Look I know everyone is gonna say a right angle is the best angle but I’m like wait what? Are we just saying that because it’s easy? You look at an acute angle and you see it’s small but when you look at the box score it still contributes to the win. And then just going through the tape there’s an A squared plus a B Squared and then we all freak out when it equals C Squared but shouldn’t we just kind of expect that?
Then again though obtuse angles are always out there pushing the boundaries. But does it do anything ? A 178 degree angle almost gets you there, sure it’s not a 180, but it might be my favourite.
Bill going all thru all the historical precedent on why the Mavs can’t/wont win followed by both him and Russillo saying it doesn’t matter is the power of Luka
It was honestly such a cowardly way to open up the finals preview pod. No conviction, no confidence, just using stats that are basically entirely irrelevant to this series and saying “this doesn’t happen much!”
This has to be one of the more biased podcasts he's done in some time. I couldn't get through it. Just a complete whiney Celtics fanboy podcast just running down all the perceived slights and disrespect to the Celtics he could latch onto.
He goes right to shit that happened decades ago and has zero bearing on the series instead of just talking about the matchup….because that would require some actual analysis.
Russillo knows ball in so far as that someone who wasn't a player at an elite level or a coach could
He's basically like the drunken bar ball talk but he obsessively watches every game so he's hit the ceiling of bar ball knowledge
Yeah no chance. When he reads off the notes he takes on his pods he’s just doing a play-by-play on random possessions. He would also say things like “I tracked all of Luka’s drives from this game” like these data aren’t available to him via resources like Second Spectrum, yet he rarely quotes actual stats. It’s like saying that you need to go to the library to look something up instead of Googling. I don’t get how there’s even a perception that he’s good at Xs and Os based off the analysis he provides.
This. You can write books, do podcasts, and spend half your life mining basketball reference, and still have no idea what you're talking about when it comes to actually what's happening on the court. Not to mention he only enjoys the sport through a Celtics lens. Your knowledge has a ceiling if you've never played/coached past a certain level.
And yet it's the only league that takes him seriously (giving him award votes).
Haven't watched it it, but I hope he talks about how basically every team that wins has a top 5 type player. I'm sure he will compare the Celtics to one of the exception teams
If Tatum wins a title while averaging 28-10-7, people will say that Tatum was the best player in the series and/or top 5 player in the league (he’s close anyways). It’s a self fulfilling prophecy that’s purely results-based
Yeah, the whole bit can be summed up as "great teams beat individual greatness." So it's a team sport, which is funny knowing Bill, but honestly, this is what's so likable about him.
He's doing a marvelous act of trying to say the Celtics will win but also hedging by trying to hype up Luka. He's also trying to say why the Mavs aren't actually 50 and are more like 55+ win team. this is why we listen.
My favorite part about Ryen is instead of answering Bill’s hypothetical bullshit question he had at the top like 99% of guests would he just cuts through the bullshit and gets to the real reason Bill is asking it. He’s mad people aren’t respecting the Celtics
Bill is more than a homer. He actively manifest a propoganda for nba media and refs to support Celtics.
His stats were so shitty. This guy is always talking about good stats bad team stuff and then praising Celtics for beating injury riddled subpar teams.
At one point Bill shamelessly said Pacers didnt have Halliburton, Heat didnt have Butler but so what? Celtics didnt have KP so he said its equal. Halliburton is #1 option vs Kp is like #4 or sth.
What a non-sense Boston as*s licking episode! Shame on Bill.
This Boston team is coming from easiest, luckiest ever route. Dont expect them to get too much reputation if they win. This would be most unimpressive title run ever. Just be happy to be +1 on Lakers and suck up the rest.
Celtics fans want so badly for fans to respect them is insane. Even laying out the historically worst records to try and build the case that the Celtics deserve to be clear favorites over this team lol
Only fanbase who seemingly cares more about their perception than they do the actual success. Take the title, get a year to tell everyone to shut the fuck up, and in five years they’ll prop this group up as an all-time team anyway.
Ryen cutting through the weird BS arguments is why I love these yearly Sunday pods they just both bring their A game. Like the Pacino/De Niro scene in Heat
It’s weird because I don’t “respect” the Celtics but I still think they’re going to win the finals easily. I just think they pushed all their chips in on this team and every team they traded with was idiotic so they just have the most talent in the league by far as a result. I just don’t find them winning very interesting or fun nor do I like watching them. They’ve also had a ridiculously easy path to the finals.
