Puma Playmaker Pro Performance Review

 Great traction and materials for $80. Cushioning offers little in the form of impact protection, but a good basketball shoe for the price.

Release Date: 2022

Price: $80

7/10

Total Score

 

Weight and Sizing

 

The Puma Playmaker Pro is Puma Hoops’ current most-budget model and one more piece of evidence that Puma actually puts some TLC into the design of every single one of their hoop shoes.

Nowadays, you, unfortunately, can’t ask for much from an $80 basketball shoe, and there isn’t much in the Puma Playmaker Pro, to be perfectly honest. But the design team for this shoe really did get the most out of this model. The Puma Playmaker Pro is currently being worn on NBA courts by the Boston Celtics’ top defensive weapon, Marcus Smart, so keep that in mind. If it works in the NBA, it can work for you.

Spanish review

The pair I tested was provided by the good people over at Bouncewear, one of the top online basketball stores in Europe, with physical locations in Belgium, France, and Luxembourg, with more locations soon to come. So with all that being said, let’s jump into the performance review

Traction

The traction would be this shoe’s top feature if it hadn’t been for the materials, but more on that later. This shoe features a solid rubber outsole, with a diamond-shaped matrix traction pattern, which personally reminds me of a basketball net.

This matrix configuration grips the court very well and has excellent multidirectional coverage. The diamonds along the sole deform depending on the section of the shoe to give you a better grip for the specific moves you make with that portion of your foot. They stretch out vertically on the lateral side of the shoe (to aid in defensive slides and such) and horizontally in the forefoot (to help with moves like stepbacks, hard plants, etc.).

Now, I would not suggest using this shoe outdoors. The rubber is too soft, and the pattern on my pair already has signs of fraying after just a couple of outdoor sessions. The pattern is somewhat deep set, so it should take some time to wear down, but again, if you are asking me, this is an indoor shoe.

Cushion

The cushioning on the Puma Playmaker Pro was the most disappointing feature of the shoe for me, but that was mainly because of my preconceptions regarding Puma’s ProFoam.

The Playmaker Pro features a full-length slab of ProFoam for cushioning. I have tested ProFoam before in one of my favorite basketball shoes of the year, the Puma TRC Blaze Court. That shoe is super bouncy underfoot and just feels great. It features a ProFoam midsole and Trinomic cushioning in the heel and forefoot.

So when I saw that this shoe had ProFoam, I figured the cushioning would be similar. But it’s definitely nothing alike.

The Playmaker Pro’s impact protection is minimal, and the ProFoam feels very neutral, almost to the point of being “dead.” The setup isn’t terrible, it’s very stable and reactive and feels agile, but again this is not a shoe for outdoors, or even a slightly hard indoor court. Parquet and mushy PVC courts only for these guys.

Materials

This is easily my favorite part of the shoe. There is nothing premium about the materials, but similar to another great Puma model from this year, the Puma Court Rider 2, the choice of materials and the implementation make the shoe feel great in hand.

We have a primarily textile upper with some synthetic leather overlays and some hits of actual suede. The “leather” overlays are placed in sections of the shoe to add durability and containment to the shoe, and just make you feel like your money is well spent. I can’t explain it any other way.

It also gives the shoe serious, early-2000s vibes, which is all I want from a shoe materials-wise.

Support

The shoe really doesn’t feature any groundbreaking tech support-wise, but everything on the shoe works together to offer a really secure feeling ride. The traction is grippy and offers a very wide and stable base to the shoe. The cushioning, though lacking in impact protection, is super stable as the materials give structure and containment to the upper. Finally, we have a couple of lace cables and a run-of-the-mill heel counter for extra lockdown.

Again nothing remarkable, but no complaints either.

Fit

The Puma Playmaker Pro fits true to size, so go with whatever size you usually use with Puma. The shoe doesn’t have that perfect performance you will find in the LeBron 20 for example, but it isn’t a sloppy fit, nor does it negatively affect performance.

On a positive note, however, the extra space should accommodate wide footers well, and the decoupled tongue should allow ankle brace users to adjust the fit easily.

Overall

To keep it short and sweet, I don’t think there is a better shoe that retails for $80. Is it the best shoe I have ever tested? No. But I did like the shoe, and if you are looking for a reactive shoe with great traction for indoor use that won’t break the bank, this is a good option. 

Now, I will say that if you can get a good deal on a better performance model, that would be the best move.

Nike Zoom GT Cut 2 Performance Review

 The Nike Zoom GT Cut 2 is a much-anticipated basketball shoe because of the first edition’s awesomeness. We think it will do well as a successor.

Colorway: Summit White/Metallic Summit White/White

Release Date: 2022

Price: $150

8.5/10

Total Score

The Nike GT Cut was a hit for everyone as far as performance went and made our Best Basketball Shoes list. It was so much of a hit that people started to hoard the shoe, and resell prices skyrocketed. Some pairs now go upwards of $1000. Its successor, the Nike Zoom GT Cut 2, keeps many features people loved about the previous iteration and upgrades others. Stay tuned for the upcoming performance review.

Traction

Stan: The Nike Zoom GT Cut 2 is an upgrade over its predecessor. That ‘Smear’ traction wrapped around the forefoot area really grips the ground well along with the heel and toe nubs. However, don’t expect it to last long on outdoor courts because it’ll wear down quickly.

Cushion

Stan: Full-length React midsole cushion with a small embedded hex heel zoom air pod and full-length Zoom strobel – what a combo. Slightly different from the 1st gen model, but the amount of impact protection the shoe provided allows me to ball for a good period of time without the knee pain after. Solid implementation and upgrade even while the React felt a little firmer. I felt low to the ground, had control of my movements, and never had really to second guess my movements, minus one caveat I’ll get to later.

