Love Bills passion fpr the nba. Reignites my own when i hear him break down all the different teams and players he likes to watch and moves they should make.
@@andrebrown2695 lol sometimes i listen to Simmons and his passion makes me want to watch a team or player, and then I yawn. So I feel you. I love basketball but the regular season can be a bit of a slogg.
I will give Denver a bunch of credit tho. They could have blown up the team after numerous playoff failures and panick traded Jamal Murray. They stayed the course and the perineal powers in the west got old.
Crazy to say but I feel Jokic is reaching yet another level this year. His confidence levels are sky high and I've never seen him this focused this early. It's an eye test thing but it's clear he now knows he's better than everybody else and can completely control games. He's utterly unbothered by anyone or anything. I've seen that kind of transformation a number of times in the past, most notably with Jordan around 1990. It's mastery of the game combined with mastery of the mind.
Stats are far more important than the eye test, because the shots and plays that are visually appealing are low percentage (for example, crazy step back 3s, like the one Jokic hit over AD during the playoffs). But Jokic's stats are better than ever.
You know what's crazy-- Embiid has actually been better this year. I'm a die-hard Sixers fan, been following the team for years & stuck with them through the process and everything, and even for me it was hard to feel like Embiid deserved the MVP this past year. If anything, it felt like he shoulda gotten it the year before, but in the back of my head (and the minds of many other Sixers fans) it really did feel like he was kinda gifted the award. Anywho, fast forward to now, and for the start of the season, its been Embiid who's the best - not just by the eye test, but in terms of stats too. Nick Nurse's new system has him initiating a lot more plays (dare I say its almost a Jokic style of offense), and its unlocked a whole new level. He had already put up above-average assist numbers for a center (around 4-4.5), but this years he's averaging more than 6, which isn't far off of Jokic's 8 (league leading for a center). Additionally, Embiid's overall efficiency has gone up due to the new playstyle, and he's actually been significantly better than Jokic from range this year. When you factor in that he plays all-nba level defense (which Jokic doesn't), its clear that he's the #1 to start the season. It was a rough start in Milwaukee but since then he's been incredible. Even looking at PER (Player Efficiency Rating), which is the metric stat that's supposed to sum a players total skill into one number - Jokic supporters usually reference this because Nikola is usually number 1, but Embiid clears him this year. I say this because you said Jokic 'knows hes better than everybody else', so I figured I'd say that its maybe not quite everybody. Can't wait to see another match up between them, and a Nuggets v Sixers finals would be a dream to see these two generational bigs battle it out.
@williamturner9450 Embiid doesn't touch Jokic. Not.close. in crunch time I'm the playoffs we know who will show up and who will crumble. We've seen Embiid collapse in so many ways when the heat is on. I don't want to hear anything about him until he shows out when it matters
@@drink_with_the_dead okay? Just go ahead and ignore everything I said lol. Im talking about this year, in the small sample size we have. Nobody is doubting that Embiid needs to step it up in the playoffs, but you can’t deny whats going on on right now on the court
Bills passion and vision on the nba is just amazing, i love to see him mentioning Sengun because that one will be a fun one for everyone when he keeps on evolving
Sengun is the guy. He’s kind of Jokic-esque. He’s not nearly as good obviously, but he is the only other guy in the league who kind of does what Jokic does.
@@julianbell9161 Sengun really got that talent and fire to get on that All star level with his 21 years old of age, havin Udoka and mentor Hakeem is really gona bring him to the next level
Denver is most impressive so far. They have couple of young bench dudes playing like high value role players. Need to see how it will work now with Murray out and I assume Reggie Jackson as starting PG, could their bench keep up with just young players.
@@adamrichard7311They don’t have to be horrendous though. Usually teams that have a real identity, chemistry and system, are able to chug along at least to a certain extent in the regular season, even without some of their key guys being available.
I feel like a secret to Jokic's success is he doesn't really care. Gets dunked on. Doesn't care. Morale is unaffected. Misses a shot. Doesn't care. Turnover? Not worried. He doesn't have to rethink anything outside of what he thinks he should do. No confusion, keeping it simple, no ego, no worries. He's at work. He's improving his craft the way an iron worker might. He wants to get better and do is job but if it works he doesn't really care how you feel about it. He just wants to get back to his wife and kids in his own country. One day he's just gonna walk away when he has enough money, because he doesn't care about his legacy. It's unprecedented for a superstar.
Dont confuse most of what you said with “not caring” He most definitely gives a shit more than most in the league. He was pissed off as hell last night
On the back of Jokic, it just looks like Denver gets the best looks at the basket every game. If you compare their sets to teams like lakers or grizzlies, the difference is night and day. It’s like the nuggets are driving around in sports cars while these other teams just discovered fire. Def the team to beat thus far, which made their loss to Minnesota all the more interesting.
@HookedonChronics yea I've always said wembamyama is the most highly touted prospect luka was the best prospect and our so called experts didn't even rank him #1 in his own class but as far as who was the most hyped teenagers luka is far down the list but as far as who was actually the best no one was more professional ready and no one has as many accolades as a teenage luka
@@codymiller5027 😎😎 Luka averaged more POINTS and more ASSISTS per game in his first year in comparison to Wemby (at least at this point in the season). Go look up the stats and compare. Luka has also had better rookie numbers than Lebron in his rookie year. Luka also averaged 8 rebounds per game, which was amazing for a pointguard. Luka was also the main force and engine of the entire Dallas offense from the very beginning of his Nba career in his first year (and not only regarding his scoring responsibilities, but especialy regarding his playmaking responsibilities. Luka was basicaly setting up the ENTIRE offense for the WHOLE Dallas team already as a 19 year old teenager in his first Nba year in his big role as a MAIN pointguard and playmaker for his team in Dallas. I would argue, that there are 3 main categories in basketball: SCORING, DEFENSE and PLAYMAKING. And Luka has certainly been extremely masterful at TWO of the three mentioned, namely at SCORING and at PLAYMAKING. And this has been the case since the day ONE in his first year in the NBA. And remember what they say: GREAT OFFENSE ALWAYS BEATS GREAT DEFENCE!!!!!!!