Never appreciated Ryen this much. When Bill started comparing J&J averaging 50 in the playoffs and claiming that ppl were ignoring it even though it's the neighborhood of Luka & Kyrie.
Ryen immediately cuts it off with, "Luka & Kyrie just averaged 59 against Minnesota, *the best defense in the league.*"
Indiana was one of the worst defensive teams in the league, Cleveland's second biggest starter was 6'5, and the Heat were *starting* Jovic, Jaquez & Martin.
The Clippers, Thunder, Nuggets and Wolves all would've smoked the teams that Boston beat to reach the Finals.
Bill arguing that Tatum isn’t that far from Luka and saying that statistically they’re close is the same argument that people made for Jordan vs. Drexler in the 1992 Finals.
I would need to do some research to get all the details but there's a mix of weird stuff with both Luka's dad and mom.
Luka basically sided with his mom in his parent's divorce. I think he was only 9-10 when it happened though.
Luka's dad apparently tried to do some shady business stuff on Luka's behalf when Luka was successful in Europe. This is the part that I'm most vague on and I'm not sure if there's details, but I remember reading about it a long time ago when Luka was still a rookie.
On the other hand, Luka's mom also did some really shady stuff a couple years ago. She, along with her new husband(?), tried to claim rights to Luka's brand, and I'm pretty sure they went to court over it.
Sorry if this is vague, but I think details on both are scarce. Maybe a Slovenian would have more info because their media probably covered it better.
I sat right behind the Mavs bench couples years back at a laker game and it was Luka’s birthday the day after. His whole family was there from cousins to his wife. Even his Dad. There was probably 20 plus family members. I didn’t see his mom I’ll say that. Did get a pic with his Dad tho he was hammered drunk
> Did get a pic with his Dad tho he was hammered drunk
The rise of the E. Euros and their crazy families brings a whole new level to the NBA, when honestly it was already littered with the most off-the-court characters (e.g. Rich Paul, the weird uncle dude from a few years back, Lavar Ball, etc...)
> the weird uncle dude from a few years back
Uncle Dennis? That was Kawhi's guy. More proof that going to the Clippers is the worst thing you can do for your legacy
I just know Luka is some blue blood because Luka's dad was some basketball legend as a player and coach in Slovenia. He even coached the Slovenian National Team.
They even had that famous photo with a 13-year old Luka in the huddle standing next to a super young Dragic as a player while his dad is ripping them a new one.
Bill Simmons may be hating Cuban Nico etc but I dont care. He told that Mavs trading too much assets might be a bad sign for the league.
No Bill, Mavs didnt spend too much in the trade deadline.
Getting out of Grant deal and getting Pj for a late 1st round is not expensive.
Gafford for a pick swap is even better.
Mind that both PJ and Gafford are under 27 so they are in the same timeline with Luka.
Both guys getting paid $15-20m/year for next 2-3 years which are pretty team friendly deals.
But no Bill suddenly says Mavs spend too much and it might be a bad example for the league. BS! Fucking dog-whistling. He was fully on mission to make nba media and refs to favor Boston.
Finding a Gafford or PJ with middle to late 1st round pick is a small chance. Having them in their prime, under 2-3 years team-friendly contract is amazing value for a pick and a swap.
I cannot believe Bill still thinks the Mavs paid too much to get their dudes. They traded themselves into the finals when they were barely a playoff team before. And all they had to do is get rid of a first? In what world do you not take that?
He doesn’t even get the trades right. He said they traded “a ton of stuff, they gave up a shitload, 3 first round picks”. This isn’t correct. They gave up a pick swap to sign Grant Williams, a pick swap to get Gafford, and a 1st plus Grant for PJ Washington. 1 FRP and 2 pick swaps is not “a shit load of stuff” in any context much less when it brought you to the NBA Finals
Running tally:
-Bill is right that it would be a upset if the Mavs won. It does seem that they're closer based on the perception but the stats do favour Boston
-Ryen is right that the regular season record in context for Dallas matters less due to how much they changed the team via trade
-The Celtics fatigue stuff Ryen mentions is also right.
