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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
DALLAS, TEXAS – APRIL 10: Jakob Poeltl #25 of the San Antonio Spurs on the court in the game against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center on April 10, 2022 in Dallas, Texas, 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 Tim Heitman/Getty Images) /

Poeltl NBA Game: 8 tips and hints – 3. The positions can be iffy, the heights surprising, and the ages young

Something to keep in mind: Poeltl differentiates between positions like G-F and F-G, and it will sometimes have positional designations that you would disagree with. It’s never flat-out wrong, but it definitely takes some liberties with guys who play multiple positions.

Similar story with height. If you thought a guy was 6’8″ but the correct player is 6’9″, don’t let that scare you off from trying your man.

The league is young. The median age of an NBA player in 2021-2022 was 25, so most of the players will be 25 or younger. There aren’t many players older than 33, so that can also be a good giveaway.

Basketball Reference lets you sort players by age, so it might be worth a quick glance one day to study up on the age extremes – it’s surprisingly helpful (if you’re the kind of person that would spend thirty seconds studying for Poeltl). Height, too, has short tails on either end of its distribution that are worth knowing.

Poeltl NBA Game: 8 tips and hints – 4. Being wrong is just as helpful as being right

This game rewards being wrong just as much as being correct. For example, the other day, my first guess was Caleb Martin. On the surface, it was a terrible guess: every category was completely wrong except height, which was yellow (meaning it was within two inches) and taller than Martin’s 6’5″. Poeltl also said that Martin’s age (26) was too young and not within two years of being correct.

However, he was actually a perfect first clue. Caleb is listed only as a forward, and that was wrong. Since I knew the correct height was either 6’6″ or 6’7″, the right answer couldn’t be a center and therefore had to be a guard.

Caleb plays in the East, so I knew the right answer had to be in the Western Conference. There aren’t many guards that tall, and even fewer in the West. Lonzo Ball is a Bull, LaMelo Ball is a Hornet, Dalano Banton is a Raptor.

Plus, those guys are too young. You can usually assume older players will be guys who have stuck around longer and therefore are easier to guess. Therefore, the next guard I thought of was Spencer Dinwiddie, and voila! That was the correct answer.

Poeltl NBA Game: 8 tips and hints – 5. Don’t forget trades and injuries

Since the 2022-2023 season hasn’t started yet, your brain won’t be able to picture Rudy Gobert in a Wolves jersey or Dejounte Murray in a Hawks uniform, for example. If you have the team right but can’t think of anyone else on the roster, try to remember guys who have moved or who missed big chunks of the last season with an injury.