meanwhile Valve was setting the stage when it released Dota 2 that was the first ever video game to introduce the concept of a Battle Pass: a name which will live in infamy.
There is a lot to unpack here so we’ll try our best to go in a coherent order. GTA V answered a key question that has been lingering for a long time in the AAA video game business model: can you make games as a service?
Picture yourself tearing down the freeway in the supercar of your dreams, the sun is shining and you are blasting your favourite tunes, to your right is the horizon of a crystal blue pacific ocean, you receive a call from one of your “business partners” about a proposition to earn some tax-free income so you can pay for a superyacht at some point in your career, why? Because crime pays and the fun never ends. Rockstar had perfected the model of what unfettered freedom looks like in a virtual world, and in a genius move, released GTA Online in just two weeks after initial release. Needless to say it was a success, in fact it was more than just that, it became the envy of video game business executives.
The question is often raised and answered, and then forgotten about, and then asked again about why AAA companies don't make one-and-done IPs anymore. At least, very few of them seem to do it.
If $595 million in 2019 from GTA Online alone doesn’t answer the question for you, I don’t know what else will. You see Rockstar didn’t intend for its online component to be as successful as it is. The addictive gameplay loop and highly-detailed compelling world that seduced a large portion of its players (and by extension: the market) was just the elevator pitch. Like any great formula, it needs constant improvement as our old Bethesda buddy Todd Howard always likes to parrot “Great games are played, not made” by that logic then how do you keep a game great then? You keep playing it? How do you keep playing a game? (Well according to Todd its by letting your community of modders finish the game for you)
What Rockstar did was added weekly updates, paid close attention to the needs of its community, had a look at the graphs and noticed only 27% of its players had actually completed the single player campaign (keep in mind this statistic is over 7 years old and may have changed significantly). For the first time GTA broke its tradition by not making expansions for the single player, which is what it was always known for. The Beach Bum update was released for free the following month for GTA Online players and the rest is history. Just kidding GTA Online is releasing a new free game update this December which will expand the playable game world, oh and it's got military submarines and a new plot “a la James Bond”. Seeing the… evolution of what was a game about stealing cars has been an interesting journey so far.
According to gamstat.com and Steam charts, a conservative number of 1.4 million players across PC, PS4, XB1 log-in daily to play GTA Online. The game - even 7 years later - stays consistently in the top 10 of most played games across both consoles.
So this was the Rockstar Games model: forget about single-player because statistically, nobody really cares, let's just focus on our multiplayer because its getting more attention, free updates for everyone to keep them busy, we’ll gradually inflate the fuck out of everything seven years down the line because there’s just gonna be so much content that you’ll need 800 of your real dollars at some point in a recent update if you want to buy all the content, what was that you want to grind for it? Jokes on you, you'll be there forever. This game will be your second job after you come home from your first job, you’ll be too lazy to grind for hours to get a car so why not just buy a shark card? You’re gonna get paid at the end of the month anyways, it's not a big deal.
Well lo and behold, it just works. (Shut up Todd, you’re partly to blame here!)
It is a sound business model, and one that even overshadows Red Dead Redemption 2 which has witnessed a significant dwindling in its online engagement.
In this second part we’ll look at Valves' introduction of the Battle Pass or “Compendium” system in Dota 2 and how 4 years later, it would be adapted and popularized by Epic Games’ Fortnite. Before we dive in, let’s take a little trip to 2004.
You’re on the computer in the living room of your parents house and you’re playing South Korean based Wizet studio’s MapleStory. You don’t have a console and you’re not allowed to play violent video games because your mom is too strict and also because she’s listening to mainstream media rant on how Halo 2 is making children too violent. So you’re stuck with MapleStory, it’s nothing to speak of graphically because it's a 2D side scrolling RPG, but hey it’s free to play and it's Massively Multiplayer Online so at least it has other real people playing it. While you’re playing it, you’re having fun because you find out you can actually do a variety of things even though it's just an innocent 2D looking game. You can chat, trade things with real players, perhaps even band together in a party and go on quests in MapleWorld. One thing is making you envious though: you can’t stop going back to the Cash shop because of all the dope looking outfits you think would look good on your character, and also because other folks are flexing them in your party. In come the “Gachapon tickets” (now for historical accuracy we’ll pretend you’re an expat living in Japan because at the time it was just a japanese thing), a Gachapon is basically a machine that sells capsules containing little toys in them, what capsule you got after inserting your coin was completely random - remember the word Gachapon as we’ll get to it later - MapleStory in Japan allowed for users to pay just 100 measly yen ($1.00) for a Gachapon ticket so you could buy whatever you wanted at the Cash shop, you convince your mom because it’s cheap and because you somehow convinced her that it was not a scam?
Hooray you can finally impress your party with the new gear you just got! You can continue playing the game to your heart's content.
Little did you know that MapleStory would be the inspiration for a special surprise in your gaming experience which we’ll get to in a moment.
Across Asia in the late noughties, it was the free to play titles that generated a considerable amount of income because of their popularity with internet cafe goers and people who weren’t wealthy enough to afford expensive tech. The games were free, accessible because of the growing mobile market in exchange it offered cheap but optional microtransactions to recoup for its development costs. ZT Online (2007) was a chinese developed game that took full advantage of the free to play model, offering optional microtransactions for its committed players and raked in a reported $15 million per month. The first ever mobile game to hit the $1 billion milestone was Puzzle & Dragons released in 2011. In North America and Europe during the social-network heyday saw Zynga develop free to play mobile games such as FarmVille, Zynga Poker, Words with Friends, etc.
Now it’s been a good few years since you were playing shitty 2D side scrolling games, you want to be a part of the big leagues and play some shooters! The year is 2010 and you’re having the time of your life whooping ass in Team Fortress 2, a pioneer of the “hero shooter” genre. It’s September and you are eating a sandvich (nom) while watching your favorite YouTube gaming channel talk about crates containing random loot that can be accessed by purchasing keys, it’s exciting! You’re old enough and mature by your moms standards to be playing TF2 so you use your pocket money allowance to buy these keys so you can later brag to your school friends or online forums. You also learn that Valve is transitioning the game to free-to-play so that it can attract more users. (Are you noticing the pattern here?)
Valve has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to monetization in video games and it’s remarkable how they achieve this, because if you were following the news at the time you’ll remember that when Valve made Team Fortress 2 free-to-play, it dominated the Steam charts f2p list for a reasonable time. 3 years after it became free-to-play, TF2 was reported making $139 million per year alongside Counter Strike which is also a beefy 9-figure earner for the company. This is notwithstanding the fact that Valve has the monopoly on the PC gaming market with Steam which takes a 30% cut of every video-game sale. You really cannot stop the Gaben.
During the time that Valve were transitioning to the free-to-play model they hired Greek-Australian economist and former Greek finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis to research virtual economies. What occurred a few years later was a growing trend of MMOs and MOBAs transitioning to a free-to-play model, starting in 2011 with popular games such as Star Trek Online and Lord Of The Rings Online, adding microtransactions as a means to stay sustainable.
The TF2 crates and keys were another way of interpreting the Gachapon philosophy, get a key to open your “capsule” but leave it to RNG to decide the fate of your purchase.
Valve were the first of the AAA gaming industry to popularize this practice but also to have perfected the art of recurrent user spending, of course what we also saw was a decline in release of new games but we’ll get to that in a bit. Now other video game publishers took notice of Lord Gaben’s business savvy and decided to find their own ways to create additional revenue streams.
Electronic Arts, the founders of “surprise mechanics” decided to monetize FIFA Ultimate Team in 2010 by offering players the opportunity to purchase virtual trading cards as a means to generate extra revenue on a reliable IP with a loyal fanbase. This worked predictably in EA’s favour as of recent 2020 financial reports they have generated $1.49 billion in revenue from FUT alone.
EA being EA wanted to further inflate their sense of pride and accomplishment by using the Gachapon philosophy (a philosophy which worked with free-to-play titles for reasonable causes) by creating their first loot-boxes, now because they’re EA, didn’t bother to transition their games to the free-to-play model, that idea probably got laughed at during a board meeting. These motherfuckers literally decided to have their cake and eat it for all the public to see.
2 years later in 2012 at the release of Mass Effect 3, EA implemented loot boxes into the multiplayer component of the game, in fact they did so with all of their multiplayer IPs: Battlefront, Battlefield. The reason why loot-boxes is a perverted version of the Gachapon ticket (and sorry if I use this word a lot) is because it contains cut content that allow for in game advantages so the gamers ™ have no other option but to gamble their money for something that is not even guaranteed they’ll have because grinding for it will take some ridiculous hundreds of hours of your time.
EA popularized the loot-box which I like to keep separate from Gachapon because the two are fundamentally different. Loot-boxes are gameplay/XP modifiers you have to pay for on top of the full retail price of the game you already bought. Gachapon tickets is a means to support a developer that made a base game free-to-play.
What happened following the increase in quarterly earnings for Electronic Arts after their loot-box boom were a bunch of other companies copying the exact same thing ad nauseam but putting their own “creative” spin on it: Counter Strike: GO did it with weapon cases, Battlepacks for Battlefield 4, COD: AW with Supply Drops.
Overwatch went as far as including loot-boxes to be part of its meta in 2016, other core AAA games following suit, COD, Halo 5, LoL, you name it it probably has it. Fast forward to 2017 and EA are in legal battles with governments about loot boxes and the industry is now getting cold feet. Fortnite becomes the latest trailblazing success. Which is where Valve were once again: ahead of the curve.
You remember at the beginning of this case study where Valve were the first to come up with the concept of a Battle Pass? So in 2013, Dota 2 devised what they called “The Compendium” a business model based on the Season pass or Season ticket used in sports for NFL or Baseball. The models are basically identical: you pay a one time fee for access to an event that typically lasts 3 months. This model works far better than the loot box because it incentivizes players to grind for content they know are guaranteed to get. The player only pays a one-time fee (usually in the $10 price point) giving them a sense of getting their money's worth, I fall for this myself because it is marketed incredibly effectively.
Furthermore the seasonal model “drip-feeds” content, so these may be gameplay modifiers, XP enhancements, unique limited edition content (weapons, shaders, armours) so the more you progress, the greater the benefits.
Now Dota 2 uses the proceeds of Battle Pass sales towards the seasonal tournaments prize pool. For other companies like Bungie it is most likely towards development of new seasonal content or Eververse items.
So during the whole loot-box orgy that lasted a good 5-6 years. Valve were profiting from the seasonal model, Epic Games took note and decided it would use the same thing for their new shooter. In Summer of 2017, Fortnite broke records as one of the highest-grossing free-to-play battle royale titles of the decade, having been downloaded a recorded 350 million times and generating $1.8 billion in revenue in its first year. It was clear at that point the free-to-play model with a season pass and microtransactions store guaranteed a stable platform. 3 years later, Fortnite is projected to make $5 billion at the end of this fiscal year, and has registered 3.2 billion hours of playtime. Now this is important because it took GTA V seven years to break through $6 billion and GTA V (for now) still remains the highest-grossing video game of all time.
We can see Call of Duty Warzone made its Battle Royale mode free-to-play as a direct response to the trend. Bungie followed suit after their recent move to make Destiny 2 a free-to-play model with a seasonal pass built-in to last until 2022.
It’s only a matter of time whether we see more companies and AAA titles decide to do the same for it to determine the “games a service model” will be the dominant market trend. We can safely assess Microsoft is emulating this with its Game Pass Ultimate program which acts as a “Netflix for video games” having recently merged with EA Access expanding its library of “free-to-play” games at the cost of a monthly installment.
If you have made it this far, you are a mad lad. I thought I’d take some time to illuminate the direction in which the video game industry seems to be heading by highlighting the patterns. This is also in an attempt to answer the question of: why are video games the way they are in 2020? It wasn’t easy to write but I hope it was easy for you to read. Once again thank you for taking the time of your day, now what are you waiting for? Go play some video games!