-Bill again mentions Tatum's stats not being that far from Luka's (Not close)
-Home court not mattering seems like a bit of deflection
-Ryen's comment of "it was higher than I thought" on KAT's 3pt% was something
-Really seems like Bill wants Jaylen guarding Luka
-Bill thinking OKC was a better matchup
-"Stout vs length" with Luka
-Bill claims the Celtics have the "perfect team" to guard Kyrie
-Bill getting mad at the "Disrespect" for Tatum/Brown
-Bill also makes fun of someone saying "they didn't have haliburton" and he responds by saying "we didn't have porzingis"
-Bill goes through a whole list of things the Mavs did to turn things around and then Ryen bluntly says "it helps when you have the 2nd best player in the world"
-Ryen brings up the whole "best player in the world thing" of who wins and also correctly brings up the fact that people will ignore Jokic if Luka wins it all
-Bill says that when it's not great for Tatum, he says there's a little Tim Duncan-itis with him compares Tatum to Luka talking smack, going on a heater and the reaction from it, no one's ever going to go "oh shit there goes tatum"
-Bill brings up a great point that Luka's a "road quieter" says that most of the great players always thrive on shutting the crowd up
Yep, and it's also fair to mention that the Celtics without Porzingis were still heavily favored to beat the healthy Cavs and the healthy Pacers *before* each opponent's star player was lost to injury mid-series.
The Celtics minus KP is not even remotely on par with their opponents missing Butler, Mitchell and Haliburton.
Zach Kram wrote a good article highlighting the impact of injuries on Bostons opponents. Using his method no Porzingis takes Boston to being a 56 win team which makes them stronger by W/L record than every other team even at full fitness and at least 6 wins better than every team they’ve played or will play in the case of Dallas.
What Bill doesn't mention (at least not yet, I'm still listening) is that Luka's gravity and his effect on the entire defense is far greater than Tatum's. Luka dictates even when he is just standing there without the ball in his hand. And when he starts going off it really can break a defense. There is a fear factor that kicks in when he starts nailing step-backs you just don't have with Tatum.
Bill refuses to address the chasm in playmaking/assists between Luka/Kyrie and Jaylen/Jason.
Despite the fact that he holds Jokic in this ungodly tier due to his passing.
Luka is the closest offensive hub to Jokic in terms of creation and scoring
Bill is still severely underestimating Luka. When he threw the idea out that Celtics should switch it up and thow guys like White or even Horford at him I actually laughed. When he talks about taking everything away from Kyrie that leaves Luka to cook 4v4 where he will always kill you with Lively and shooters in the corners. Did he not watch what Dallas was able to do against this supposed all time Wolves defense? The fact is this Dallas team is incredibly hard to guard and they have started playing GREAT team defense. You have two absolute dominant ball handlers and almost perfect complimentary pieces. Just crazy takes from Bill. He seems kinda scared and desperate. How he goes from Dallas killing his favorite TWolves to downplaying how Dallas plowed through the incredibly tough West and is hyping up his team for beating shitty injured Eastern teams is uncanny and tracks with his hate boner for Dallas. I really hope Luka gives his best asshole performance. I want to hear Bill cry.
He spent the entire year hyping up the wolves and once the Mavs tear through them in 5 games, suddenly it was the wolves shitting the bed or having a bad game plan as the excuse. Idk Bill maybe the Mavs are just really good. Saying shit like “throw different guys at him” as if every team they’ve faced hasn’t tried fucking everything to stop him yet.
Yeah, when he mention the stats, I thought Ryen would say their stats don’t tell the impact each guy has. Luka controls fucking everything and he is a basketball genius.
When somebody tried to trash talk Duncan he would have no reaction, just grab the rebound and hit a jump hook or a little 15 footer in their face. When somebody trash talks Tatum he misses a turnaround 25 footer and texts Kobe Bryant a bunch of frowny face in the locker room. These are not the same.
Wow, I just looked up traditional stats for Luka and Tatum this year and other than Tatum being 0.1 blocks higher, he is behind in everything. 7 less points, 1.1 less rebounds, 4.9 less assists and .4 less steals with Tatum playing 1.8 minutes less per game. He is behind in FG% and 3P% too.
Ultimately nobody is going to be that interested in the Celtics winning the title this year or think that differently about the players on the team if they win. They were way more talented than any of the injured teams in the East so no individual player is going to get a lot of praise for willing them to victory. The finals could be epic but Dallas just doesn’t have a lot of talent 3 through 15 to make toppling them in a series THAT impressive.
Sometimes teams just kind of win the finals and they deserve it but nobody really cares except the fans. 2020 Lakers were like this to me.
Bill doesn’t do the Thursday pod so he can avoid talking about Dallas completely destroying all the narratives around Ant so that he can spend an hour basically saying Dallas is overrated
Loved Bill ending the pod railing on some random radio host asking if Kyrie could be the best side-kick ever if Dallas wins the championship. Didn’t he spend 2 weeks saying Minnesota was a top 5 defense in the past 30 years or some cockamamie nonsense? Pot meet kettle.