Jokic and the Nuggets are just unbelievable. They absolutely look like they are aiming at a dynasty that could last for another 6-7 years and bring them 3-4 championships. Jokic is an unsolvable issue on offense, and his defense is MUCH better than people think.
The Warriors chemistry is not better just because Poole is gone. The addition of Paul and Saric, and even more the arrival of two rookies who really fit the team. Kerr was ready to send them to the G league practice sessions but said the team missed their bench presence and enthusiasm. All the other young players, including the ones sent to DC with Poole, were very quiet and slow to catch on to Dubs style of play. The new guys are the precise opposite. Not all about Poole.
If one more media member asks them a question about chemistry I'm gonna lose my mind. They are the worst and they know how to stir the pot and create problems. Draymond was Asked about it so he answered-maybe a little too blunt, and everyone assumes it's all about Poole. His name's rarely come up. And now it's becoming clearer why he rubbed everyone the wrong way as he does crazy shit in DC.
Don't wanna appear bragging... but after this week, we will climb up again... I'm predicting a win versus Spurs.. and we have proven we can beat the GSW. Yes, we are for real this year. I'm just praying for no serious injuries.
One comment on the Wolves. The single best move the team made was wheeling Russell for Conley. The team has been on a different track since that trade. Russilo is onto something with his Russell take.
Not only Conley, but NAW and 3 2nd rounders which were used to move up and get Leonard Miller. Everyone was talking about the Lakers trade deadline moves, but that was by far the best. Lakers with Conley and Naw last year would have had had a legit shot against Denver. DLo, Vando and Beasley looked like they did in the playoffs for the Wolves
@@angelvaldez8433Luka? You mean the new worse James harden? Luka is only a ball Hog with no defense. Dallas ain't winning shit with him running the show kid
@@Jaysolate And if Luka doesn't win shit it because the Mavs have the worst from office in the league. I already made a post in this comment section praising the Denver nuggets front office for not blowing things up after some many Denver playoff failures. Luka went to the WCF and the second best player on the team was lost in free agency for NOTHING.
I was wrong about CP3 to golden state. If he can stay healthy they’re legit again. They need to keep him out of their small ball lineup tho. He slows them down too much.
Don't worry us real basketball fans knew Dallas would be a top 2-4 team in the West. Behind Denver it's wide open but Minnesota looking scary not gonna lie
Nice takes. OKC is one big away from really jumping way up-Donavan Clingan, specifically but have you looked at Chet’s and Cason’s stats? Love Suggs too although Wagner and Paolo who looks fantastic don’t mesh. Black has been a shock.
Jokic must never be robbed again. He is going to win 6-7 MVPs as long as the Media doesn’t get in the way. Stop giving sympathy votes to players who only care about winning the MVP and not prioritizing team success!
I don’t know about winning 6-7 times, but Jokic should finish top five in the voting at least 7 times (which is a heck of a prime if so). Even if you don’t think much of Embiid, he’s finished top five three times now I think to his credit.
@@fortynights1513 The reason Jokic fans are spiteful is because the "narrative" was he could not win because of lack of playoff success (despite going to the WCF and coming back from 3-1 twice in the bubble)....and then they gave it to Embiid who has had even less playoff success. Voters cant have it both ways.
@@jnachtig2 Lack of Playoff success when the Nuggets trotted out Will Barton and Monte Morris in the starting lineup. I don’t think media members watched a lot of Nuggets games the past few years to appreciate how a) how incredible Jokic is, and b) how mediocre the roster was with Murray and MPJ out.
Funny thing is, Joks first mvp was a sympathy mvp. They didn't want to give it to giannis again without winning in the finals and he won the year they robbet him...😅
@@fortynights1513 I could see 3-4 total MVPs. Kareem has the most with 6 - I don’t see him (or anyone really) getting that many. Voter fatigue is real, and it’s hard to produce at that high of a level year after year as you age and have to pace yourself for the postseason - see: James, LeBron.
It seems a bit odd to talk about Toronto and mention only one player....Dennis Schroeder...a journey man thrust into a starting rotation....don't they have !*%#@!! Scotty Barnes?
It was fun the last few years having the Jokic Embiid debate. But until Embiid has some level of success in the playoffs. That debate is closed. Diehard Sixers fan and the facts are the facts. And of course they’re both off to crazy hot starts again.
@@United010 oh ok. yeah I was saying the talk around them. I think bron and zion are in a different category than wemby and chet. to me wemby and chet are essentially on the same level. to me they will be top 5 players in the league at some point. top 30 players all time. I think zion and bron had a shot to be the goat. that's me personally though. I view wemby and chet on the luka level coming in. do you view chet in the same light or no? if not, is he close?
Wild Cards #14 Knicks. Lets Go! Feels like a Randle trade is inevitable. Hes great and hes bad, takes bad shots and plays hard on the boards. If NY can upgrade him they could get to conference finals.