Addiction / mental wellness related investments for 2021?

I really like how each of the elite bigs in the league have their own strengths and weaknesses. No two unicorns are the same!

This post consists of me rambling about Embiid, Jokic, KAT, AD, Giannis, and Porzingis. (Be warned, it's pretty long.)

Giannis, AD, and KP have primarily played PF this season, but they're still bigs.

(EDIT: Added Bam and Siakam.)

By the way, why mention Porzingis, you might be thinking, since he hasn't been as good as the other players on the list this season? Well, I thought it would only be appropriate to include KP, as he was the OG "Unicorn" as crowned by KD in 2016, as a 7-footer who can shoot and defend at a high level:

"He can shoot, he can make the right plays, he can defend, he's a 7-footer that can shoot all the way out to the 3-point line," Durant said, according to ESPN's Royce Young. "That's rare. And block shots -- that's like a unicorn in this league."

For the purposes of this post, a "unicorn" is a tall player with All-NBA potential who spends a decent amount of time defending bigs and possesses a strong offensive skillset (hence someone like Rudy Gobert is omitted, as he's a defensive monster but has a more limited offensive skillset).

Embiid is a borderline case with his more old-school, post-oriented offensive skillset, but he's at least a decent and willing shooter from midrange and 3, separating himself from the bigs of yore, and besides, he also makes for a nice contrast with some of the others on the list.
Before we begin...
This post steals/references numerous ideas from the excellent Thinking Basketball YouTube channel, run by Ben Taylor. I highly recommend you also watch these highly informative, well-made, and entertaining player breakdowns (note, some of these were made in 2019, so some statistics they reference might not reflect these players' 2020 production):

Joel Embiid, 2019
Nikola Jokic, 2019
Karl-Anthony Towns, 2020
Anthony Davis, 2020
Giannis Antetokounmpo, 2019
Kristaps Porzingis has yet to receive a player breakdown. He does appear in this discussion about the Mavs' historic 2020 offense, though.
2019 top 10 players breakdown, which includes Embiid , Jokic , AD , and Giannis

Some terms I'll be using:
per 75 = per 75 possessions, i.e. points per 75 possessions = measure of a player's scoring rate. Each season and each team has a different pace, so adjusting for pace like this allows us to compare players' scoring more fairly than PPG. (Why 75 possessions? There isn't any grand reasoning- the average *(edit) high-usage modern NBA player simply uses roughly 75 possessions/game, so "per 75" stats are perhaps easier to intuitively understand for most people than "per 100" stats, which are available on Basketball Reference.)
TS% = true shooting percentage, i.e. a player's scoring efficiency, basically FG% but accounting for 3-pointers and free-throws
rTS% = relative true shooting percentage, i.e. how efficient a player's scoring is compared to league average scoring efficiency, which is 56.4 TS% in 2019-20 according to Basketball Reference
ORTG and DRTG are a team's offensive and defensive rating, respectively, with numbers taken from Basketball Reference.
rORTG = relative offensive rating, i.e. how good a team's offense is compared to league average offensive rating, which is 110.4 in 2019-20 according to Basketball Reference.
PnR = Pick and roll, DHO = Dribble hand-off

Joel Embiid | "The Process", "Do-a-180"

In a nutshell: Philadephia 76ers C, 7-0, 250lb, All-Star. Basic stats: 23.4/11.8/3.1/0.9/1.3 with 3.1 TOVs on 47.4/34.8/81.4 splits (59.3 TS%), 44 games played. Advanced: 0.203 WS/48, 5.2 BPM.
The good:

Monster low-post scorer: Embiid has an excellent scoring rate (~28 points per 75). He does most of his damage on offense by being the most prolific post-scorer in the league (91st percentile in post scoring efficiency, 1st in frequency by a large margin), where Embiid's massive frame and Hakeem-esque post-game allow him to make opposing big men look helpless and draw fouls at a heady pace with his relentless bully ball.
Decent scoring efficiency: +3.0 rTS%, it mostly results from a monstrous free-throw rate (10.5 FTA per 75, 81.4 FT%) and elite scoring in the paint (72 FG% from 0-3 feet). His midrange shooting has improved to an acceptable 41% too, and his 3P shooting is a decent 35%. He's been slightly less efficient in the playoffs (56TS%, +1.1 rTS%), with the caveat being that he was afflicted by injury and that the Raptors had an all-time-great playoff defense and former DPOY Marc Gasol, who made his life a nightmare (18/9/3 on 53TS% that series).
DPOY-level defender: Embiid is an amazing defender, stemming from his elite rim protection (1.3bpg, Sixers defense improves by 7 points when he enters a game). His mammoth frame, length, and first-class shot-blocking instincts at the rim have given him a Gobert-like deterrent-effect on offenses, making opponents thinking twice about attacking the basket. The Sixers have 105.1 DRTG with Embiid on the floor, which would rank 3rd in the league. Even when he's having a bad day on offense, he can recover his impact on the other end - he was a +84 over 7 games against the Raptors last playoffs despite shooting poorly from the field, testament to his incredible defense.

The not-as-good:

Heavy feet: Embiid can be slightly lead-footed when switching onto perimeter players, and can be blown past on closeouts. He's still a decent perimeter defender overall, as his length and timing can allow him to recover well with strong contests from behind.
Spotty vision/passing: JoJo has as many turnovers as assists. His decision-making falters somewhat under defensive pressure. His dribble is a bit loose, too, which doesn't help in this aspect. He can make basic passes out of double-teams, though more advanced reads are beyond him for now.
3P-shooting has some room for improvement: He came into the league shooting 37% in his rookie year, so he's regressed somewhat since then. He's shown marked improvement this season though, making 34.8% of his threes. Joel's next step will be attempting more 3s, since he currently takes fewer than 4 threes a game. His excellent FT% (81.4%) and passable midrange efficiency (41 FG%) bode well for future improvements in his 3P shooting.
Durability: Health will perhaps always be the biggest concern with Embiid- he's consistently missed an average of 20 games/year over his past 3 seasons. When he does see the court, he's generally been great.

Nikola Jokic | "Joker", "Big Honey"

In a nutshell: Denver Nuggets C, 7-0, 253lb, weak MVP candidate. Basic stats: 20.2/10.2/6.9/1.2/0.7 with 3.1 TOVs on 52.8/31.4/81.3 splits (60.4 TS%), 65 games played. Advanced: 0.209 WS/48, 7.6 BPM.
The good:

Passing prodigy: Best playmaking big in NBA history and one of the best passers in the league, period - Jokic's vision is reminiscent of a 7-foot Magic Johnson. He makes every single pass in the playbook quickly and accurately, never looking at his target in order to throw off defenders, adept at using his eyes to manipulate defenses. His outlet passing is the envy of any point guard - throwing outlets like this mid-rebound is unfair. Jokic runs Denver's offense from the high post, as the Nuggets' bevy of guards and wings whir around him for DHOs and PnRs. He rarely ever misses high-% layup-passes, and his otherworldly vision (helped by his 7ft frame allowing him to see over defenders) encourages his teammates to move and cut off the ball because he'll almost certainly get the ball to them the moment they make themselves open. Joker's height and wingspan allow him access to passing lanes not available to most guards and wings, deftly flicking it to teammates around the outstretched arms of defending bigs. Jokic can lob to his more athletic teammates, pitch bounce-passes to cutters through the tiniest of passing windows, no-look skip-passes to 3P-shooters, and is even capable of blending in passes with his shooting motion as he reads the help and rifles the ball neatly into a wide-open teammate's shooting/scoring pocket. For me, he's right up there as one of the finest passers in the game.
Very good, efficient scorer: 23.2 points per 75 on +4 rTS%, mostly stemming from his versatile post game and decent midrange scoring (45 FG%). He's also got excellent touch around the rim, mixing in some floaters and hooks (elite 60.2 FG% from 3-10 ft), along with throwing his weight around in the post and pump-faking defenders into oblivion to get easy looks at the rim (elite 73 FG% from 0-3 ft). He also likes following his own/opponent misses- he has 3 offensive rebounds a game. Encouragingly, there exists some precedent for Joker elevating his offensive production when the team requires it - he put up 25/13/8 on +4.8 rTS% in 2019 playoffs, up from 20/11/7 on +2.9 rTS% in the 2019 regular season.
Not a bad team defender! : Sound positioning and good hands(healthy steal rate for a big, ~2%) + his size and length allow him to retain good value on defense. Denver's defensive rating actually improves by +1.6 points when he's on the court.
Clutch play: Jokic has been one of the most clutch players in the league this season- he even had two game-winners against the Sixers and Wolves. The Nuggets are ranked 5th in clutch-win% in the league (26-14 record in clutch situations) largely due to Jokic's play.
Durability: Jokic has always been highly durable, having yet to miss a game this season. He's missed a grand total of 20 games in his entire 5-year career.

The not-as-good:

Paint-defense: Jokic doesn't offer too much in the way of rim-protection (low block rate for a big, opponents shoot a pretty high 63 FG% in the paint when Jokic is the nearest defender). Although, as mentioned previously, his good positioning and size/length plus IQ/anticipation make him an adequate/decent team defender, often making smart rotations to stall opponent forays to the rim.
Perimeter-defense: He also suffers from some of the the same heavy-footedness that Embiid has when switched onto non-bigs, albeit to a higher degree.
3P-shooting: Jokic's outside shooting has been pooinconsistent (31.4% from 3), though with some flashes of potential (he shot 40% in 2018, 39% in 2019 playoffs). His solid shooting from the midrange (45%) and from the FT line (81%) bodes well for him stretching out more succesfully in the future.
Is perhaps too selfless on offense: Especially compared to the other behemoths on this list, Joker could probably afford to call on his own number slightly more often when it comes to scoring. I doubt his coaches or teammates would mind him scoring more, given how efficient and unselfish he normally is, and given Jamal Murray is a much less efficient scorer (-0.5 rTS%) than Jokic despite taking more shot attempts than Nikola. Jokic is clearly capable of elevating his scoring, as mentioned earlier. Given that Denver's offense is generally quite good (+2.1 rORTG this season, +2.6 rORTG last season), I don't think Jokic will necessarily change what he's doing as it's been working decently so far. However, if he wants to run a truly elite offense or be considered one of the league's best offensive players (along with Steph, LeBron, Harden, Doncic etc.), he could think about starting to score more.