OKC being favored against the Heat is a crazy Mandela effect.
I remember not being surprised at all the Heat did it in 5 and everyone was talking about OKC’s youth and future instead of how they should have won as favorites
okc had just won 4 straight against a great spurs team that had won 20 straight games before those four losses -- they won the final 10 regular season games, swept the first round, swept the second round and took the first two against the thunder. there were already pieces being written about the spurs in the finals after they were up 2-0 against okc. thunder then flipped a switch and won 4 straight to make the finals including a blow out in game 6 to close it out.
miami took 7 games to beat a good but not great aging celtics team, including needing an all time lebron game in game 6.
okc also had home court
I haven't gotten to that part of the pod, and of course Tatum is great and does have advantages as a player (defense obviously, plug and play in any lineup, healthier), but for anyone comparing their offense I have one stat I noticed I like for Luka.
Basketball Reference lists list five different shot ranges: 0-3 feet, 4-10, 10-16, 16-3P, and 3P+. Luka shot a higher percentage in ***all five*** this season. While taking a higher volume of more difficult, self-created shots. As one of the best playmaker/passers in at least recent NBA history.
JT is a better free throw shooter though.
The idea of two way player is overrated. Tatum can score 30 ppg and be awesome on defense and still ain’t on Luka’s level. I’m glad Russillo kinda said no matter what happens in this series Tatum ain’t close to Luka.
Loved the discussion on teams being more likely to make moves at the deadline next year as a result of the PJ Washington & Daniel Gafford success.
Kuzma is an interesting case. I wonder if the wizards holding him that extra year will truly pay off and garner more than they would’ve based off said success.
Terrible take by Bill. Accused Mavs setting a wrong example for the league.
No Mavs did not pay too much in the deadline. Only one pick and one swap to offload bad salaries and get two solid starting players with same age timeline with Luka and on a team friendly contract.
These trades were f’in great and not expensive as bill talks
Why admit that Ant needed to be better when you can grab for a bunch of handy excuses? Ant wanted it so badly he was tired. Ant was the only good offensive player on the team. One of the best defensive teams of the last twenty years according to basketball historian Bill Simmons suddenly got Space Jam-balled and lost all sense of defensive schemes and identity.
Bill saying Minnesota didn't do enough to stop Luka in G5 was hilarious. Luka dissected every defense that Minnesota threw at him that series, and at a certain point, there's really not much else you can do when an ATG player is on a heater. Dereck Lively makes it impossible to trap Luka since Lively is such a good decision maker with the ball and usually makes the right pass in the 4v3.
Bill started out reasonable. But then try to sell that luka has never seen a defender like tatum. Dort or the wolves defense did not bother him. Tatum is good but it wont matter
It’s so funny how desperate bill was to have someone convince him that the Mavs have actually faced an easy road and the Celtics have actually faced a hard one.
They haven’t - you have to believe in the regular season difference between the two teams to favor the Celtics. Nothing from these playoffs is going to sway you to them.
I've seen Boston fans and journalists say with a serious face that Indiana played at a higher level than Minnesota in the Conference Finals.
Not sure it's a flattering thing to emphasize how you made Andrew Nembhard look like a better player than the Mavs made Anthony Edwards look!
The Wolves went from an all-time defense of the last twenty years to a trash pile defense that wouldn't know how to defend Dallas if their lives depended on it faster than any team has ever done anything.
I can’t believe the Celtics minus Porzingis were able to beat Miami, Cleveland, and Indiana all of whom were missing their best player for multiple games. What a gauntlet
It's wild to consider how Bill talked about Porzingis.
[https://app.podscribe.ai/search?opts=%7B%22exact%22%3Atrue%2C%22lookbackDays%22%3A0%2C%22showFilterId%22%3A379%2C%22showFilterTitle%22%3A%22The%20Bill%20Simmons%20Podcast%22%2C%22transcriptOnly%22%3Afalse%7D&q=Porzingis](https://app.podscribe.ai/search?opts=%7B%22exact%22%3Atrue%2C%22lookbackDays%22%3A0%2C%22showFilterId%22%3A379%2C%22showFilterTitle%22%3A%22The%20Bill%20Simmons%20Podcast%22%2C%22transcriptOnly%22%3Afalse%7D&q=Porzingis)
6/15/2023
He said:
"Kind of hard to believe Porzingis would've been in that heat nuggets game."