Idk how they would do it without completely gutting the current roster but man if the knicks could trade for embiid to pair with Brunson I think they would be a real contender. I really think embiid is gonna ask out if the sixers in the off-season if they end up not doing much in the playoffs and lose in the first or second round again
Honestly wouldn't be shocked if Toronto could get a top 6 spot in the East depending on what they do at the deadline since they could easily be over .500 yet could still see them trading away Pascal, OG and maybe even Trent. But think if they keep the roster together they could easily get a top 6 seed. Have had the strongest schedule in the NBA and are 4-4. And have beaten 3 teams that only have 2 losses on the season. While the schedule makers have dicked them over twice having them play a rested 76ers team who had 1 and 2 days rest where Toronto was having to play them on the 2nd night of a back to back with travel between both games. Which just seems very odd. Yea I know Raptors also lost to Bulls and Blazers but think that was early season struggles of trying to learn a new system and not having the bench rotation figured out.
The way the game works is - if you score 120 than you shouldn't let your opponents score more than 120. And that's not currently the case with Indiana.
Yea and they can also give up 120+ any night as well. And they have also had the 28th easiest schedule in the NBA. No way you can say they should be higher than Toronto who's had the hardest schedule in the NBA to start the season and have beaten the Wolves, Bucks and Mavs.
GSW are overrated, they could easily be 2-6 with the amount of close games they had, don't look good at all if Curry is not dropping 35+ nobody can score on that team and they are small.
The Hornets moved to New Orleans in 2002. The one thing Bill is legitimately smart about is basketball history. What is he talking about? Where does he think Chris Paul played basketball for the first six years of his career? Baffling stuff.
Jalen Suggs is Marcus smart 2.0. Talented combo guard who everybody thought would do more offensively but hasn’t. Yet tries harder than everybody and can do a little bit of everything.
Lakers are just doomed to fall to attrition before the playoffs even start. Either play their stars into the ground or miss the playoffs. Rock and a hard place.
To all the veteran Bill Simmons followers, am I the only one hoping that James Harden ends up as the greatest “Ewing theory” subject of all time? Go Sixers!
Houston should flip Sengun ASAP as his value will never be higher. Sengun is a talented player but he's similar to Sabonis in a negative way. Both guys are talented but in order to maximize their value their teams need to play a specific way. Namely 90s style inside out which comes with a hard and fast ceiling. Flip Sengun and get a nice asset then get a big who can at least add some value defensively. Speaking of flipping guys I think Giddey could wind up getting moved sooner rather than later. Giddey and Shai the two primary ball handlers are both sub par 3 point shooters. That's an issue and there's no guarantee he'll improve. Presti is one of the smartest roster builders in the league and more likely to be proactive. I really like Giddey but he may add more value to a different kind of roster.
Good point but I think they are waiting to see if he can develop some type of jump shot because if he does teams will not be able to defend him like Sabonis. He will be great if he has a respectable shot form midrange
Rockets fan here. Call me crazy but Sengun is arguably better than Sabonis now. And he’s only 21. It’d be a crime against humanity to trade him so quickly.
@@trumpetking11 Sengun is really good. My thought is more that his skill set requires a commitment to a kind of play style that might limit the Rockets overall ceiling. Since the Rockets are very much a work in progress your point is a good one. Maybe Sengun can build out his game to be more adaptable. Maybe he just continues to improve driving up his value. At this point there really isn't an impetus to figure out exactly how he fits into the overall picture. I do think at some point Houston will need to make a choice based on how he drives their ceiling. If I were part of making that choice I would definitely take into account both his play style and the kind of return he could bring.
Give Adam time! This is standard procedure. He probably said hey these games suck they give their excuse and he says bet now he takes the blame gives them what they ask for and if they still don't deliver the it's an issue then.
Embiid has a streak of that entitled diva in him. He’s obviously dominant, but does he have what it takes to really consistently carry his team to important wins? He’s yet to prove that and you still get the sense that he sulks when his team isn’t playing at their best. Meanwhile maxey has just elevated into the stratosphere with a tenth of the physical gifts that embiid has.
Pop creates unlikely players. There is no need to win now. Sochan will be another epic Pop project. Does TJ McConnell project to be anything other than TJ McConnell?
Man I wish I was smart enough to enjoy watching Jokic. I'm such a dumb-jock who likes 6'6 forwards who can dunk. It's like not being able to see what others see in abstract paintings or something. Just a lumbering, deeply uninteresting and Un-charismatic guy. Again, I acknowledge I am a dummy for thinking this. Vince Carter is my fav player. I watch a bunch of game son league Pass every year, and yet my understanding of the game has never extended beyond attributing dumb luck and injuries to the success/failure of a team. Either a team is hot from 3 or they're not; either their star players are injured or not; I have no intellectual grasp of how a coaches 'schemes'' impact what I see as just utterly dumb luck in regards to 3-pointers and injuries. Coach of the Year is a token award signifying nothing other than you'll probably get fired.
They need to have the All-Stars game matters by having the team that wins having some court advantage in the NBA playoffs finals. Therefore you build the All-Stars roster mostly with players on teams that are competing for a championship by the time it's time to vote.
Giddey’s shot is really strange. He misses so many close shots that I wonder if he is just that way. Look for Micic to start to get time. The key is Dieng who could be a star. Just 20.