Karl-Anthony Towns | "KAT"

In a nutshell: Minnesota Timberwolves C, 6-11, 248lb, All-Star level. Basic stats: 26.5/10.8/4.4/0.9/1.2 with 3.1 TOVs on 50.8/41.2/79.6 splits (64.2 TS%), 35 games played. Advanced: 0.205 WS/48, 7.8 BPM.
The good:

Elite, multi-level 3-point threat: KAT is already probably the best 3-point shooting big in NBA history, taking into account volume and efficiency - he's shot 41.2% from 3 on 7.9 attempts per game this season. (For reference, Klay Thompson, from 2015-2019, averaged 42.3% from 3 on 7.7 attempts per game.) The only players to shoot more accurately than Towns on at least as many attempts this year were Duncan Robinson (44.5%, 8.4) and Dāvis Bertāns (42.4%, 8.7). KAT's shooting is is in rarefied air. He doesn't just stand in a corner and wait for Jeff Teague or DLo to pass him the ball, either. He shoots these off-the-dribble, catch-and-shoot, stepbacks, pick-and-pop, diving around screens like he's some oversized Reggie Miller. The spacing and gravity he provides the Minnesota offense with his shooting and off-ball movement is tremendous. He destroyed the Jazz once earlier this season by hitting 7 threes and pulling reigning DPOY Gobert all the way out to the 3-point line, pushing their paint-centric defensive scheme to the breaking point. The Wolves improve by 12 points on offense when he's on the court.
Well-rounded, exceptionally-efficient scorer: His offensive impact isn't limited to shooting, not by a long shot- close out on him too hard and he'll drive to the rim, where he's finishing at an elite 72 FG%. He barely takes any midrange shots- only 7% of his total shots come from there. His post game, however, is decently efficient (61st percentile), though he doesn't utilise it as much as Embiid or Jokic. Overall, due his incredible outside shooting, rim finishing, and decent foul drawing(8.8 FTA per 100, 79.6 FT%), his scoring output is extremely impressive- 27.2 points per 75 on amazing efficiency (+8 rTS%).
-Decent passer: KAT's passing has come along this year (4.4 APG), making good reads when he's doubled in the perimeter or in the post and finding cutters with regularity. He has a passable AST/TO ratio for a big (1.4:1).
Good post-defense: He's good at defending other post scorers (eg. Embiid, AD), where he can take advantage of his length and strength.

The not-as-good:

Not great at most other aspects of defense: His blocks (1.2 bpg) are more the result of block-chasing than good positioning. He's poor at navigating pick-and-roll defense. He's possibly the most laterally-challenged of the bigs in this list, his transition defense is bad, and he often falls for pump fakes. He shows potential for becoming a good rim protector- when he does manage to get in front of his man and get his hands up in time, his opponent rim DFG% is pretty great (~50 FG%)! However, his motor and defensive-IQ aren't the best- he can be found ball-watching sometimes or falling behind opponent plays, losing track of cutters or getting stranded in no man's land. Overall, Minnesota are nearly +8 points better on defense with Towns off the court. (The usually defensively-challenged Wolves were a top 10 defense for a period when KAT missed 15 games earlier on in the season, thought that was also partly because his replacement Gorgui Dieng was a defensive god.)
Some holes in passing game: There's still room for improvement in this aspect. He's still relatively turnover-prone, and misses open high-% passes under the rim sometimes.
Durability: Prior to this season, this was one of Town's greatest strengths- he didn't miss a single game during his 1st 3 seasons and only 5 games his 4th season (last year), and that was only because he got into a car accident. This year, however, the script has changed- he's missed 30 games with a sprained knee followed by a fractured wrist.

Anthony Davis | "AD", "The Brow"

In a nutshell: Los Angeles Lakers PF/C, 6-10, 253lb, weak MVP candidate. Basic stats: 26.7/9.4/3.1/1.5/2.4 with 2.5 TOVs on 51.1/33.5/84.5 splits (61.4 TS%), 55 games played. Advanced: 0.262 WS/48, 8.5 BPM.
The good:

Excellent all-round volume-scorer: 27.8 points per 75, on ~ +5 rTS%. AD has a versatile scoring arsenal, capable of shifting his offensive game to fit cleanly within different offensive schemes (e.g. higher pace in NOLA vs. LeBron's more methodical half-court style). Possesses a variety of post-moves, hooks, spins, fakes, stepbacks, turnarounds, etc.; has a passable face-up game with a good handle, moves like a guard and capable of athletic finishes at the rim. This season he's been skilled at leaking out in transition to receive LeBron's outlet passes. His scoring has translated well to the playoffs- he's averaged 27.3 points per 75 on ~ +5 rTS% in his 3 playoff series.
Vertical spacer: All-time lob-finisher (75 FG% from 0-3 feet). Davis's catch-radius is one of the best in NBA history. Just throw it up in the general direction of the rim and he'll make it work somehow with his touch and athleticism. His addition to the Lakers is a major reason why LeBron's leading the league in assists (2.8 of LeBron's 10.6 assists/game go to AD). It's an underrated part of his game as it allows him to fit with a variety of teams and mesh well with ball-dominant stars.
Decent passer: This is mostly based on his last season at New Orleans, which was his peak year as a passer. In the 2019 season, with their starting PGs missing significant time due to injury, the Pelicans leaned on Jrue Holiday's versatile playmaking gifts more, but they also parked AD in the high post and ran offense through him from there, letting him weaponise his own threat to score by feeding cutters with neat interior pocket passes or spraying kickout passes to shooters when he got doubled. He averaged 4.4 assists and only 2.0 turnovers prior to his trade request, producing a very efficient 2.2:1 AST/TO ratio. However, AD's playmaking has regressed this season (only 3.3 APG, uninspiring AST/TO ratio of 1.25:1) as he's gone more off-ball than in 2019 with LeBron manning point full-time in LA.
DPOY-level defender: Highly likely to finish in the top-2 in voting this season. His weakside rim-protection is elite - the Lakers have had a top-3 defense due in no small part to his efforts. He's highly switchable, too, capable of jumping onto guards and wings as required and scaring them silly. His motor has been excellent and he closes out hard on shooters. He's handsy as well, with good defensive instincts- he has a good eye for anticipating plays and jumping passing lanes. His steal-rate is elite for a big, and he hasn't gambled too much this year, either. He often cleans up mistakes by teammates, allowing them the freedom to play aggressive defense on the perimeter because they know that he's always got a watchful eye out to pounce on any perpetrators who make it past them. Works well in tandem with the Lakers bigs (Dwight/McGee) so that if either of them gets beat, he is still there to protect the rim. Strangely enough, the Lakers' defensive rating actually improves when he sits, likely because LeBron paired with Dwight/McGee are too much for weaker opponent bench units to handle.
Surprisingly healthy: The opposite of KAT - durability is generally considered a weakness of AD's, but this season he's missed only 8 games. Good stuff!

The not-as-good:

3P/Midrange Shooting: Much like Embiid, AD's 33.5% 3-point shooting on 3.5 attempts/game isn't awful, but it isn't good enough to consistently garner defenders' respect either. His midrange efficiency isn't great, either, too, at about 38 FG%. The latter isn't too detrimental to his overall scoring game, however, as it at least allows him to keeps defender honest in the post. Regardless, his foul drawing (8.3 FTA per 100, 85 FT%) and elite rim finishing does allow him to compensate for his relatively weaker jumper.
Ability to run an offense: It remains to be seen whether AD can run an efficient team offense as a primary initiator, like a slasher like Giannis/LeBron/Kawhi or a full-time high-post operator like Jokic in Denver or Kevin Garnett back in the day on the Wolves. Perhaps further improving his handle or his strength will allow him to do so, since he already proved he possesses decent playmaking vision in New Orleans last year. When LeBron's been off the court this season, his decision-making on-the-ball has been inconsistent at times. Even so, as things stand, the Lakers still have a good offense (+2.6 rORTG) with AD playing primarily off-ball, so I doubt that's going to change much in the foreseeable future.
Some areas for improvement on defense: Ball-watches every so often, though greatly improved from last season. Quicker guards can still occasionally blow by him. Misses the odd help scenario. Gambles sporadically for steals, though it works out for him more often than not. The KAT's and Embiid's and Giannis's of the world have sometimes caused him trouble before, though he often holds his own too.

Giannis Antetokounmpo | "The Greek Freak"

In a nutshell: Milwaukee Bucks PF/C, 6-11, 242lb, strong MVP candidate. Basic stats: 29.6/13.7/5.8/1.0/1.0 with 3.7 TOVs on 54.7/30.6/63.3 splits (60.8 TS%), 57 games played. Advanced: 0.282 WS/48, 11.5 BPM.
The good:

All-time-level slasher and rim-finisher: Elite drive-and-kick game that is the crux of Milwaukee's 7th-ranked offense. A monster in transition, and getting increasingly comfortable as a shooter in half-court situations. Has some post-moves too, with some basic fadeaways, flip shots, and hooks, made all the more dangerous with his incredible wingspan. Has started taking more midrange and three-point jumpshots off-the-dribble this season.
Elite volume scorer: Giannis has the highest scoring rate in the league (yes, higher than James Harden), on good efficiency: 32.9 points per 75 on ~ +4.5 rTS%. He is the likely MVP, leading a historically good Bucks team while averaging only 30.9 minutes per game. There are some worries that elite playoff defenses (most famously, the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 ECF) can limit his scoring output (22/14/6 on 52 TS% that series), but it's really only the very very best of defenses, with ideal personnel and scheme, that have proven that they can slow him down. He mowed down Boston's 1st- and 7th-ranked defenses in consecutive postseasons, to the tune of 26/12/5 on 62 TS% in 2018, and 28/11/5 on 62 TS% in 2019. What the Raptors accomplished in 2019 isn't easily replicable.
Transition terror: The most prolific transition scorer in the league, with his long, long strides, speed, length, and poweskill around the rim. Also, shoutout to his huge hands and underrated handle for letting to him to move as fast as he does with the ball.
DPOY-level defender: The favourite to win the award this season, he's a high-level rim-deterrent with his length, instincts, and athleticism. Opponents score an anemic 41% at the rim when Giannis is the closest defender, the best mark in the league. He's also a skilled perimeter defender. Milwaukee improve by +8.0 points on defense when he's on the court (they have a ridiculous 98.7 DRTG when Giannis plays), and he rates very highly on the majority of available defensive impact metrics. 2019-20 Milwaukee are one of the best defensive teams ever, and Giannis is the best overall defender on the team. He's long, fast, twitchy, and strong, capable of switching 1-5 without batting an eye. With the Lopez twins walling off the rim, Giannis is free to roam and generally wreak havoc where needed, scaring shooters off the line, providing weakside rim-help as required, shadowing ball-handlers step-for-step and occasionally stamping their layups onto the glass with his huge paws or simply clouding their vision with his massive reach. When he is beat by a guard/wing on the perimeter, he doesn't chase blocks, instead staying grounded and disciplined, often funneling these slashers to the equally-long waiting arms of human fly-swatter Brook Lopez at the rim as the Bucks' game-plan decrees, while he stalks them from behind, helping effectively make the paint a no-fly zone. Much like AD, his condor wingspan shrinks passing lanes and deters high-leverage interior passes.
Decent passer: An adept and willing passer for a 7-foot human, gathering 5.8 APG this season. He's skilled at lasering kickouts to Milwaukee's armada of shooters if his initial penetration fails/draws help defenders, and has some success making tight interior passes near the rim.
Durability: Giannis is rarely injured.

The not-as-good:

Some areas to improve in terms of passing/vision: Has room to improve in terms of interior passing, sometimes doesn't recognise open cutters or the passes themselves can be off-target etc.. Turnover-prone at times, has imperfect decision-making if he's under intense ball-pressure by elite defensive bigs/wings (guys like Bam, Embiid, Jonathan Isaac). Notably, the Raptors' monster playoff defense led by the length and IQ of Kawhi/Gasol/Siakam greatly tested his passing ability and decision-making last playoffs, leading to him turning the ball over much more often than usual (5.5 assists : 4.2 turnovers).
Poor outside shooting: Giannis has become much more comfortable taking these shots, attempting nearly 5 a game this season, but he's still not very good at making them (30.6 3P%). Defenses still heave a sigh of relief when they see him pulling up for 3. He's also shooting 38% from midrange, which isn't much better.
Some areas for improvement on defense: Has occasional lapses on off the ball, arriving late on help, whether due to motoball-watching or not recognising plays until it's too late; can get blown past by quick guards due when he closes out sometimes (though his length/athleticism helps clean up some of his own errors); has trouble navigating screens sometimes because he's so large. Like AD, elite post-players can still overpower him on occasion, but luckily for Giannis there aren't that many elite post players any more.
FT shooting: This could be an aberration, but his FT-shooting has greatly regressed this season, at 63 FT%. This can limit his effectiveness on offense in clutch situations (notably, he shot a ghastly 58% from the line against the Raptors in last season's ECF), and put a cap on his overall scoring efficiency. Prior to 2020, he's shot 74% in the regular season, so he's certainly capable of being a decent FT-shooter.