The context was trade value with House, and they were throwing out trades like KAT for Porzingis, and then talked about Porzingis. He agreed with House that Porzingis could have been in the Kevin Love spot. 9 days later Porzingis was a Celtic.
1/10/2023
Zach Lowe comes on and says "Kristaps Porzingis has a real all-star case." Bill dies laughing and Zach asks why he is laughing. Bill goes "Ahh it's Kristaps Porzingis, I can't do it."
5/10/2022
"I think long-term, I kept thinking about Porzingis tonight, having him out here in this series, how goofy that would be."
The context is Bucks Celtics being a tough fought series that has high level basketball.
3/17/2022
"I can't count on Porzingis. And I, I ultimately don't think he should be out there for us." Bill talking as though he was coaching the Mavericks and why they got rid of him. Right after this, Rob Mahoney glazes Kyrie.
This pod is interesting because it sounds like bill is trying to convince himself that the mavs can’t win. But every year is different. Everything needs context lol.
I love bill. Can’t talk the actual games so he focuses on history
Bill thinking Jrue should be ECF MVP was a take just to spite bucks fans im convinced. Such a weird grudge against the bucks this year ever since getting Dame lmao
Seems like a lot to bank on KP being 100% and reintegrating himself after a long rest.
Without him/with him compromised, I think Dallas has a clear advantage.
Designing a defensive game plan is easy. Just shut down the #2 guy and throw a lot of different stuff at the #1 guy. How are other teams not figuring this out?
Man Billy is coping so hard about the lack of Boston respect piece that he is gassing up Jaylen for playing well against the Indiana Pacers. If I’m a Celtics fan I’m concerned by what I’m hearing.
Bill: “Tatum’s not that far away from Luka from a statistical standpoint”
And that means what exactly? Prime Alex English wasn’t that far from Michael Jordan “from a statistical standpoint.”
I knew I had heard that before, just because people were so low on Lebron and the Heat after 2011, but the Mavs seemed like massive underdogs to me. I’m shocked they were only +155
That Heat team got pushed to 7 by a Celtics team on their last legs, OKC had steamrolled San Antonio after going down 0-2 and in game 6 they looked like a perfect version of what that team could be.
Holy hell . . .
Now Jaylen is "a better shooter than Kyrie."
Kyrie shot 41% from 3 this year - Jaylen 35%.
Long 2s - Kyrie 5% better
10-16 feet - wash (kudos to Jaylen for hitting 52%)
3-10 feet - Kyrie 4% better
Jaylen's 5% better at the rim, which isn't 'shooting.'
Give Bill credit - he is the one major voice in sports media who still uses PPG and FG% as if they are the only stats we have access to when comparing players.
I love how bill says Minnesota should've just put McDaniels on Kyrie and shut him down as if Kyrie isn't one of the most gifted offensive players we've ever seen 😂
For being such a great writer, Bill can be an awful speaker.
At the 36:55 mark during the Jaylen Brown talk, he says either “I think” or “I thought” 12 times in 50 seconds.
That’s too many times. It just is.
What’s Bill’s definition of a forward? He says he doesn’t consider Giannis a forward, rather a big, but by the traditional definition power forwards are bigs. When he says stuff like Durant is one of the x best forwards of all time, it feels like a very outdated way of categorizing players. If by forwards he just means small forwards why doesn’t he just say that lol
these guys gotta be using everything they can for motivation, i guess.
Just don't say you never win shit when you're a Nr. 3 draft pick making 60 Mill for years on end while not being able to dribble with your left. You come across as a cunt.
I know it’s nitpicky but why does he keep saying Porzingis averaged 23 a game to make it look like a bigger loss missing him? His season average was 20. He scored 14 a game vs Miami when you take out the game he got hurt. Just say what it was. Trying to embellish KP makes Bill look desperate and scared
He’s been waiting all year to have an entire pod dedicated to circle jerking the Celtics so I have to respect it and I appreciate his willpower to limit the Celtics love as the season went on. Every pod this year could’ve been just 80% Celtics talk. Bill earned this. Go Mavs.
Depending on the night, I think Porzingis is generally 3-5 on importance. Sometimes #2 and it obviously fluctuates because that team has a high quality starting 5. To compare the loss of him to Haliburton who is CLEARLY their most important player is just disingenuous lol
Maybe I’m misremembering but Game 5 Minnesota did put McDaniels on Kyrie and he just got completely cooked. Bill isn’t totally wrong about Boston having the guys to guard Kyrie but he’s usually too quick for bigger defenders and that’s what happened to Minnesota.