Materials

Stan: Um.. wish I could skip this, but I wouldn’t mind that if Nike added more neoprene padded material to the upper along the tongue and toe box again. Because of the change to a more breathable textile mesh, you want to subtract the weight. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I’d expect better materials for the Nike Zoom GT Cut 2’s high price point.

Fit

Stan: I went true to size with the Nike Zoom GT Cut 2, and lengthwise it fits great. I do prefer a thumbs length worth of room, and that’s what I got. I’d say the fit would be great, minus the lack of wrap-around material on the tongue. The lack of material allowed my foot around the ankle area to shift too much, not providing ample lockdown until I wore ankle braces to fill in the dead space. Not only was it dangerous on the initial play, but it also made me second-guess my lateral movements and foot pressure on pivots while being afraid of a potential ankle sprain. If the tongue material were wrapped around more like the original GT Cut, the problem would be solved.

Support

Stan: The support comes mainly from the fit, which, again, if you’ve read above, the lack of material /dead space really threw me off my game until I wore braces to fill in the space. The traction and the cushion of the Nike Zoom GT Cut 2 were all fantastic, so there are no questions or doubts about those parts.

Nike Zoom GT Cut 2 Overall

Stan: Is the Nike Zoom GT Cut 2 a possible successor? I’d say yes with a huge asterisk. Again, the issue I have may not affect everyone, however, when I start to second guess my moves, it’s a red flag for sure. And for those suggesting double socks, that would affect the length of the shoe with additional material as well as adding more heat retention.

Nike had a good thing going for them, if they only stuck with that wider tongue wrap-around from the first version to fill in the gap around the ankle, I’d say we’d have an absolute top 2 or 3 performance shoe of the year. It takes a lot for me to give such high praise for a shoe (I mean, take a look at the 6 pairs of the Nike GT Cut 1 that I own, that says something). Here’s to hoping Swoosh pays attention to those little details that make a world of a difference. I’m anxious to see the next iteration of the GT Cut (with proper modifications) don’t make me wait too long… I’m ready.

Nike Air Max Impact 4 Performance Review

 The Nike Air Max Impact 4 is the best budget basketball shoe on the market today, a great outdoor option, and just a great performance basketball shoe.

Release Date: 2022

Price: $90

 

The Nike Air Max Impact 4 is like that dorky-looking kid on the local courts that you think you can clown but who ends up dunking on you and sends you home packing. This budget model is an unassuming banger, and it gets extra points precisely because of this. I’m a sucker for a hoop shoe that looks like a plain jane and then comes in and knocks it out of the park.

The Air Jordan 3 was already an awesome performance basketball shoe, and the Air Max Impact 4 brings back everything that was great from that shoe and incorporates a couple of improvements. And it does all of that at a cheaper price than its predecessor! I live in Spain, and the Air Max Impact 4 is 6 bucks cheaper than the Air Max Impact 3. In the US, they’re the same price, but still…

In any case, let’s dive into the performance review to see why I’m so hyped about this shoe.

Traction

The traction makes you wonder why Nike ever uses a different pattern and rubber compound. We have an aggressive and deeply set full-length herringbone traction pattern that gives you really great multi-directional coverage. It’s the same exact setup as on the Impact 3, so if you had that shoe you know exactly what I am talking about. The rubber compound is grippy and tough and worked great indoors and outdoors.

This combo also makes the Air Max Impact 4 a really wonderful outdoor option as well as far as traction goes (spoiler alert, everything else on the shoe also makes it a great outdoor option). The rubber gripped very well when I played outdoors, and that strong rubber and the thickness of the pattern all added durability while playing on the blacktop.

Cushion

The cushioning setup is, again, the same as on the Impact 3, which is great news. The cushioning on that model was amazing for a budget model, and the same is true on the Air Max Impact 4.

You get a full-length phylon foam midsole, and a large Air Max Unit in the heel. But this isn’t your run-of-the-mill phylon. It feels much closer to Cushlon than in other setups. It feels bouncy and reactive underfoot, which is great for forefoot heavy moves like sprints or changes of direction.

The Air Max Unit in the heel feels great if you make it work, but I personally don’t use my heel much when I play, so I really didn’t feel it too much. But I’m happy that it’s there just in case I need that extra bit of cushion I might not be 100% aware of most of the time.

Materials

In my reviews, I’m normally negative when brands overuse cheaper synthetic materials. I always try to be fair and say that performance wise it worked well yada, yada, yada…but in this case, I’m not even going to do that.

The Air Max Impact 4 is a budget model, so it has budget-appropriate materials that worked very well. Nike even improved the materials from the Impact 3 to the Impact 4. They used a tighter weaved textile along the upper that improves lockdown and added some fuse overlays on the lateral side of the forefoot to boost lateral containment.

Support

Support on the Air Max Impact 4 is also on point. You have 4 rubber lateral containment pieces: 2 in the heel and 2 in the forefoot. Also, you have an internal web (that is visible through the outer mesh of the shoe on the more colorful colorways) that keeps your foot securely on the footbed. For a little added support and containment there are two lace cables, as well as two outriggers.

Everything about the support is enhanced by the use and placement of the materials as well as the fit.

Fit

This is one of the better-fitting shoes I have tested recently. The Nike Air Max Impact 4 offers a great 1-to-1 fit and requires little to no break-in time.

Overall

The Nike Air Max Impact 4 is just a great performance basketball shoe, and it improves on an already great shoe, the Nike Air Max 3. It’s definitely my favorite budget basketball shoe so far this season as well as my go-to outdoor option. I’m having a hard time at the moment keeping it out of my current top 5.

I personally enjoy the fact that the shoe is so plain and “under the radar” and packs such a performance punch, and it does have the “what are those?” factor.

If you are looking for a great performance basketball shoe that won’t break the bank, there’s no better option.