I dont get jokic fans giannis has more accolades than jokic and also he has a defensive player of the year which matters lol.Yes jokic is more skilled and is a better passer but giannis also is a great passer and scores more points and defends way better and has to carry his team more than jokic does.Jokic no doubt is an all time great player and the way he plays is amazing i just dont understand why alot of denver fans say hes a better overall player than giannis ,i just dont see it.Its normal tho i guess whn you have two all time greats like this there will always be knitpicking from both sides.For me giannis has been the best overall player in the nba offense and defence since 2020.
Dude is a liberal panderer all he's done in his tenure as commissioner is negatively cater to players about the wrong things.Dude needs to get this bad ref situations in check not no damn all star game changes
For a "historian" of the game why does Bill have the worst memory ever? The All Star game was actually awesome until 2013, which had the LeBron vs Kobe faceoff in the last couple of minutes. Ironically that was the last year that David Stern was commissioner, which would mean the All Star game was good UNTIL Adam Silver became commish (not that I think it's his fault). Timeline wise, what Adam Silver said makes COMPLETE sense. I still think other factors have contributed more to the game sucking, but like try to use your brain for 30 seconds before saying stupid shit Bill.
There is an easy fix to make All Star game interesting. Make it USA vs Rest of the world. Or even USA vs Europe. It will make the players actually try hard in the game as you are now representing your country/continent and thus won't take the game that easy.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
Love Bills passion fpr the nba. Reignites my own when i hear him break down all the different teams and players he likes to watch and moves they should make.
me too..but the actual nba season makes me lose that passion lol..
Fair
@@andrebrown2695 lol sometimes i listen to Simmons and his passion makes me want to watch a team or player, and then I yawn. So I feel you. I love basketball but the regular season can be a bit of a slogg.
This ranking is crucial. We need this every week sir.
No one has an answer for Jokic. We are witnessing one of the greatest players who has ever played in the Association.
Besides the Timberwolves!! Lol
He isn't better than Wemby.
Bro has one chip. Calm down buddy
@@angelvaldez8433wemby isnt good tho? The spurs literally won't make the playoffs? Tf are you on about. Jokic would body wemby
I will give Denver a bunch of credit tho. They could have blown up the team after numerous playoff failures and panick traded Jamal Murray. They stayed the course and the perineal powers in the west got old.
The league is at an all-time talent level and Bill is pumped
Crazy to say but I feel Jokic is reaching yet another level this year. His confidence levels are sky high and I've never seen him this focused this early. It's an eye test thing but it's clear he now knows he's better than everybody else and can completely control games. He's utterly unbothered by anyone or anything. I've seen that kind of transformation a number of times in the past, most notably with Jordan around 1990. It's mastery of the game combined with mastery of the mind.
Agreed...we'll see what happens, but there's a chance he ends up top 3 all-time
Stats are far more important than the eye test, because the shots and plays that are visually appealing are low percentage (for example, crazy step back 3s, like the one Jokic hit over AD during the playoffs). But Jokic's stats are better than ever.
You know what's crazy-- Embiid has actually been better this year. I'm a die-hard Sixers fan, been following the team for years & stuck with them through the process and everything, and even for me it was hard to feel like Embiid deserved the MVP this past year. If anything, it felt like he shoulda gotten it the year before, but in the back of my head (and the minds of many other Sixers fans) it really did feel like he was kinda gifted the award.
Anywho, fast forward to now, and for the start of the season, its been Embiid who's the best - not just by the eye test, but in terms of stats too. Nick Nurse's new system has him initiating a lot more plays (dare I say its almost a Jokic style of offense), and its unlocked a whole new level. He had already put up above-average assist numbers for a center (around 4-4.5), but this years he's averaging more than 6, which isn't far off of Jokic's 8 (league leading for a center). Additionally, Embiid's overall efficiency has gone up due to the new playstyle, and he's actually been significantly better than Jokic from range this year. When you factor in that he plays all-nba level defense (which Jokic doesn't), its clear that he's the #1 to start the season. It was a rough start in Milwaukee but since then he's been incredible. Even looking at PER (Player Efficiency Rating), which is the metric stat that's supposed to sum a players total skill into one number - Jokic supporters usually reference this because Nikola is usually number 1, but Embiid clears him this year.
I say this because you said Jokic 'knows hes better than everybody else', so I figured I'd say that its maybe not quite everybody. Can't wait to see another match up between them, and a Nuggets v Sixers finals would be a dream to see these two generational bigs battle it out.
@williamturner9450 Embiid doesn't touch Jokic. Not.close. in crunch time I'm the playoffs we know who will show up and who will crumble. We've seen Embiid collapse in so many ways when the heat is on. I don't want to hear anything about him until he shows out when it matters
@@drink_with_the_dead okay? Just go ahead and ignore everything I said lol. Im talking about this year, in the small sample size we have. Nobody is doubting that Embiid needs to step it up in the playoffs, but you can’t deny whats going on on right now on the court
Bills passion and vision on the nba is just amazing, i love to see him mentioning Sengun because that one will be a fun one for everyone when he keeps on evolving
Sengun is the guy. He’s kind of Jokic-esque. He’s not nearly as good obviously, but he is the only other guy in the league who kind of does what Jokic does.
@@julianbell9161 Sengun really got that talent and fire to get on that All star level with his 21 years old of age, havin Udoka and mentor Hakeem is really gona bring him to the next level
Denver is most impressive so far. They have couple of young bench dudes playing like high value role players. Need to see how it will work now with Murray out and I assume Reggie Jackson as starting PG, could their bench keep up with just young players.
Watching Aaron Gordon is so fun
When do you learn that Jokic makes every role player better than they are.
@@twodogs5395exactly lol he turned Will Barton and Monte Morris into playoff rotation players
Cant play the wolves tho, cant handle that defensive pressure!