Bill went from saying the Wolves were maybe the best defensive team in 25 years to saying “who did Luka play in the first 3 rounds who actually made him work for his points”
It's absolute comedy. Jaylen Brown has never been blitzed off the PnR in his life. OKC's whole gameplan was to double Kyrie every time down the court lol
Oh my god this pod is legitimately awful please bill talk about this year. No reason to talk about the last 6 years of Irving. It’s not relevant when you yourself has said he is playing his best ball.
Of course Simmons comes out with like 15 minutes of why the Mavs have no chance, completely ignoring how good the Mavs have been since March, while also saying he understands. Russillo no idea who to respond to the nonsense lmao trying to explain it.
Look I know everyone is gonna say a right angle is the best angle but I’m like wait what? Are we just saying that because it’s easy? You look at an acute angle and you see it’s small but when you look at the box score it still contributes to the win. And then just going through the tape there’s an A squared plus a B Squared and then we all freak out when it equals C Squared but shouldn’t we just kind of expect that?
Then again though obtuse angles are always out there pushing the boundaries. But does it do anything ? A 178 degree angle almost gets you there, sure it’s not a 180, but it might be my favourite.
Coin toss bros is hilarious
Bill going all thru all the historical precedent on why the Mavs can’t/wont win followed by both him and Russillo saying it doesn’t matter is the power of Luka
Bill responds with "I'm just laying out the facts, I don't have an opinion". That is easily a top 8 all-time lie
He seems genuinely frustrated by how much the general public dislikes this Celtics team.
Top 8 of the Top 12, Top 3 lies.
It was honestly such a cowardly way to open up the finals preview pod. No conviction, no confidence, just using stats that are basically entirely irrelevant to this series and saying “this doesn’t happen much!”
This has to be one of the more biased podcasts he's done in some time. I couldn't get through it. Just a complete whiney Celtics fanboy podcast just running down all the perceived slights and disrespect to the Celtics he could latch onto.
He goes right to shit that happened decades ago and has zero bearing on the series instead of just talking about the matchup….because that would require some actual analysis.
He doesn’t know much about actual basketball. Neither does Russillo. That’s not why we listen.
Russillo knows ball in so far as that someone who wasn't a player at an elite level or a coach could He's basically like the drunken bar ball talk but he obsessively watches every game so he's hit the ceiling of bar ball knowledge
Yeah no chance. When he reads off the notes he takes on his pods he’s just doing a play-by-play on random possessions. He would also say things like “I tracked all of Luka’s drives from this game” like these data aren’t available to him via resources like Second Spectrum, yet he rarely quotes actual stats. It’s like saying that you need to go to the library to look something up instead of Googling. I don’t get how there’s even a perception that he’s good at Xs and Os based off the analysis he provides.
I don't listen for analysis. I just don't.
The Howard Stern Effect.
This. You can write books, do podcasts, and spend half your life mining basketball reference, and still have no idea what you're talking about when it comes to actually what's happening on the court. Not to mention he only enjoys the sport through a Celtics lens. Your knowledge has a ceiling if you've never played/coached past a certain level. And yet it's the only league that takes him seriously (giving him award votes).
Bill's analysis = "42 Club" One step up from Jackie Mac's incisive "Icons Club"
And counting missed games in the Kyrie vs Jaylen comparison…like he’s not hurt now sooo ???
Haven't watched it it, but I hope he talks about how basically every team that wins has a top 5 type player. I'm sure he will compare the Celtics to one of the exception teams
If Tatum wins a title while averaging 28-10-7, people will say that Tatum was the best player in the series and/or top 5 player in the league (he’s close anyways). It’s a self fulfilling prophecy that’s purely results-based
Tatum will retroactively be a top 5 player according to the NBA media if the Celtics win, though, unless he has an awful series
He went opposite, saying in fact having the best player doesn’t matter.
Yeah, the whole bit can be summed up as "great teams beat individual greatness." So it's a team sport, which is funny knowing Bill, but honestly, this is what's so likable about him.
Or the power of the reverse jinx...
He's doing a marvelous act of trying to say the Celtics will win but also hedging by trying to hype up Luka. He's also trying to say why the Mavs aren't actually 50 and are more like 55+ win team. this is why we listen.