Kristaps Porzingis | "KP", "Unicorn"

In a nutshell: Dallas Mavericks PF/C, 7-3, 240lb, Sub-All Star. Basic stats: 19.2/9.5/1.7/0.7/2.1 with 1.6 TOVs on 42.0/34.9/77.6 splits (54.0 TS%), 51 games played. Advanced: 0.129 WS/48, 1.5 BPM.
The good:

Potential elite shooter: Porzingis's offensive potential still lies mainly in his incredible shooting (40% from 3 in 2018), though he's yet to recover that elite form this season. However, he remains highly dangerous, taking a wide variety of threes at a very high rate (7.1 attempts per game) and hitting a decent enough percentage of them (35%) that defenders have to respect his shot. In his last 14 games, he averaged 37% on 9.1 attempts per game. Much like KAT, he's a dynamic shooter, shooting off movement, off-the-dribble, off-the-catch (& pick-and-pop), pulling up from well behind the 3-point line, etc., spacing the floor for Dallas's resident offensive genius Luka to go to work.
Good rim finisher: He finishes very well at the rim (72 FG%).
Elite paint defender: Porzingis flashes All-Defensive value with his rim-protection (led the league in blk% in 2018, is 6th in blk% and has very good paint DFG% of 49.5% in 2020), and defensive instincts. The Mavs improve by 3.2 points on defense with Porzingis on the floor. His oft-maligned rebounding has greatly improved this season, too, snagging almost 10 boards a game, up from 6.6 in his last healthy season on the Knicks.

The not-as-good:

Very limited playmaking: KP's passing/vision remains his weakest suit (1.7 assists/game). He's actually improved slightly this season, being a more willing passer and participant in Dallas's dynamic offense, but his assist rate still lags in the single digits, at 8.6% (for reference, AD's is about 15%, KAT 23%, Jokic 34%), and he has almost as many turnovers as assists.
Scoring efficiency/shooting: His poor shooting to start the season coming off a serious injury hurt his efficiency, which is currently 2 points below league average (-2 rTS%). He averaged an excellent 60TS% in his final 14 games, though, signs that he was rounding into form before the quarantine hit.
Not a great perimeter defender, but still decent: With his lanky 7'3'' frame, he's not the best at closing out to shooters (opposing players hit 40% of their threes when he's the closest defender), and while he can move his feet decently for a big and he's surprisingly athletic, his fundamentals defending the perimeter and effort can seemingly be lacking sometimes: he's often "flat-footed, erect", and doesn't always have his hands up.
Durability: KP has missed a season and a half prior to this one with a torn ACL, and missed 15 games this season too. His health remains a huge asterisk, though it's promising that he was healthy and playing games up until the quarantine hit - he played 20 of the Mavs' last 25 games.

That's it for today. Thanks for reading!
**JUST KIDDING, I FORGOT ABOUT BAM.

Bam Adebayo | "Bam", "Bam Bam"

In a nutshell: Miami Heat PF/C, 6-9, 255lb, All-Star. Basic stats: 16.2/10.5/5.1/1.2/1.3 with 2.8 TOVs on 56.7/7.7/69.0 splits (60.6 TS%), 65 games played. Advanced: 0.175 WS/48, 3.6 BPM.
The good:

Versatile inside scorer: 17.6 points per 75 on +4.2 rTS%. Bam was a revelation for the Heat this season, utilising his length and explosive athleticism well to finish at the rim (both from half-court and in transition), scoring at an elite rate (73.5 FG%) from 0-3ft. He's an adept lob-finisher from Miami's guards, with about 72% of his total baskets being assisted - for comparison's sake, AD, a similarly adept off-ball rim-finisher (albeit on better efficiency and much higher volume), has about 64% of his total baskets assisted. Similar to AD, Bam's far from a one-trick pony when it comes to scoring, often running pick-and-rolls and hand-offs with Miami's army of guards and wings (he has especially good chemistry with Duncan Robinson and Jimmy Butler) to find clean looks at the rim. He often employs his 7.1ft wingspan and athleticism to rebound team misses (including his own), with 2.5 offensive rebounds/game either resulting in tip-ins or neat passes to open teammates. He's got surprisingly deft touch further away from the rim, too, with little floaters, finger-rolls, and hooks in the paint (outside the painted area), finishing there at an impressive 45% rate (his hooks are especially efficient, going in 56% of the time). Outside of the paint, his short-midrange game is money, too, for a big, finishing 42% of his short midrange attempts. Going any further than that, though, yields diminishing returns for Bam - he shoots a woeful 19 FG% outside 16 feet. Fortunately for Miami, though, Bam sticks to his strengths, with only 7% of his total shot attempts coming from outside 16ft.
Elite passer for a big: Outside of Jokic and Draymond, there isn't a better passing big in the game today. His 5.1 assists/game are impressive enough, but it's the way he goes about getting these dimes that stands out. Coach Spoelstra has effectively given him the keys to Miami's offense this season for a reason- his offensive IQ is excellent, and he routinely makes quick and smart decisions with the ball in his hands. As stated earlier, he's Miami's primary high post operator, with Bam's dribble handoffs (DHOs) and PnRs with their guards being one of the primary features of their offense. His low post passing is great, too, often setting up Miami's other bigs with adept interior bounce passes and lobs when the help commits to him, and he can drive-and-kick to the Heat's shooters as well, Giannis-style. In transition, he's fully capable of and willing to grab a defensive rebound and start the break on his own - he's got a really good handle for a big - either creating his own score with that elite paint finishing we talked about, or making quick kickouts to Duncan Robinson for transition 3s. If a transition score doesn't happen at first, he will push for a quick DHO with a guard, with Bam's elite screening and Miami's elite shooters meaning that said 3PA is highly likely to go in. Bam is highly active on offense, too, always either scoring, setting a screen, or orchestrating from the elbows.
Elite, multi-positional defender: In the words of Zach Lowe's excellent piece on Bam, he is "addicted" to defense. Bam is an incredibly high-motor and versatile defender, and is already an All-Defensive lock in his first season as a starter. His steal rates (elite for a big) and block rates speak for themselves, but his versatility is what stands out the most - he's equally capable when switched onto Stephen Curry as he is Giannis Antetokounmpo. Opponents shoot worse from every spot on the floor when Bam is the closest defender (43 FG% overall), be it from 3 (33.8%) or in the paint (55.8%). Bam's footwork and fundamentals guarding the perimeter are impeccable, shuffling perfectly along with guards and wings as they try to dribble past, reminiscent of Draymond or KG, and his strength and wingspan allows him to bang down low with the behemoths of the league as well, despite standing at 'only' 6-8. He's a ferocious and competitive rebounder, too, a major contributor to Miami's 3rd-ranked defensive rebounding rate.
Durability: Bam has played in every single game for Miami the past two seasons.

The less good:

Some gaps in playmaking: He's a bit too excitable sometimes, and can turn the ball over trying to squeeze the ball through tiny gaps between defenders' arms near the rim. I love his aggression and offensive ideas, though - these high percentage passes put a lot of pressure on opponent defenses. His AST/TO ratio of 1.8:1 is still fantastic for a player who's helping Jimmy Butler run a strong Miami offense (+2.3 rORTG) for the first time. He can miss the shooting pocket occasionally too, and his vision isn't perfect, missing open teammates on occasion. With more experience and once he becomes a more dangerous scorer, he will presumably become a more effective passer as passing-lanes become more open when he starts to command more defensive attention.
Non-existent 3P shooting: Bam is (correctly) completely ignored by defenders on the perimeter (once again, he shoots a horrendous 19 FG% outside 16 feet). The Heat's system masks these flaws, making great use of his physical gifts as a fantastic and physical screener and elite passing big in DHOs and PnRs. His shot selection helps issues, too, as the vast majority (93%) of his shot attempts come inside 16 feet. On other teams with fewer offensive weapons, his lack of spot up shooting would likely become a larger issue.
Lower scoring rate than peers: Bam's scoring rate pales in comparison to some of the other guys in this list, and there will be a ways to go before he becomes a primary scoring option. His post game is below average (40th percentile), his ISO-scoring is only barely passable (50th percentile). In the PnR he's proficient as both a roll-man (67th percentile) and, amusingly, on very low volume, as a ball-handler (84th percentile). Perhaps expanding his post-game will allow Miami to run more offense through him like Denver do with Jokic, or Philly with Embiid/Lakers with AD. Alternatively, he could practise and develop his handle and outside-shooting more, lean into the more guard-like qualities of his game.
Some defensive flaws: Bam's rim protection lags behind the best (Gobert, AD, Lopez, Embiid, Giannis, Draymond, Isaac etc.), and larger centers can still finish over him on occasion- his 6'8" frame probably comes into play here. While Bam's man defense is impeccable, his team defensive impact seems to lag behind slightly- he's possibly a touch slow on help rotations occasionally or ball-watches sometimes. Miami's defensive rating with Bam on the floor would rank around 12th in the league (109.6 DRTG, +0.8 rDRTG), and it "only" improves by +1.7 points when Bam enters the game. However, defense, of course, is a team effort- the Jazz's seemingly perpetual top-5 defense dropped to 11th this year, even though Gobert hasn't missed a step - losing defensive stalwarts in Favors and Rubio probably contributed to the descent. In Miami's case, key starter Duncan Robinson isn't a great defender, and they lack good defensive bigs outside of Adebayo; backup Cs Leonard and Olynyk (primarily shooters) are woeful rim protectors, and Jones Jr is decent but mostly plays SF. It's perhaps to Bam's and Butler's (and Spoelstra's) credit that the team has a positive defensive rating at all.

EDIT 2:

- Mike Prada of SB Nation on JAREN JACKSON JR.

- PASCAL SIAKAM

Soka University: The Definitive Resource

Soka University in Aliso Viejo, So. CA, is the Ikeda cult SGI's flagship money laundering/trust-washing property. With over a BILLION dollar endowment (from where? Nobody asks...), it has a spared-no-expense campus that is largely empty. Originally intended to have a student body of 1,200 when it opened in 2002, Soka U has since limped along with only around 400 students total. This makes Soka University smaller than most high schools.
Academically, Soka U is a vanity university that only offers a single oddball degree: A Bachelor of Arts in the Liberal Arts, with one of five areas of focus: Environmental Studies, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Life Sciences, International Studies, Humanities. Because no other known university offers this kind of degree, it is likely that the Soka University credential will prove worthless, as in "Leave it off your résumé"-worthless - and Soka U's stats suggest this is indeed the case (see below).
It's generally held that a generic "Liberal Arts" degree is the bottom of the barrel, academically speaking. That's never #GOALS.
When university students graduate with a valuable degree, they are able to go right into a skilled position that pays well. When university students graduate with a worthless degree, they enroll in master's degree programs somewhere else to make it into something that will enable them to go into skilled positions. There tends to be a strong negative correlation between the usefulness of the degree earned and the rates at which graduates pursue advanced degree programs - graduates with valuable credentials get right to work; graduates with worthless credentials sign on for another academic program. Take a look at the ratios (from a couple years ago):
Stanford University:

Graduates offered full-time employment within 6 months: 50.0%
Graduates pursuing advanced degrees directly: 30.0%

Princeton University:

Graduates offered full-time employment within 6 months: 72%
Graduates pursuing advanced degrees directly: 18.5%

Soka University:

Graduates offered full-time employment within 6 months: NOT REPORTED
Graduates pursuing advanced degrees directly: 62.0%

As you can see, when most students have decent job offers within 6 months of graduating, they don't pursue additional (often expensive) educational credentials - they get on with their lives. Soka University's stats on what its graduates choose to do are upside down from what they should be if their graduates were leaving with a valuable credential, as Stanford's and Princeton's graduates do. The fact that Soka U won't even REPORT what proportion of its graduates have full-time job offers within 6 months is an enormous red flag.
So if you go to Soka University, COUNT ON having to pay for an additional degree on top of the useless one you get from Soka U after already having paid top dollar. Sound good?
In terms of financial aid, despite its massive endowment (that would enable Soka U to accept every student for no cost whatsoever and still make money off the investments in the endowment), Soka U is rather stingy with its financial aid for the most deserving of students (those from poorer families):

Soka U is one of the more expensive private universities in California (and more expensive than the public universities), and while Soka U does offer scholarships, it only amounts to an average of 73% of the cost, compared to Stanford, which foots the bill for 100% of the cost for qualifying students. Poor students' families still must PAY for their children to attend Soka University. More generous financial aid is widely available; rich-rich-rich Soka U is just stingy and cheap.