Starting Sochan and watching it be 4 on 5 whenever he’s on the court at pg is driving me insane.
lakers at 6 is insane. i'm a lakers fan but they have been horrendous to watch so far and they keep piling on injuries now too
It's almost as if Davis is made of glass, LeBron is pushing 40, and they are traded out for the next 5 years.
@@ts1265they can actually make so many trades with the contracts and picks they have left
Rui Vando Vincent Ad Prince Hayes been hurt ofc they gonna underperform
@@adamrichard7311They don’t have to be horrendous though. Usually teams that have a real identity, chemistry and system, are able to chug along at least to a certain extent in the regular season, even without some of their key guys being available.
I feel like a secret to Jokic's success is he doesn't really care. Gets dunked on. Doesn't care. Morale is unaffected. Misses a shot. Doesn't care. Turnover? Not worried. He doesn't have to rethink anything outside of what he thinks he should do. No confusion, keeping it simple, no ego, no worries. He's at work. He's improving his craft the way an iron worker might. He wants to get better and do is job but if it works he doesn't really care how you feel about it. He just wants to get back to his wife and kids in his own country. One day he's just gonna walk away when he has enough money, because he doesn't care about his legacy. It's unprecedented for a superstar.
Tim was like this too
Dont confuse most of what you said with “not caring”
He most definitely gives a shit more than most in the league. He was pissed off as hell last night
Bravo! Beautifully said. Huge contrast with so. many others!
Luka doncic was a euro league mvp and champion when he was a teenager in what world is he mot the best teenager of all time
Pretty sure Luka came in as a teenager and didn’t struggle either.
As a Sixers fan (and you a Celts fan) i thought your assessment was extremely fair👏🏻 Gonna be fun watching them two go back and forth
Na 76ers > Boston
@@rmcilveen12 I never said that the Sixers aren't better 🤭
Have greatly enjoyed more Ringer videos…but seeing the Simmons bar is an unexpected treat.
This was great! I would love to watch this if you did it 2-3 more times this season
On the back of Jokic, it just looks like Denver gets the best looks at the basket every game. If you compare their sets to teams like lakers or grizzlies, the difference is night and day. It’s like the nuggets are driving around in sports cars while these other teams just discovered fire. Def the team to beat thus far, which made their loss to Minnesota all the more interesting.
As a Spurs fan l can’t tell you how much we want Giddey.
Why isnt Luka's rookie season as a teenager considered great?
He was a teenager his rookie year, and he did have a very good season.
@@jdankerdake yet the media is acting like it didn't happen and Wemby is the first dude since LeBron to be this good this soon.
@@HookedonChronicsluka as a teenager even with no nba games was already the best teenager ever EURO LEAGUE MVP AND CHAMPION as a teenager
@@hoppy23 exactly, it's so odd they didn't want to give him his flowers then and act like it never happened now.
@HookedonChronics yea I've always said wembamyama is the most highly touted prospect luka was the best prospect and our so called experts didn't even rank him #1 in his own class but as far as who was the most hyped teenagers luka is far down the list but as far as who was actually the best no one was more professional ready and no one has as many accolades as a teenage luka
Wemby the best teenager since lebron? Am i living in an alternative reality where Luka didn't come in the nba at 19 averaging 21/8/6 ?!
He averages more in every stat outside of assists. He almost averages 3 blocks a game and it is likely all of those stats will improve as well
if you havent noticed, bill simmons hates luka lol
Defense matters
@@misinfluence PLAYMAKING MATTERS!!!!😎😎
@@codymiller5027 😎😎 Luka averaged more POINTS and more ASSISTS per game in his first year in comparison to Wemby (at least at this point in the season). Go look up the stats and compare. Luka has also had better rookie numbers than Lebron in his rookie year. Luka also averaged 8 rebounds per game, which was amazing for a pointguard. Luka was also the main force and engine of the entire Dallas offense from the very beginning of his Nba career in his first year (and not only regarding his scoring responsibilities, but especialy regarding his playmaking responsibilities.
Luka was basicaly setting up the ENTIRE offense for the WHOLE Dallas team already as a 19 year old teenager in his first Nba year in his big role as a MAIN pointguard and playmaker for his team in Dallas.
I would argue, that there are 3 main categories in basketball: SCORING, DEFENSE and PLAYMAKING. And Luka has certainly been extremely masterful at TWO of the three mentioned, namely at SCORING and at PLAYMAKING. And this has been the case since the day ONE in his first year in the NBA. And remember what they say: GREAT OFFENSE ALWAYS BEATS GREAT DEFENCE!!!!!!!
Jokic and the Nuggets are just unbelievable. They absolutely look like they are aiming at a dynasty that could last for another 6-7 years and bring them 3-4 championships. Jokic is an unsolvable issue on offense, and his defense is MUCH better than people think.
Wolves betta
@@samexoldx better at winning the play in tournament trophy 🤣🤣.
You’ve got one player who’s changed the game of basketball..
Geez, Simmons really did hang up the writing. This would have been a piece in the past.
That's ok, we gave up reading. ;)
@@ericpeters0ntrue but also said at the same time. Our attention span is plummeting
Grant Williams was the perfect pick up for the mavs
More of these weekly!! Please !!
Wolves with Ant and Gobert are the biggest surprise right now! They beat Nuggets, Celtics back to back and everyone is playing their role
Welcome to Sengun Island Bill. Me and KOC have been waiting for you.