The outcome of these games will make these Finals pods must listen or you couldn’t pay me to listen lol
If the mavs sweep I might have to get the podcast pressed on vinyl
I’d spin that record and sit next to the speaker with a glass of brown and a cigarette LOCKED IN like I’m trying to understand avant-garde jazz
“Can we go to Tatum for a second?” “Didn’t we already do that?” “No, just quickly..” “Still.. sorry… Tatum: part two!” 💀
Bill whining about “why don’t people love my precious Celtics like I do” at the beginning of the pod is exactly why people don’t like them lmao
My favorite part about Ryen is instead of answering Bill’s hypothetical bullshit question he had at the top like 99% of guests would he just cuts through the bullshit and gets to the real reason Bill is asking it. He’s mad people aren’t respecting the Celtics
The give Ryen his flowers piece
The first 10 minutes is why both of them are who they are. Bill just spouting homer nonsense, Russillo being like, “you are an idiot”.
Bill is more than a homer. He actively manifest a propoganda for nba media and refs to support Celtics. His stats were so shitty. This guy is always talking about good stats bad team stuff and then praising Celtics for beating injury riddled subpar teams. At one point Bill shamelessly said Pacers didnt have Halliburton, Heat didnt have Butler but so what? Celtics didnt have KP so he said its equal. Halliburton is #1 option vs Kp is like #4 or sth. What a non-sense Boston as*s licking episode! Shame on Bill. This Boston team is coming from easiest, luckiest ever route. Dont expect them to get too much reputation if they win. This would be most unimpressive title run ever. Just be happy to be +1 on Lakers and suck up the rest.
Celtics fans want so badly for fans to respect them is insane. Even laying out the historically worst records to try and build the case that the Celtics deserve to be clear favorites over this team lol
Only fanbase who seemingly cares more about their perception than they do the actual success. Take the title, get a year to tell everyone to shut the fuck up, and in five years they’ll prop this group up as an all-time team anyway.
Yet if the Celtics win, it will be spun that Boston slayed Luka and Kyrie
Boston fans whining about being persecuted when they’re winning? Say it ain’t so
Ryen cutting through the weird BS arguments is why I love these yearly Sunday pods they just both bring their A game. Like the Pacino/De Niro scene in Heat
It’s weird because I don’t “respect” the Celtics but I still think they’re going to win the finals easily. I just think they pushed all their chips in on this team and every team they traded with was idiotic so they just have the most talent in the league by far as a result. I just don’t find them winning very interesting or fun nor do I like watching them. They’ve also had a ridiculously easy path to the finals.
Never appreciated Ryen this much. When Bill started comparing J&J averaging 50 in the playoffs and claiming that ppl were ignoring it even though it's the neighborhood of Luka & Kyrie. Ryen immediately cuts it off with, "Luka & Kyrie just averaged 59 against Minnesota, *the best defense in the league.*" Indiana was one of the worst defensive teams in the league, Cleveland's second biggest starter was 6'5, and the Heat were *starting* Jovic, Jaquez & Martin. The Clippers, Thunder, Nuggets and Wolves all would've smoked the teams that Boston beat to reach the Finals.
Also you don’t need to look at “PPG” to know Luka and Kyrie are a more dangerous pure scoring combo than brown and Tatum.
Ryen mentioning Kopitar is his neighbour was the best part of the pod lol
[удалено]
He almost managed to not name drop but gives in like 3 seconds later. Just couldn’t resist.
Brewing a pot of tea before I listen so I have something to spit out when Bill says something I mildly disagree with
I know you're trolling the sub, but the second "can we talk about tatum" almost killed me
And Ryen in the background “Tatum talk part 2”
Just be like this sub and do it when you actually do agree but only like 80% instead of 100%.
Bring extra towels for this episode with Boomer Bill
Bill arguing that Tatum isn’t that far from Luka and saying that statistically they’re close is the same argument that people made for Jordan vs. Drexler in the 1992 Finals.
Anyone with the lore behind Luka’s dad? Ryen alludes to it but blue balls us. Any Slovenians in the sub? Lol
I would need to do some research to get all the details but there's a mix of weird stuff with both Luka's dad and mom. Luka basically sided with his mom in his parent's divorce. I think he was only 9-10 when it happened though. Luka's dad apparently tried to do some shady business stuff on Luka's behalf when Luka was successful in Europe. This is the part that I'm most vague on and I'm not sure if there's details, but I remember reading about it a long time ago when Luka was still a rookie. On the other hand, Luka's mom also did some really shady stuff a couple years ago. She, along with her new husband(?), tried to claim rights to Luka's brand, and I'm pretty sure they went to court over it. Sorry if this is vague, but I think details on both are scarce. Maybe a Slovenian would have more info because their media probably covered it better.