I looked up tuition costs a couple of years ago; here's what I found:

Tuition for Soka University of America is $29,372 for the 2015/2016 academic year. This is 9% more expensive than the national average private non-profit four year college tuition of $26,851. The cost is 35% more expensive than the average California tuition of $21,759 for 4 year colleges. Source

So Soka University students are expected to pay a PREMIUM - for what? Considering that some Soka University students are reporting receiving a paltry $3,000 in financial aid (no idea whether this is loans that will need to be paid back or grants which are free money), that amount of financial award simply brings Soka University's exorbitant tuition cost down to just below the average for private universities in California, a mere $500 difference. Perhaps enough incentive for SGI families to decide to send their children there, since they have a non-academic incentive to want their children to go there anyway.
But the university experience is so much more than just academics and finances! What about the social opportunities high school graduates have the right to expect from the university they choose? Here, Soka U has several strong strikes against it.
Because Soka University is so small (smaller than most high schools), that's a much smaller pool of people to get to know, learn from, socialize with outside of one's family's influence, network with, and form friendships with. Add onto that the fact that Soka U has a very high proportion of Japanese students who prefer to speak Japanese when they are not in class:

Diversity: Too Many Asians – At Soka, there are many Asians from all around Asia or have family from Asia, but we mostly have Japanese students or from Japanese descent. I don't think Soka should be considered diverse if we have so many of one race. ... But I am getting tired of sitting at the lunch table and everyone around me is speaking Japanese. There is a division in the student body between domestic students and the Asian International students. ... Also, since many of the students are from Japan, there is a language barrier that is bothersome too.
Non-Asian Students Are Isolated. Nearly everyone here is Asian or Asian-American, and nearly all of them are of Japanese descent. You'll fit in great if you speak Japanese, but if not then you will frequently feel isolated.
Diversity: About 60% of the school is from Japan, the other 40% is riddled with people of Japanese descent or members of SGI. While there are a lot of different people, many want everyone to act the same: be quiet during day, go to parties, study a lot. You feel a little judged if you don't follow these things. It's kinda awkward sometimes. Source

Also, a larger university will be able to offer far more in terms of clubs, interest groups, intramural sports, and Greek life (sororities and fraternities) than Soka University does. Choosing Soka University over a larger, less expensive university means choosing an impoverished university experience on every level.
So why, with all these limitations, is Soka U ranked so highly by organizations such as US News and World Report? One factor is selectivity; if a university turns down a high proportion of applicants, that detail feeds into an equation that weighs several factors, including desirability as expressed by how many students who apply DON'T get in. Soka U is choosing to reject MOST applicants - why? When its student body of around 400 isn't even close to its stated objective of a student body of 1,200 by 2013? Is it because Soka U is gaming the statistics here in order to raise its ranking?

"...Soka University hopes to boost its enrollment to 1,200 students within the next decade. As it grows, one thing this campus doesn't have to worry about is money. Just over a year old, the University already boasts a $300 million-dollar endowment -- funding that's been contributed to the school by Soka Gakkai and its members...Meanwhile, several teachers at the College have announced they are leaving because they don't feel free to criticize the Soka Gakkai sect." Religion & Ethics Newsweekly on PBS, May 2, 2003 Source

"Within the next decade" expired 7 years ago O_O
STILL nowhere close to that goal of "1,200 students".
WHERE is Soka University's planned 1,200-student enrollment? WHY are they falling so short? 400-ish vs. 1,200? That's a HUGE discrepancy!
Looking at the Common Data Set for Soka University for the 2019-2020 school year, we see several items that stand out:
For the freshman class, there are 70 women and 38 men. For that entire class. For the total student body, there are 264 women and 142 men, for a total of 406 undergraduate students. There are an additional 13 graduate students, making Soka University's entire student body for this year 419.
Is it normal to expect the student body to have almost twice as many women as men?
Now let's look at the makeup of that student body.
48 out of that freshman class (of 108 total) are nonresident aliens - typically from Japan. That's 44.4%, nearly half foreign nationals.
As for the rest:

13 are Hispanic/Latino (12%)
2 are Black/African American (1.9%)
16 White NonHispanic (14.8%)
18 Asian NonHispanic (16.7%)
1 Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, NonHispanic (0.9%)
6 Two or more races, NonHispanic (5.6%)
4 Race or Ethnicity unknown (3.7%)

The US population breakdown [July 2019] for those same categories is as follows:

Female: 50.8%
Foreign-born persons: 13.5%
Hispanic/Latino: 18.5%
Black/African American: 13.4%
White NonHispanic: 60.1%
Asian: 5.9%
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, NonHispanic: 0.2%
Two or more races: 2.8% Source

Once again, Soka U is upside down on its statistics. Does diversity matter to you as a prospective student? Do you want a student body in which your identity is robustly represented, or in which you are an endangered species?
Another important factor is the fact that Soka University was founded and is administered by a Japanese cult (Soka Gakkai; SGI is its international colonies). It is important to find out what effect that backdrop has on the student experience:
Student reviews have noted a very high proportion of SGI member students there, and students are required to live on campus, meaning that, if they're not already SGI members, they'll be surrounded by SGI members. Total immersion.

Is Soka U just another attempt at creating a structure that will streamline young people into either new faith or firmer faith? The Soka Gakkai hires directly from Soka University graduates in Japan, creating even more incentive to be a Soka Gakkai member. Given all the companies the Soka Gakkai controls in Japan, they could probably hire ALL the Soka U Japan graduates into some position somewhere. But that isn't the case here in the US, and given the SGI-USA's abysmal membership numbers, I don't see it happening. Not soon, not ever.
So, hypothetically speaking, Soka University in the USA accepts ALL the SGI-member applicants and the poor from the other applicants. Does that sound about right? Maximizing the cult's recruiting chances through careful acceptance policies?

Report from a recent Soka U USA graduate
Note, also, that Soka University faculty have taken pains to conceal their SGI affiliation:
Soka University faculty - SGI members or not?

"In this organization, lying is permitted, even encouraged . . . when you do it to promote the religion," said Joseph Shea, a Hollywood community activist who left NSA (former name of SGI-USA) in 1986. "You can continue to tell your followers: 'We're not connected to this organization that has been involved in the scandals.'"
Soka University of America spokesman Jeff Ourvan has said he would not lie to protect the organization.
But Ourvan last spring implied that he had little insight into Soka Gakkai, even though he had risen through Soka Gakkai ranks. Soka's newspaper, World Tribune, shows that Ourvan rose to a position of authority with the Soka Gakkai through the Young Men's Division, the training ground for many of the organization's leaders.
In April, 1988, in a first-person essay published in the paper, Ourvan wrote of his excitement at attending a dinner with Ikeda during a pilgrimage to Japan. "His concern for all the members amazed me," Ourvan wrote. "He performed a 45-minute magic show for us so he could make us feel comfortable, happy and welcome--like family."
However, during a public meeting on the Soka University campus in the Santa Monica Mountains last spring, Ourvan answered questions as if he had scant knowledge of Ikeda and the Soka Gakkai: "As I understand it, he's the president of the Soka Gakkai International. . . . From what I understand, it's one of the largest religious organizations in Japan." Source

Is that how honest people behave? Or is it more consistent with how you would expect cult members to behave in protecting their precious cult?
So given that such a high proportion of the student body (44.4%) consists of foreign nationals, for whom English is a second language, and the fact that Soka U courses are all taught in English, those classes will not be as academically rigorous as classes taught in English to native English speakers. They simply can't be, considering the language barrier. Here is a review that mentions this detail:

Everyone who gives 5 star reviews is blatantly exaggerating about the merits of this school. Just like all the Sgi buddhists who are devoted to their leader Ikeda, they have blind devotion to a really underwhelming curriculum that wastes our money on "CORE" classes which won't do us any good in the real world. It's embarassing to think I've wasted my money on this. No one wants to admit it, but it's a costly mistake you should avoid if you can. Go to a school with a reputation that has actual majors. Don't go to a school a school based on the positive vibes you get from it, because that's probably the only thing drawing you here, and after 4 years you will realize it's all fake anyway. You think you want to be with "global-minded" students? Go to a good school where you can get a job doing global-minded things whatever that may be. Don't go to soka just because the people there claim to care about the world. That's not worth 30k a year! Source

Here is another review that describes the atmosphere at Soka U:

I tried to comment directly on the pages but couldnt..so I will post here. About the endowment- Maybe some of it goes to teachers. I've always wondered why anyone would want to teach at an unknown school. I get why a bad teacher would, and there are many of those. But there are also some who came from Ivy League schools. They're the ones who have always been suspicious to me. They seem to be ego tripping on the students' abnormally reverent behavior. (Anyone teaching at soka must be a saint) I've always been deeply disturbed by the lack of substance of "core" classes which were filler for the lack of material for actual majors. We would be required to have class discussions and it was clear that they dumbed it down for the Japanese students and American students who clearly didn't do well in high school. I realized most of the smart students did poorly in high school due to personal problems like drug addictions and I can guarantee they would have gone to a better school otherwise.
It was uncanny how many students talked about their past drug abuse issues, and they were usually very intellectual people who were the best students. So it's not like they told me they applied to better schools, but I am sure they would have.
I regret going to Soka more than any decision in my life. I had the option of going to schools with real reputations and I chose soka based on the influence of a summer sgi youth event held at the school. It feeds on the image of happiness which I thought I needed. When I started class I realized I couldn't fake that joy that everyone else was addicted to. I felt like people were bullying me for being a normal version of myself. For example at orientation we were supposed to say 3 interesting things about ourselves. Everyone talked about extraordinary things like wanting to change the world or climbing mount Everest- literally. Nothing wrong with that, but if seemed that if you didn't want to do something huge, you were a loser. I did absolutely nothing to turn people against me and yet people were nasty to me, Ironically speaking against the sgi values they claim to support. Apparently you should only care about the value of others if they have ridiculous goals to be the next president ikeda or are just as addicted to happiness as you are. These weaklings cant seem to make friends with anyone outside of their school years after graduation (perhaps because the rest of the world isnt hyped up on the drug of extreme happiness arising from "unity". )Their facebook pages are the same as they were years ago, same exact friends from soka. It baffles me. Source
Our school feels like a little bubble on top of the hill. A lot of different types of Asian influence inside the school; however, rich American culture right outside the walls of Soka. Source

SGI is accused of being "a Japanese religion for Japanese people". Looks like they've made Soka U in their own image.
There have been protests on campus by students of color over Soka U's racism and unwillingness to consider the position of the minority students.
We're not even getting into the problem of sexual assaults and how they're handled on Soka U campus. Your safety is important.
These are serious charges that any responsible applicant should take into consideration when deciding whether Soka U is worth taking the gamble on. The university years after high school will never come again; it is truly a tragedy to see a promising young person squander their potential on a waste of time out of ignorance of the important considerations or a misplaced loyalty to a religious cult that will never reciprocate.
Do your homework.

