Welcome to this week’s episode of Hot Takedown, our podcast where the hot sports takes of the week meet the numbers that prove them right or tear them down. On this week’s show (for April 21, 2015), we’re joined by special guest Caitlin Kelly of The New Yorker, filling in for Neil Paine. We discuss the NBA playoffs, why the Golden State Warriors are so good, and why the Philadelphia Sixers and New York Knicks had such perverse incentives all season long. We also get into why everyone has a hot take about Tim Tebow. And our significant digit this week is one — that’s where you can find the New York Red Bulls ranked in the MLS standings, after everyone said New York FC would eclipse them as the city’s favorite soccer team.
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Links to what we discuss in this week’s show:
- FiveThiryEight’s statistical guide to the 2015 NBA playoffs.
- Nate Silver’s proposal to fix the NBA lottery.
- The Skip Bayless-Tim Tebow autotune song.
- Significant Digit: The first-place Red Bulls and their European-starless roster.
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