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Poeltl NBA Game: 8 tips and hints to improve your scores

By Michael Shearer

DALLAS, TEXAS - APRIL 10: Jakob Poeltl #25 of the San Antonio Spurs looks to pass in the game against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center on April 10, 2022 in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tim Heitman/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TEXAS - APRIL 10: Jakob Poeltl #25 of the San Antonio Spurs looks to pass in the game against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center on April 10, 2022 in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tim Heitman/Getty Images) /
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Poeltl NBA Game
BOSTON, MA – JANUARY 05: Jakob Poeltl #25 of the San Antonio Spurs looks on during a game against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on January 5, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts, Poeltl NBA Game: 8 tips and tricks to improve your scores. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) /

Based on the popular Wordle game, Poeltl (yes, it rhymes with Wordle) gives you eight chances to guess a random NBA player. Each player you guess will provide you with further hints based on categories like team, conference, height, age, and position. You’ll have to “Marco?” “Polo!” your way to the correct answer by triangulating across these categories.

You don’t want to rely on random guessing for success; it helps to have a few tricks up your sleeve. Below are the best hints to guide you toward Poeltl dominance. Good luck!

Poeltl NBA Game: 8 tips and hints – 1. Learn the Divisions

The least appreciated category in Poeltl is divisions. Even diehard NBA fans don’t know every division’s teams because, unlike football or baseball, they’re not particularly meaningful for playoff races and don’t necessarily drive rivalries. However, they are essential for beating Poeltl in the minimum number of guesses each day as they can help you find a player’s team quickly.

It might help to see a map, but the divisions are mostly pretty logical by geographical boundaries. Here’s the easiest way to remember them.

Western Conference Divisions

Pacific: The four California teams (Golden State, LAL, LAC, and Sacramento) plus Phoenix, which is basically California. The simplest division.

Southwest: Similarly, this is the three Texas teams (Dallas, Houston, San Antonio), New Orleans, and Memphis. Sure, Memphis isn’t the Southwest by normal geographical standards, but if you remember that OKC is in the Northwest division since it’s colder than Memphis, it’s easy enough.

Northwest: Portland and Minnesota are natural fits. Utah and Denver have, uh, mountains, so that counts. Oklahoma City trips people up occasionally, but remember that it IS further north than Memphis, so fine, it can go in the Northwest, I guess.

Eastern Conference Divisions:

Southeast: Geographically reasonable. Orlando, Miami, Atlanta, and Charlotte are obvious, so just remember that Washington, DC is still the most southeastern of all the remaining Eastern cities.

Central: All the Rust Belt cities – Milwaukee, Chicago, Indianapolis, Cleveland, and Detroit. It would be an easy road trip to hit all the Central Division cities in the Midwest.

Atlantic: Philadelphia, New York, Brooklyn, and Boston – check. Toronto is neither a southeastern city nor a Central Division blue-collar town and so it falls here by default.

Poeltl NBA Game: 8 tips and hints – 2. Pick a starting player who is central in many categories

You can challenge yourself by picking a different first player every day, but to maximize efficient guessing, it’s best to start with a very average player. Choosing players like Cam Johnson, Kelly Oubre, the Martin twins, or Zach Lavine, all of whom are in the middle of the pack in height, age, and even jersey number, can help. Bonus points if they played for multiple teams.