I think this is as positive as Bills ever been about Atlanta
The Warriors chemistry is not better just because Poole is gone. The addition of Paul and Saric, and even more the arrival of two rookies who really fit the team. Kerr was ready to send them to the G league practice sessions but said the team missed their bench presence and enthusiasm. All the other young players, including the ones sent to DC with Poole, were very quiet and slow to catch on to Dubs style of play. The new guys are the precise opposite. Not all about Poole.
If one more media member asks them a question about chemistry I'm gonna lose my mind. They are the worst and they know how to stir the pot and create problems. Draymond was Asked about it so he answered-maybe a little too blunt, and everyone assumes it's all about Poole. His name's rarely come up. And now it's becoming clearer why he rubbed everyone the wrong way as he does crazy shit in DC.
Timberwolves at 5. Bill is coming to his senses
Don't wanna appear bragging... but after this week, we will climb up again...
I'm predicting a win versus Spurs.. and we have proven we can beat the GSW.
Yes, we are for real this year. I'm just praying for no serious injuries.
One comment on the Wolves. The single best move the team made was wheeling Russell for Conley. The team has been on a different track since that trade. Russilo is onto something with his Russell take.
Not only Conley, but NAW and 3 2nd rounders which were used to move up and get Leonard Miller.
Everyone was talking about the Lakers trade deadline moves, but that was by far the best.
Lakers with Conley and Naw last year would have had had a legit shot against Denver. DLo, Vando and Beasley looked like they did in the playoffs for the Wolves
I appreciate what you said about New Orleans basketball. I’m not sure what we did for it to be like this but damn.
The gap between jokic and the next best player is close to the gap between lebron in ‘13 and everyone else
Steph gianis aint that far off
I guess people forget Luka plays in the NBA.
@@angelvaldez8433Luka? You mean the new worse James harden? Luka is only a ball Hog with no defense. Dallas ain't winning shit with him running the show kid
@@Jaysolate Jokic has no defense either. Remind how many all NBA defense teams Jokic has made?
@@Jaysolate And if Luka doesn't win shit it because the Mavs have the worst from office in the league. I already made a post in this comment section praising the Denver nuggets front office for not blowing things up after some many Denver playoff failures. Luka went to the WCF and the second best player on the team was lost in free agency for NOTHING.
love seeing players get better every year. haliburton and Edwards 👏🏼
I was wrong about CP3 to golden state. If he can stay healthy they’re legit again. They need to keep him out of their small ball lineup tho. He slows them down too much.
How is Dallas ranked 14 because of strength of schedule and the reasoning was too soon to say but the Lakers are too soon to say and ranked 6th.
Because he was way down on Dallas before the season and way up on the Lakers, so he’s falling back on his preseason thinking
because he hates kai and can't stay unbiased
Don't worry us real basketball fans knew Dallas would be a top 2-4 team in the West. Behind Denver it's wide open but Minnesota looking scary not gonna lie
@@strawhatdoncic105 He hates the Lakers way more than Dallas though, nobody really hates Dallas
@@BC-th3mxHe hates Kai, nothing to do with Dallas.
Anthony Edwards IS TV. Wish the Wolves were on TV a bit more istead of watching the terrible Spurs over and over again.
Nuggs fan but agree with you.
streameast
TWO WORDS: Anthony Edwards, must see TV!
lol@@samr131
Nice takes. OKC is one big away from really jumping way up-Donavan Clingan, specifically but have you looked at Chet’s and Cason’s stats? Love Suggs too although Wagner and Paolo who looks fantastic don’t mesh. Black has been a shock.
Need sunglasses looking at Bill's kitchen
He blends in perfectly
Apex mountain for Simmons Kitchen being on the pod?
Maxey is incredibly fast. He's talented obviously and has a great attitude.
Having the mavs 11 is crazy, they’re easily 7-8, better then the hawks and deff the lakers, come on man. 6-1, max disrespectful
They beat no one 🤣
He's only going to do this some Tuesdays. So every Tuesday after the Celtics have a good week and/or the Lakers have a bad one
Wolves fans where we at?!? 😂
Real Wolves Fan here,
Naz, Slo Mo, Nickel Shake milton Jmac might be top 3 bench crew in NBA
Bill just picks a random spot in his house to do the pod from. I like the mini bar setup
Jokic must never be robbed again. He is going to win 6-7 MVPs as long as the Media doesn’t get in the way. Stop giving sympathy votes to players who only care about winning the MVP and not prioritizing team success!
I don’t know about winning 6-7 times, but Jokic should finish top five in the voting at least 7 times (which is a heck of a prime if so).
Even if you don’t think much of Embiid, he’s finished top five three times now I think to his credit.
@@fortynights1513 The reason Jokic fans are spiteful is because the "narrative" was he could not win because of lack of playoff success (despite going to the WCF and coming back from 3-1 twice in the bubble)....and then they gave it to Embiid who has had even less playoff success. Voters cant have it both ways.
@@jnachtig2 Lack of Playoff success when the Nuggets trotted out Will Barton and Monte Morris in the starting lineup. I don’t think media members watched a lot of Nuggets games the past few years to appreciate how a) how incredible Jokic is, and b) how mediocre the roster was with Murray and MPJ out.
Funny thing is, Joks first mvp was a sympathy mvp. They didn't want to give it to giannis again without winning in the finals and he won the year they robbet him...😅
@@fortynights1513 I could see 3-4 total MVPs. Kareem has the most with 6 - I don’t see him (or anyone really) getting that many. Voter fatigue is real, and it’s hard to produce at that high of a level year after year as you age and have to pace yourself for the postseason - see: James, LeBron.