I really like how each of the elite bigs in the league have their own strengths and weaknesses. No two unicorns are the same.

This post consists of me rambling about Embiid, Jokic, KAT, AD, Giannis, and Porzingis. (Be warned, it's pretty long.)

Giannis, AD, and KP have primarily played PF this season, but they're still bigs.

(EDIT: Added Bam and Siakam.)

"He can shoot, he can make the right plays, he can defend, he's a 7-footer that can shoot all the way out to the 3-point line," Durant said, according to ESPN's Royce Young. "That's rare. And block shots -- that's like a unicorn in this league."

For the purposes of this post, a "unicorn" is a tall player with All-NBA potential who spends a decent amount of time defending bigs and possesses a strong offensive skillset (hence someone like Rudy Gobert is omitted, as he's a defensive monster but has a more limited offensive skillset).

- Joel Embiid, 2019
- Nikola Jokic, 2019
- Karl-Anthony Towns, 2020
- Anthony Davis, 2020
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, 2019
- Kristaps Porzingis has yet to receive a player breakdown. He does appear in this discussion about the Mavs' historic 2020 offense, though.
- 2019 top 10 players breakdown, which includes Embiid , Jokic , AD , and Giannis

Joel Embiid | "The Process", "Do-a-180"

- Monster low-post scorer: Embiid has an excellent scoring rate (~28 points per 75). He does most of his damage on offense by being the most prolific post-scorer in the league (91st percentile in post scoring efficiency, 1st in frequency by a large margin), where Embiid's massive frame and Hakeem-esque post-game allow him to make opposing big men look helpless and draw fouls at a heady pace with his relentless bully ball.
- Decent scoring efficiency: +3.0 rTS%, it mostly results from a monstrous free-throw rate (10.5 FTA per 75, 81.4 FT%) and elite scoring in the paint (72 FG% from 0-3 feet). His midrange shooting has improved to an acceptable 41% too, and his 3P shooting is a decent 35%. He's been slightly less efficient in the playoffs (56TS%, +1.1 rTS%), with the caveat being that he was afflicted by injury and that the Raptors had an all-time-great playoff defense and former DPOY Marc Gasol, who made his life a nightmare (18/9/3 on 53TS% that series).
- DPOY-level defender: Embiid is an amazing defender, stemming from his elite rim protection (1.3bpg, Sixers defense improves by 7 points when he enters a game). His mammoth frame, length, and first-class shot-blocking instincts at the rim have given him a Gobert-like deterrent-effect on offenses, making opponents thinking twice about attacking the basket. The Sixers have 105.1 DRTG with Embiid on the floor, which would rank 3rd in the league. Even when he's having a bad day on offense, he can recover his impact on the other end - he was a +84 over 7 games against the Raptors last playoffs despite shooting poorly from the field, testament to his incredible defense.

The not-as-good:

- Heavy feet: Embiid can be slightly lead-footed when switching onto perimeter players, and can be blown past on closeouts. He's still a decent perimeter defender overall, as his length and timing can allow him to recover well with strong contests from behind.
- Spotty vision/passing: JoJo has as many turnovers as assists. His decision-making falters somewhat under defensive pressure. His dribble is a bit loose, too, which doesn't help in this aspect. He can make basic passes out of double-teams, though more advanced reads are beyond him for now.
- 3P-shooting has some room for improvement: He came into the league shooting 37% in his rookie year, so he's regressed somewhat since then. He's shown marked improvement this season though, making 34.8% of his threes. Joel's next step will be attempting more 3s, since he currently takes fewer than 4 threes a game. His excellent FT% (81.4%) and passable midrange efficiency (41 FG%) bode well for future improvements in his 3P shooting.
- Durability: Health will perhaps always be the biggest concern with Embiid- he's consistently missed an average of 20 games/year over his past 3 seasons. When he does see the court, he's generally been great.

Nikola Jokic | "Joker", "Big Honey"

- Passing prodigy: Best playmaking big in NBA history and one of the best passers in the league, period - Jokic's vision is reminiscent of a 7-foot Magic Johnson. He makes every single pass in the playbook quickly and accurately, never looking at his target in order to throw off defenders, adept at using his eyes to manipulate defenses. His outlet passing is the envy of any point guard - throwing outlets like this mid-rebound is unfair. Jokic runs Denver's offense from the high post, as the Nuggets' bevy of guards and wings whir around him for DHOs and PnRs. He rarely ever misses high-% layup-passes, and his otherworldly vision (helped by his 7ft frame allowing him to see over defenders) encourages his teammates to move and cut off the ball because he'll almost certainly get the ball to them the moment they make themselves open. Joker's height and wingspan allow him access to passing lanes not available to most guards and wings, deftly flicking it to teammates around the outstretched arms of defending bigs. Jokic can lob to his more athletic teammates, pitch bounce-passes to cutters through the tiniest of passing windows, no-look skip-passes to 3P-shooters, and is even capable of blending in passes with his shooting motion as he reads the help and rifles the ball neatly into a wide-open teammate's shooting/scoring pocket. For me, he's right up there as one of the finest passers in the game.
- Very good, efficient scorer: 23.2 points per 75 on +4 rTS%, mostly stemming from his versatile post game and decent midrange scoring (45 FG%). He's also got excellent touch around the rim, mixing in some floaters and hooks (elite 60.2 FG% from 3-10 ft), along with throwing his weight around in the post and pump-faking defenders into oblivion to get easy looks at the rim (elite 73 FG% from 0-3 ft). He also likes following his own/opponent misses- he has 3 offensive rebounds a game. Encouragingly, there exists some precedent for Joker elevating his offensive production when the team requires it - he put up 25/13/8 on +4.8 rTS% in 2019 playoffs, up from 20/11/7 on +2.9 rTS% in the 2019 regular season.
- Not a bad team defender! : Sound positioning and good hands(healthy steal rate for a big, ~2%) + his size and length allow him to retain good value on defense. Denver's defensive rating actually improves by +1.6 points when he's on the court.
- Clutch play: Jokic has been one of the most clutch players in the league this season- he even had two game-winners against the Sixers and Wolves. The Nuggets are ranked 5th in clutch-win% in the league (26-14 record in clutch situations) largely due to Jokic's play.
- Durability: Jokic has always been highly durable, having yet to miss a game this season. He's missed a grand total of 20 games in his entire 5-year career.

The not-as-good:

- Paint-defense: Jokic doesn't offer too much in the way of rim-protection (low block rate for a big, opponents shoot a pretty high 63 FG% in the paint when Jokic is the nearest defender). Although, as mentioned previously, his good positioning and size/length plus IQ/anticipation make him an adequate/decent team defender, often making smart rotations to stall opponent forays to the rim.
- Perimeter-defense: He also suffers from some of the the same heavy-footedness that Embiid has when switched onto non-bigs, albeit to a higher degree.
- 3P-shooting: Jokic's outside shooting has been pooinconsistent (31.4% from 3), though with some flashes of potential (he shot 40% in 2018, 39% in 2019 playoffs). His solid shooting from the midrange (45%) and from the FT line (81%) bodes well for him stretching out more succesfully in the future.
- Is perhaps too selfless on offense: Especially compared to the other behemoths on this list, Joker could probably afford to call on his own number slightly more often when it comes to scoring. I doubt his coaches or teammates would mind him scoring more, given how efficient and unselfish he normally is, and given Jamal Murray is a much less efficient scorer (-0.5 rTS%) than Jokic despite taking more shot attempts than Nikola. Jokic is clearly capable of elevating his scoring, as mentioned earlier. Given that Denver's offense is generally quite good (+2.1 rORTG this season, +2.6 rORTG last season), I don't think Jokic will necessarily change what he's doing as it's been working decently so far. However, if he wants to run a truly elite offense or be considered one of the league's best offensive players (along with Steph, LeBron, Harden, Doncic etc.), he could think about starting to score more.

Karl-Anthony Towns | "KAT"

- Elite, multi-level 3-point threat: KAT is already probably the best 3-point shooting big in NBA history, taking into account volume and efficiency - he's shot 41.2% from 3 on 7.9 attempts per game this season. (For reference, Klay Thompson, from 2015-2019, averaged 42.3% from 3 on 7.7 attempts per game.) The only players to shoot more accurately than Towns on at least as many attempts this year were Duncan Robinson (44.5%, 8.4) and Dāvis Bertāns (42.4%, 8.7). KAT's shooting is is in rarefied air. He doesn't just stand in a corner and wait for Jeff Teague or DLo to pass him the ball, either. He shoots these off-the-dribble, catch-and-shoot, stepbacks, pick-and-pop, diving around screens like he's some oversized Reggie Miller. The spacing and gravity he provides the Minnesota offense with his shooting and off-ball movement is tremendous. He destroyed the Jazz once earlier this season by hitting 7 threes and pulling reigning DPOY Gobert all the way out to the 3-point line, pushing their paint-centric defensive scheme to the breaking point. The Wolves improve by 12 points on offense when he's on the court.
- Well-rounded, exceptionally-efficient scorer: His offensive impact isn't limited to shooting, not by a long shot- close out on him too hard and he'll drive to the rim, where he's finishing at an elite 72 FG%. He barely takes any midrange shots- only 7% of his total shots come from there. His post game, however, is decently efficient (61st percentile), though he doesn't utilise it as much as Embiid or Jokic. Overall, due his incredible outside shooting, rim finishing, and decent foul drawing(8.8 FTA per 100, 79.6 FT%), his scoring output is extremely impressive- 27.2 points per 75 on amazing efficiency (+8 rTS%).
- Decent passer: KAT's passing has come along this year (4.4 APG), making good reads when he's doubled in the perimeter or in the post and finding cutters with regularity. He has a passable AST/TO ratio for a big (1.4:1).
- Good post-defense: He's good at defending other post scorers (eg. Embiid, AD), where he can take advantage of his length and strength.

The not-as-good:

- Not great at most other aspects of defense: His blocks (1.2 bpg) are more the result of block-chasing than good positioning. He's poor at navigating pick-and-roll defense. He's possibly the most laterally-challenged of the bigs in this list, his transition defense is bad, and he often falls for pump fakes. He shows potential for becoming a good rim protector- when he does manage to get in front of his man and get his hands up in time, his opponent rim DFG% is pretty great (~50 FG%)! However, his motor and defensive-IQ aren't the best- he can be found ball-watching sometimes or falling behind opponent plays, losing track of cutters or getting stranded in no man's land. Overall, Minnesota are nearly +8 points better on defense with Towns off the court. (The usually defensively-challenged Wolves were a top 10 defense for a period when KAT missed 15 games earlier on in the season, thought that was also partly because his replacement Gorgui Dieng was a defensive god.)
- Some holes in passing game: There's still room for improvement in this aspect. He's still relatively turnover-prone, and misses open high-% passes under the rim sometimes.
- Durability: Prior to this season, this was one of Town's greatest strengths- he didn't miss a single game during his 1st 3 seasons and only 5 games his 4th season (last year), and that was only because he got into a car accident. This year, however, the script has changed- he's missed 30 games with a sprained knee followed by a fractured wrist.

Anthony Davis | "AD", "The Brow"

- Excellent all-round volume-scorer: 27.8 points per 75, on ~ +5 rTS%. AD has a versatile scoring arsenal, capable of shifting his offensive game to fit cleanly within different offensive schemes (e.g. higher pace in NOLA vs. LeBron's more methodical half-court style). Possesses a variety of post-moves, hooks, spins, fakes, stepbacks, turnarounds, etc.; has a passable face-up game with a good handle, moves like a guard and capable of athletic finishes at the rim. This season he's been skilled at leaking out in transition to receive LeBron's outlet passes. His scoring has translated well to the playoffs- he's averaged 27.3 points per 75 on ~ +5 rTS% in his 3 playoff series.
- Vertical spacer: All-time lob-finisher (75 FG% from 0-3 feet). Davis's catch-radius is one of the best in NBA history. Just throw it up in the general direction of the rim and he'll make it work somehow with his touch and athleticism. His addition to the Lakers is a major reason why LeBron's leading the league in assists (2.8 of LeBron's 10.6 assists/game go to AD). It's an underrated part of his game as it allows him to fit with a variety of teams and mesh well with ball-dominant stars.
- Decent passer: This is mostly based on his last season at New Orleans, which was his peak year as a passer. In the 2019 season, with their starting PGs missing significant time due to injury, the Pelicans leaned on Jrue Holiday's versatile playmaking gifts more, but they also parked AD in the high post and ran offense through him from there, letting him weaponise his own threat to score by feeding cutters with neat interior pocket passes or spraying kickout passes to shooters when he got doubled. He averaged 4.4 assists and only 2.0 turnovers prior to his trade request, producing a very efficient 2.2:1 AST/TO ratio. However, AD's playmaking has regressed this season (only 3.3 APG, uninspiring AST/TO ratio of 1.25:1) as he's gone more off-ball than in 2019 with LeBron manning point full-time in LA.
- DPOY-level defender: Highly likely to finish in the top-2 in voting this season. His weakside rim-protection is elite - the Lakers have had a top-3 defense due in no small part to his efforts. He's highly switchable, too, capable of jumping onto guards and wings as required and scaring them silly. His motor has been excellent and he closes out hard on shooters. He's handsy as well, with good defensive instincts- he has a good eye for anticipating plays and jumping passing lanes. His steal-rate is elite for a big, and he hasn't gambled too much this year, either. He often cleans up mistakes by teammates, allowing them the freedom to play aggressive defense on the perimeter because they know that he's always got a watchful eye out to pounce on any perpetrators who make it past them. Works well in tandem with the Lakers bigs (Dwight/McGee) so that if either of them gets beat, he is still there to protect the rim. Strangely enough, the Lakers' defensive rating actually improves when he sits, perhaps because Dwight/McGee are more than weaker opponent bench units can handle.
- Surprisingly healthy: The opposite of KAT - durability is generally considered a weakness of AD's, but this season he's missed only 8 games. Good stuff!

The not-as-good:

- 3P/Midrange Shooting: Much like Embiid, AD's 33.5% 3-point shooting on 3.5 attempts/game isn't awful, but it isn't good enough to consistently garner defenders' respect either. His midrange efficiency isn't great, either, too, at about 38 FG%. The latter isn't too detrimental to his overall scoring game, however, as it at least allows him to keeps defender honest in the post. Regardless, his foul drawing (8.3 FTA per 100, 85 FT%) and elite rim finishing does allow him to compensate for his relatively weaker jumper.
- Ability to run an offense: It remains to be seen whether AD can run an efficient team offense as a primary initiator, like a slasher like Giannis/LeBron/Kawhi or a full-time high-post operator like Jokic in Denver or Kevin Garnett back in the day on the Wolves. Perhaps further improving his handle or his strength will allow him to do so, since he already proved he possesses decent playmaking vision in New Orleans last year. When LeBron's been off the court this season, his decision-making on-the-ball has been inconsistent at times. Even so, as things stand, the Lakers still have a good offense (+2.6 rORTG) with AD playing primarily off-ball, so I doubt that's going to change much in the foreseeable future.
- Some areas for improvement on defense: Ball-watches every so often, though greatly improved from last season. Quicker guards can still occasionally blow by him. Misses the odd help scenario. Gambles sporadically for steals, though it works out for him more often than not. The KAT's and Embiid's and Giannis's of the world have sometimes caused him trouble before, though he often holds his own too.

Giannis Antetokounmpo | "The Greek Freak"

- All-time-level slasher and rim-finisher: Elite drive-and-kick game that is the crux of Milwaukee's 7th-ranked offense. A monster in transition, and getting increasingly comfortable as a shooter in half-court situations. Has some post-moves too, with some basic fadeaways, flip shots, and hooks, made all the more dangerous with his incredible wingspan. Has started taking more midrange and three-point jumpshots off-the-dribble this season.
- Elite volume scorer: Giannis has the highest scoring rate in the league (yes, higher than James Harden), on good efficiency: 32.9 points per 75 on ~ +4.5 rTS%. He is the likely MVP, leading a historically good Bucks team while averaging only 30.9 minutes per game. There are some worries that elite playoff defenses (most famously, the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 ECF) can limit his scoring output (22/14/6 on 52 TS% that series), but it's really only the very very best of defenses, with ideal personnel and scheme, that have proven that they can slow him down. He mowed down Boston's 1st- and 7th-ranked defenses in consecutive postseasons, to the tune of 26/12/5 on 62 TS% in 2018, and 28/11/5 on 62 TS% in 2019. What the Raptors accomplished in 2019 isn't easily replicable.
- Transition terror: The most prolific transition scorer in the league, with his long, long strides, speed, length, and poweskill around the rim. Also, shoutout to his huge hands and underrated handle for letting to him to move as fast as he does with the ball.
- DPOY-level defender: The favourite to win the award this season, he's a high-level rim-deterrent with his length, instincts, and athleticism. Opponents score an anemic 41% at the rim when Giannis is the closest defender, the best mark in the league. He's also a skilled perimeter defender. Milwaukee improve by +8.0 points on defense when he's on the court (they have a ridiculous 98.7 DRTG when Giannis plays), and he rates very highly on the majority of available defensive impact metrics. 2019-20 Milwaukee are one of the best defensive teams ever, and Giannis is the best overall defender on the team. He's long, fast, twitchy, and strong, capable of switching 1-5 without batting an eye. With the Lopez twins walling off the rim, Giannis is free to roam and generally wreak havoc where needed, scaring shooters off the line, providing weakside rim-help as required, shadowing ball-handlers step-for-step and occasionally stamping their layups onto the glass with his huge paws or simply clouding their vision with his massive reach. When he is beat by a guard/wing on the perimeter, he doesn't chase blocks, instead staying grounded and disciplined, often funneling these slashers to the equally-long waiting arms of human fly-swatter Brook Lopez at the rim as the Bucks' game-plan decrees, while he stalks them from behind, helping effectively make the paint a no-fly zone. Much like AD, his condor wingspan shrinks passing lanes and deters high-leverage interior passes.
- Decent passer: An adept and willing passer for a 7-foot human, gathering 5.8 APG this season. He's skilled at lasering kickouts to Milwaukee's armada of shooters if his initial penetration fails/draws help defenders, and has some success making tight interior passes near the rim.
- Durability: Giannis is rarely injured.

The not-as-good:

- Some areas to improve in terms of passing/vision: Has room to improve in terms of interior passing, sometimes doesn't recognise open cutters or the passes themselves can be off-target etc.. Turnover-prone at times, has imperfect decision-making if he's under intense ball-pressure by elite defensive bigs/wings (guys like Bam, Embiid, Jonathan Isaac). Notably, the Raptors' monster playoff defense led by the length and IQ of Kawhi/Gasol/Siakam greatly tested his passing ability and decision-making last playoffs, leading to him turning the ball over much more often than usual (5.5 assists : 4.2 turnovers).
- Poor outside shooting: Giannis has become much more comfortable taking these shots, attempting nearly 5 a game this season, but he's still not very good at making them (30.6 3P%). Defenses still heave a sigh of relief when they see him pulling up for 3. He's also shooting 38% from midrange, which isn't much better.
- Some areas for improvement on defense: Has occasional lapses on off the ball, arriving late on help, whether due to motoball-watching or not recognising plays until it's too late; can get blown past by quick guards due when he closes out sometimes (though his length/athleticism helps clean up some of his own errors); has trouble navigating screens sometimes because he's so large. Like AD, elite post-players can still overpower him on occasion, but luckily for Giannis there aren't that many elite post players any more.
- FT shooting: This could be an aberration, but his FT-shooting has greatly regressed this season, at 63 FT%. This can limit his effectiveness on offense in clutch situations (notably, he shot a ghastly 58% from the line against the Raptors in last season's ECF), and put a cap on his overall scoring efficiency. Prior to 2020, he's shot 74% in the regular season, so he's certainly capable of being a decent FT-shooter.

Kristaps Porzingis | "KP", "Unicorn"

- Potential elite shooter: Porzingis's offensive potential still lies mainly in his incredible shooting (40% from 3 in 2018), though he's yet to recover that elite form this season. However, he remains highly dangerous, taking a wide variety of threes at a very high rate (7.1 attempts per game) and hitting a decent enough percentage of them (35%) that defenders have to respect his shot. In his last 14 games, he averaged 37% on 9.1 attempts per game. Much like KAT, he's a dynamic shooter, shooting off movement, off-the-dribble, off-the-catch (& pick-and-pop), pulling up from well behind the 3-point line, etc., spacing the floor for Dallas's resident offensive genius Luka to go to work.
- Good rim finisher: He finishes very well at the rim (72 FG%).
- Elite paint defender: Porzingis flashes All-Defensive value with his rim-protection (led the league in blk% in 2018, is 6th in blk% and has very good paint DFG% of 49.5% in 2020), and defensive instincts. The Mavs improve by 3.2 points on defense with Porzingis on the floor. His oft-maligned rebounding has greatly improved this season, too, snagging almost 10 boards a game, up from 6.6 in his last healthy season on the Knicks.

The not-as-good:

- Very limited playmaking: KP's passing/vision remains his weakest suit (1.7 assists/game). He's actually improved slightly this season, being a more willing passer and participant in Dallas's dynamic offense, but his assist rate still lags in the single digits, at 8.6% (for reference, AD's is about 15%, KAT 23%, Jokic 34%), and he has almost as many turnovers as assists.
- Scoring efficiency/shooting: His poor shooting to start the season coming off a serious injury hurt his efficiency, which is currently 2 points below league average (-2 rTS%). He averaged an excellent 60TS% in his final 14 games, though, signs that he was rounding into form before the quarantine hit.
- Not a great perimeter defender, but still decent: With his lanky 7'3'' frame, he's not the best at closing out to shooters (opposing players hit 40% of their threes when he's the closest defender), and while he can move his feet decently for a big and he's surprisingly athletic, his fundamentals defending the perimeter and effort can seemingly be lacking sometimes: he's often "flat-footed, erect", and doesn't always have his hands up.
- Durability: KP has missed a season and a half prior to this one with a torn ACL, and missed 15 games this season too. His health remains a huge asterisk, though it's promising that he was healthy and playing games up until the quarantine hit - he played 20 of the Mavs' last 25 games.

That's it for today. Thanks for reading!
**JUST KIDDING, I FORGOT ABOUT BAM.