How is Golden state that high??
Dallas has a top 3 record but they're 11th lol
It seems a bit odd to talk about Toronto and mention only one player....Dennis Schroeder...a journey man thrust into a starting rotation....don't they have !*%#@!! Scotty Barnes?
It was fun the last few years having the Jokic Embiid debate. But until Embiid has some level of success in the playoffs. That debate is closed. Diehard Sixers fan and the facts are the facts. And of course they’re both off to crazy hot starts again.
Looking into the future at 16:00 👀👀
hahaha i was thinking the same
NOOOOO YOU CUT THE PART WHEN BILL'S DOG BARKS🤣🤣🤣
"it's me, dumbass!!!"
Lakers - NO Way should they trade Rui..........solid player that helped them so much in the Playoffs - just have to use him the right way.
We need to talk about where everyone is with the new CBA after all the trades before the season
1:47 zion. I understand he got hurt but the guy before wemby is zion.
@@United010 no they aren't that's revisionist history. go back and look at how they were talking about zion
@@United010 oh ok. yeah I was saying the talk around them. I think bron and zion are in a different category than wemby and chet. to me wemby and chet are essentially on the same level. to me they will be top 5 players in the league at some point. top 30 players all time. I think zion and bron had a shot to be the goat. that's me personally though. I view wemby and chet on the luka level coming in.
do you view chet in the same light or no? if not, is he close?
@@United010 nice
Good game last night, Bill. :)
I'm so pissed off that Utah decided to be bad THIS year and not LAST year.
The Kings take is hilarious.
Are you still in California?
Wild Cards #14 Knicks. Lets Go! Feels like a Randle trade is inevitable. Hes great and hes bad, takes bad shots and plays hard on the boards. If NY can upgrade him they could get to conference finals.
Idk how they would do it without completely gutting the current roster but man if the knicks could trade for embiid to pair with Brunson I think they would be a real contender. I really think embiid is gonna ask out if the sixers in the off-season if they end up not doing much in the playoffs and lose in the first or second round again
Honestly wouldn't be shocked if Toronto could get a top 6 spot in the East depending on what they do at the deadline since they could easily be over .500 yet could still see them trading away Pascal, OG and maybe even Trent. But think if they keep the roster together they could easily get a top 6 seed. Have had the strongest schedule in the NBA and are 4-4. And have beaten 3 teams that only have 2 losses on the season. While the schedule makers have dicked them over twice having them play a rested 76ers team who had 1 and 2 days rest where Toronto was having to play them on the 2nd night of a back to back with travel between both games. Which just seems very odd. Yea I know Raptors also lost to Bulls and Blazers but think that was early season struggles of trying to learn a new system and not having the bench rotation figured out.
Poor Giddey (the “looking like a child” part, not the “being disappointing so far” part)
question do you think wembanyama will have a better rookies season than luka
I miss reading your articles Bill.
If you watched the games there’s no way the pacers are the 18th best team. If haliburton plays they can score 120 every night
The way the game works is - if you score 120 than you shouldn't let your opponents score more than 120. And that's not currently the case with Indiana.
Yea and they can also give up 120+ any night as well. And they have also had the 28th easiest schedule in the NBA. No way you can say they should be higher than Toronto who's had the hardest schedule in the NBA to start the season and have beaten the Wolves, Bucks and Mavs.
@@runokeyeah ok
@@wisewolftonyyeah ok
GS at 3 nah I don’t believe it the size is going to keep them from being a true contender and I’m worried about Wiggins atp
Gail Goodrich was 32 years old which would have been like trading chris paul or possibly russell westbrook for 50-50 shot at wembamyama.
David Stern ruled with an iron first Adam Silver asks for permission from players with a broken wrist.
GSW are overrated, they could easily be 2-6 with the amount of close games they had, don't look good at all if Curry is not dropping 35+ nobody can score on that team and they are small.
The Hornets moved to New Orleans in 2002. The one thing Bill is legitimately smart about is basketball history. What is he talking about? Where does he think Chris Paul played basketball for the first six years of his career? Baffling stuff.
Timestamp?
He said New Orleans. It was the New Orleans Jazz before
MINNESOTA
Jalen Suggs is Marcus smart 2.0. Talented combo guard who everybody thought would do more offensively but hasn’t.
Yet tries harder than everybody and can do a little bit of everything.
Talking about dallas but never mentioning luka’s name reveals your bias bill. Face it, tatum will never be better than luka.
Lakers are just doomed to fall to attrition before the playoffs even start. Either play their stars into the ground or miss the playoffs. Rock and a hard place.
Bill simmons is wrong, the first few all star games in the 21st century were definitely some of the best.
To all the veteran Bill Simmons followers, am I the only one hoping that James Harden ends up as the greatest “Ewing theory” subject of all time?
Go Sixers!
Houston should flip Sengun ASAP as his value will never be higher. Sengun is a talented player but he's similar to Sabonis in a negative way. Both guys are talented but in order to maximize their value their teams need to play a specific way. Namely 90s style inside out which comes with a hard and fast ceiling. Flip Sengun and get a nice asset then get a big who can at least add some value defensively.
Speaking of flipping guys I think Giddey could wind up getting moved sooner rather than later. Giddey and Shai the two primary ball handlers are both sub par 3 point shooters. That's an issue and there's no guarantee he'll improve. Presti is one of the smartest roster builders in the league and more likely to be proactive. I really like Giddey but he may add more value to a different kind of roster.
Good point but I think they are waiting to see if he can develop some type of jump shot because if he does teams will not be able to defend him like Sabonis. He will be great if he has a respectable shot form midrange
good take, i see a lot of subs on reddit suggesting trading for him because they think hes like a spacing 5 lolol@@nikolakrstic8079
Rockets fan here. Call me crazy but Sengun is arguably better than Sabonis now. And he’s only 21. It’d be a crime against humanity to trade him so quickly.
@@trumpetking11 Sengun is really good. My thought is more that his skill set requires a commitment to a kind of play style that might limit the Rockets overall ceiling. Since the Rockets are very much a work in progress your point is a good one. Maybe Sengun can build out his game to be more adaptable. Maybe he just continues to improve driving up his value. At this point there really isn't an impetus to figure out exactly how he fits into the overall picture. I do think at some point Houston will need to make a choice based on how he drives their ceiling. If I were part of making that choice I would definitely take into account both his play style and the kind of return he could bring.
Give Adam time! This is standard procedure. He probably said hey these games suck they give their excuse and he says bet now he takes the blame gives them what they ask for and if they still don't deliver the it's an issue then.
Embiid has a streak of that entitled diva in him. He’s obviously dominant, but does he have what it takes to really consistently carry his team to important wins? He’s yet to prove that and you still get the sense that he sulks when his team isn’t playing at their best. Meanwhile maxey has just elevated into the stratosphere with a tenth of the physical gifts that embiid has.
Wemby is gonna be awesome no doubt, but lets not act that Luka wasn't 1st team all NBA his second year. Come on now Bill...
Jalen Suggs is Marcus Smart
Love both. Thanks
Jalen Suggs is this generations Courtney lee
Pop creates unlikely players. There is no need to win now. Sochan will be another epic Pop project. Does TJ McConnell project to be anything other than TJ McConnell?
Minnesota is the one team that can match personnel with Denver. Edwards owns Jamal Murray. KAT and Gobert are better than anyone else against Jokic.
Man I wish I was smart enough to enjoy watching Jokic. I'm such a dumb-jock who likes 6'6 forwards who can dunk. It's like not being able to see what others see in abstract paintings or something. Just a lumbering, deeply uninteresting and Un-charismatic guy. Again, I acknowledge I am a dummy for thinking this. Vince Carter is my fav player. I watch a bunch of game son league Pass every year, and yet my understanding of the game has never extended beyond attributing dumb luck and injuries to the success/failure of a team. Either a team is hot from 3 or they're not; either their star players are injured or not; I have no intellectual grasp of how a coaches 'schemes'' impact what I see as just utterly dumb luck in regards to 3-pointers and injuries. Coach of the Year is a token award signifying nothing other than you'll probably get fired.
Well damn, at least you’re self-aware.
They need to have the All-Stars game matters by having the team that wins having some court advantage in the NBA playoffs finals. Therefore you build the All-Stars roster mostly with players on teams that are competing for a championship by the time it's time to vote.
If Wolves finish top 3 in the west, could Ant win mvp? I feel like this is the year he arrives in a major way
Ant is pushing for an All Defensive team if he does that an wolves are top 3 an he stay around 27pts 6rebs 6ast i can see it
"I wanna see whats happening with Josh Giddey in two weeks"
Giddey’s shot is really strange. He misses so many close shots that I wonder if he is just that way. Look for Micic to start to get time. The key is Dieng who could be a star. Just 20.
I dont get jokic fans giannis has more accolades than jokic and also he has a defensive player of the year which matters lol.Yes jokic is more skilled and is a better passer but giannis also is a great passer and scores more points and defends way better and has to carry his team more than jokic does.Jokic no doubt is an all time great player and the way he plays is amazing i just dont understand why alot of denver fans say hes a better overall player than giannis ,i just dont see it.Its normal tho i guess whn you have two all time greats like this there will always be knitpicking from both sides.For me giannis has been the best overall player in the nba offense and defence since 2020.
Silver constantly bending over to meet player's demands feels weak
Dude is a liberal panderer all he's done in his tenure as commissioner is negatively cater to players about the wrong things.Dude needs to get this bad ref situations in check not no damn all star game changes
Thumbs up just for the silver comment
Pooles not being ASKED about it constantly like Draymond and the Warriors are. The media is so irritating.
Hornets had been in New Orleans for a near decade before AD got there
For a "historian" of the game why does Bill have the worst memory ever? The All Star game was actually awesome until 2013, which had the LeBron vs Kobe faceoff in the last couple of minutes. Ironically that was the last year that David Stern was commissioner, which would mean the All Star game was good UNTIL Adam Silver became commish (not that I think it's his fault).
Timeline wise, what Adam Silver said makes COMPLETE sense. I still think other factors have contributed more to the game sucking, but like try to use your brain for 30 seconds before saying stupid shit Bill.
I’ve been saying for years Joker is a top 10 all time player. Might have undersold him.
Nobody knew he would become this great. He's reached a new level this year, a level we haven't seen since prime LeBron.
Mavs have a top 3 record in the league and Bill doesn’t have them in the top 10. It’s just so hilarious at this point.
There is an easy fix to make All Star game interesting. Make it USA vs Rest of the world. Or even USA vs Europe. It will make the players actually try hard in the game as you are now representing your country/continent and thus won't take the game that easy.
Black v White
the kobe yr (2020) all star game was sick! but i agree it is 100% the players fault
Bill, you're losing credibility if you say what you've seen from Wemby as a teen is greater than what you saw from Luka..
Wolves .............. feels different.
MN in PEN!!!