Bam Adebayo | "Bam", "Bam Bam"

- Versatile inside scorer: 17.6 points per 75 on +4.2 rTS%. Bam was a revelation for the Heat this season, utilising his length and explosive athleticism well to finish at the rim (both from half-court and in transition), scoring at an elite rate (73.5 FG%) from 0-3ft. He's an adept lob-finisher from Miami's guards, with about 72% of his total baskets being assisted - for comparison's sake, AD, a similarly adept off-ball rim-finisher (albeit on better efficiency and much higher volume), has about 64% of his total baskets assisted. Similar to AD, Bam's far from a one-trick pony when it comes to scoring, often running pick-and-rolls and hand-offs with Miami's army of guards and wings (he has especially good chemistry with Duncan Robinson and Jimmy Butler) to find clean looks at the rim. He often employs his 7.1ft wingspan and athleticism to rebound team misses (including his own), with 2.5 offensive rebounds/game either resulting in tip-ins or neat passes to open teammates. He's got surprisingly deft touch further away from the rim, too, with little floaters, finger-rolls, and hooks in the paint (outside the painted area), finishing there at an impressive 45% rate (his hooks are especially efficient, going in 56% of the time). Outside of the paint, his short-midrange game is money, too, for a big, finishing 42% of his short midrange attempts. Going any further than that, though, yields diminishing returns for Bam - he shoots a woeful 19 FG% outside 16 feet. Fortunately for Miami, though, Bam sticks to his strengths, with only 7% of his total shot attempts coming from outside 16ft.
- Elite passer for a big: Outside of Jokic and Draymond, there isn't a better passing big in the game today. His 5.1 assists/game are impressive enough, but it's the way he goes about getting these dimes that stands out. Coach Spoelstra has effectively given him the keys to Miami's offense this season for a reason- his offensive IQ is excellent, and he routinely makes quick and smart decisions with the ball in his hands. As stated earlier, he's Miami's primary high post operator, with Bam's dribble handoffs (DHOs) and PnRs with their guards being one of the primary features of their offense. His low post passing is great, too, often setting up Miami's other bigs with adept interior bounce passes and lobs when the help commits to him, and he can drive-and-kick to the Heat's shooters as well, Giannis-style. In transition, he's fully capable of and willing to grab a defensive rebound and start the break on his own - he's got a really good handle for a big - either creating his own score with that elite paint finishing we talked about, or making quick kickouts to Duncan Robinson for transition 3s. If a transition score doesn't happen at first, he will push for a quick DHO with a guard, with Bam's elite screening and Miami's elite shooters meaning that said 3PA is highly likely to go in. Bam is highly active on offense, too, always either scoring, setting a screen, or orchestrating from the elbows.
- Elite, multi-positional defender: In the words of Zach Lowe's excellent piece on Bam, he is "addicted" to defense. Bam is an incredibly high-motor and versatile defender, and is already an All-Defensive lock in his first season as a starter. His steal rates (elite for a big) and block rates speak for themselves, but his versatility is what stands out the most - he's equally capable when switched onto Stephen Curry as he is Giannis Antetokounmpo. Opponents shoot worse from every spot on the floor when Bam is the closest defender (43 FG% overall), be it from 3 (33.8%) or in the paint (55.8%). Bam's footwork and fundamentals guarding the perimeter are impeccable, shuffling perfectly along with guards and wings as they try to dribble past, reminiscent of Draymond or KG, and his strength and wingspan allows him to bang down low with the behemoths of the league as well, despite standing at 'only' 6-8. He's a ferocious and competitive rebounder, too, a major contributor to Miami's 3rd-ranked defensive rebounding rate.
- Durability: Bam has played in every single game for Miami the past two seasons.

The less good:

- Some gaps in playmaking: He's a bit too excitable sometimes, and can turn the ball over trying to squeeze the ball through tiny gaps between defenders' arms near the rim. I love his aggression and offensive ideas, though - these high percentage passes put a lot of pressure on opponent defenses. His AST/TO ratio of 1.8:1 is still fantastic for a player who's helping Jimmy Butler run a strong Miami offense (+2.3 rORTG) for the first time. He can miss the shooting pocket occasionally too, and his vision isn't perfect, missing open teammates on occasion. With more experience and once he becomes a more dangerous scorer, he will presumably become a better passer as the passing lanes become more open when he starts to command more defensive attention.
- Non-existent 3P shooting: Bam is (correctly) completely ignored by defenders on the perimeter (once again, he shoots a horrendous 19 FG% outside 16 feet). The Heat's system masks these flaws, making great use of his physical gifts as a fantastic and physical screener and elite passing big in DHOs and PnRs. His shot selection helps issues, too, as the vast majority (93%) of his shot attempts come inside 16 feet. On other teams with fewer offensive weapons, his lack of spot up shooting would likely become a larger issue.
- Lower scoring rate than peers: Bam's scoring rate pales in comparison to some of the other guys in this list, and there will be a ways to go before he becomes a primary scoring option. His post game is below average (40th percentile), his ISO-scoring is only barely passable (50th percentile). In the PnR he's proficient as both a roll-man (67th percentile) and, amusingly, on very low volume, as a ball-handler (84th percentile). Perhaps expanding his post-game will allow Miami to run more offense through him like Denver do with Jokic, or Philly with Embiid/Lakers with AD. Alternatively, he could practise and develop his outside shooting more.
- Some defensive flaws: Bam's rim protection lags behind the best (Gobert, Giannis, AD, Brook Lopez, Embiid, Draymond, Jonathan Isaac etc.), and larger centers can still finish over him on occasion (his 6-8 frame probably comes into play here). While Bam's man defense is impeccable, his team defensive impact seems to lag behind slightly- he's possibly a touch slow on help rotations occasionally or ball-watches sometimes. Miami's defensive rating with Bam on the floor would rank around 12th in the league (109.6 DRTG, +0.8 rDRTG), and it "only" improves by +1.7 points when Bam enters the game. However, defense, of course, is a team effort- the Jazz's seemingly perpetual top 5 defense dropped to 11th this year, even though Gobert's arguably been better on that end than he's ever been from the eyetest - losing defensive stalwarts in Favors and Rubio probably contributed to that. In Miami's case, key starter Duncan Robinson isn't a great defender, and they lack good defensive bigs outside of Adebayo- there's only so much one man can do; backup Cs Leonard and Olynyk (primarily shooters) are woeful rim protectors, and Jones Jr is decent but primarily plays SF. It's to Bam's and Butler's (and Spoelstra's) credit that the team has a positive defensive rating at all.

EDIT 2: Some exposition on per 75 by pbcorporeal

A modern NBA game has about 100 possessions (a little more actually). An important player will usually average about 34-35 minutes a game which is a little under 75% of the total minutes.
So per 75 brings the stats roughly in line with what we're used to a player's stats being on a per game basis so recognising what a "good" level becomes more intuitive (like using per 36 instead of per 48).

EDIT 3:

- Mike Prada of SB Nation on JAREN JACKSON JR.

- PASCAL SIAKAM

gambling addiction statistics 2019 video

We look at the latest Global Gambling Statistics: Comparing revenue, popular games & personal data to discover the world's best Gambling nations in 2021. 7 Online Gambling Statistics in 2019. By. James Daniels - July 1, 2020. 1. Facebook. Twitter. WhatsApp. ReddIt. It’s official! The statistics are in, and we can now examine what took place in the world of gambling throughout the year of 2019. Here are the most notable stats of which to take notice! The online gambling industry is now worth close to $50 billion. Research has shown that the Gambling Problem Statistics. Gambling is not a victimless addiction. Not only does problem gambling cause serious problems to the family members of the addicted individual, overall problem gambling costs the economy $17 billion every year, according to the National Council on Problem Gambling. Important gambling problem facts and statistics The risk of developing a gambling addiction more than doubles for young adults in college settings; An estimated six percent of American college students struggle with gambling problems; 4. Gambling & PTSD Trends. People affected by post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD live with high levels of stress and anxiety on a daily basis. Gambling addiction statistics show high rates of gambling addiction among PTSD sufferers. • A total of 9,008 individuals were treated within gambling services (who report to Data Reporting Framework (DRF)) in Great Britain within 2019/20. • A large majority of clients (75%) were male. • Nine tenths (89%) were from a White ethnic background (Table 5), including 81% White British and 5% White European. 4. 750,000 individuals aged 14-21 are addicted to gambling. While gambling addiction is often viewed as an “adult” problem, recent research suggests that it affects young people as well as adults. Over three-quarters of a million of young people aged 14 to 21 have a gambling addiction. As many as 10 million Americans live with a gambling addiction. The act of gambling itself is not illegal in most situations, which can make it easier for people to justify risky gambling behaviors. Unfortunately, most people who have a gambling addiction don’t see it as a problem. Other statistics reveal that while there are people who do seek treatment for their gambling addiction, over 70% end up returning to the world of betting. People with this type of disorder are more likely to suffer from other types of mental health and substance abuse issues. Many gamblers also have an Other gambling-related statistics. Statistics available from other government bodies which measure and report on the gambling market. Gambling participation and problem gambling. We regularly collect data on gambling both in terms of information about the consumer and the method they choose to gamble. National Lottery statistics – returns to good causes . Camelot's sales reporting and the

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A conversation with Jason: recovering from problem gambling

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Annual Statistics from the National Gambling Treatment

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gambling addiction statistics 2019 - win

Welcome to the Carnival

I made a pretty comprehensive voting guide.

An Industry Deep Dive on How Games Became a Service

Addiction / mental wellness related investments for 2021?

I really like how each of the elite bigs in the league have their own strengths and weaknesses. No two unicorns are the same!

This post consists of me rambling about Embiid, Jokic, KAT, AD, Giannis, and Porzingis. (Be warned, it's pretty long.)

(EDIT: Added Bam and Siakam.)

For the purposes of this post, a "unicorn" is a tall player with All-NBA potential who spends a decent amount of time defending bigs and possesses a strong offensive skillset (hence someone like Rudy Gobert is omitted, as he's a defensive monster but has a more limited offensive skillset).

Joel Embiid | "The Process", "Do-a-180"

Nikola Jokic | "Joker", "Big Honey"

Karl-Anthony Towns | "KAT"

Anthony Davis | "AD", "The Brow"

Giannis Antetokounmpo | "The Greek Freak"

Kristaps Porzingis | "KP", "Unicorn"

Bam Adebayo | "Bam", "Bam Bam"

EDIT 2:

- Mike Prada of SB Nation on JAREN JACKSON JR.

- PASCAL SIAKAM

Soka University: The Definitive Resource

I really like how each of the elite bigs in the league have their own strengths and weaknesses. No two unicorns are the same.

This post consists of me rambling about Embiid, Jokic, KAT, AD, Giannis, and Porzingis. (Be warned, it's pretty long.)

(EDIT: Added Bam and Siakam.)

For the purposes of this post, a "unicorn" is a tall player with All-NBA potential who spends a decent amount of time defending bigs and possesses a strong offensive skillset (hence someone like Rudy Gobert is omitted, as he's a defensive monster but has a more limited offensive skillset).

Joel Embiid | "The Process", "Do-a-180"

Nikola Jokic | "Joker", "Big Honey"

Karl-Anthony Towns | "KAT"

Anthony Davis | "AD", "The Brow"

Giannis Antetokounmpo | "The Greek Freak"

Kristaps Porzingis | "KP", "Unicorn"

Bam Adebayo | "Bam", "Bam Bam"

EDIT 3:

- Mike Prada of SB Nation on JAREN JACKSON JR.

- PASCAL SIAKAM

gambling addiction statistics 2019 video

gambling addiction statistics 2019 top

A conversation with Jason: recovering from problem gambling