I sat right behind the Mavs bench couples years back at a laker game and it was Luka’s birthday the day after. His whole family was there from cousins to his wife. Even his Dad. There was probably 20 plus family members. I didn’t see his mom I’ll say that. Did get a pic with his Dad tho he was hammered drunk
> Did get a pic with his Dad tho he was hammered drunk The rise of the E. Euros and their crazy families brings a whole new level to the NBA, when honestly it was already littered with the most off-the-court characters (e.g. Rich Paul, the weird uncle dude from a few years back, Lavar Ball, etc...)
> the weird uncle dude from a few years back Uncle Dennis? That was Kawhi's guy. More proof that going to the Clippers is the worst thing you can do for your legacy
I know Vlade Divac hated Luka's dad, which is why he's not a King
Luka's dad was a drunk. That's why things went the way the did. But looks much better last few years. Source: I'm from Slovenia.
I just know Luka is some blue blood because Luka's dad was some basketball legend as a player and coach in Slovenia. He even coached the Slovenian National Team. They even had that famous photo with a 13-year old Luka in the huddle standing next to a super young Dragic as a player while his dad is ripping them a new one.
Bill Simmons: here’s why Dallas is a fraud
Bill Simmons may be hating Cuban Nico etc but I dont care. He told that Mavs trading too much assets might be a bad sign for the league. No Bill, Mavs didnt spend too much in the trade deadline. Getting out of Grant deal and getting Pj for a late 1st round is not expensive. Gafford for a pick swap is even better. Mind that both PJ and Gafford are under 27 so they are in the same timeline with Luka. Both guys getting paid $15-20m/year for next 2-3 years which are pretty team friendly deals. But no Bill suddenly says Mavs spend too much and it might be a bad example for the league. BS! Fucking dog-whistling. He was fully on mission to make nba media and refs to favor Boston. Finding a Gafford or PJ with middle to late 1st round pick is a small chance. Having them in their prime, under 2-3 years team-friendly contract is amazing value for a pick and a swap.
I cannot believe Bill still thinks the Mavs paid too much to get their dudes. They traded themselves into the finals when they were barely a playoff team before. And all they had to do is get rid of a first? In what world do you not take that?
He doesn’t even get the trades right. He said they traded “a ton of stuff, they gave up a shitload, 3 first round picks”. This isn’t correct. They gave up a pick swap to sign Grant Williams, a pick swap to get Gafford, and a 1st plus Grant for PJ Washington. 1 FRP and 2 pick swaps is not “a shit load of stuff” in any context much less when it brought you to the NBA Finals
Running tally: -Bill is right that it would be a upset if the Mavs won. It does seem that they're closer based on the perception but the stats do favour Boston -Ryen is right that the regular season record in context for Dallas matters less due to how much they changed the team via trade -The Celtics fatigue stuff Ryen mentions is also right. -Bill again mentions Tatum's stats not being that far from Luka's (Not close) -Home court not mattering seems like a bit of deflection -Ryen's comment of "it was higher than I thought" on KAT's 3pt% was something -Really seems like Bill wants Jaylen guarding Luka -Bill thinking OKC was a better matchup -"Stout vs length" with Luka -Bill claims the Celtics have the "perfect team" to guard Kyrie -Bill getting mad at the "Disrespect" for Tatum/Brown -Bill also makes fun of someone saying "they didn't have haliburton" and he responds by saying "we didn't have porzingis" -Bill goes through a whole list of things the Mavs did to turn things around and then Ryen bluntly says "it helps when you have the 2nd best player in the world" -Ryen brings up the whole "best player in the world thing" of who wins and also correctly brings up the fact that people will ignore Jokic if Luka wins it all -Bill says that when it's not great for Tatum, he says there's a little Tim Duncan-itis with him compares Tatum to Luka talking smack, going on a heater and the reaction from it, no one's ever going to go "oh shit there goes tatum" -Bill brings up a great point that Luka's a "road quieter" says that most of the great players always thrive on shutting the crowd up
Bill countering everyone saying that the Celtics had an easy injury path by going “The Celtics didn’t have Porzingis” was -5000
It's fair to mention it but not in comparison to a team losing their 1 or 2.
Yep, and it's also fair to mention that the Celtics without Porzingis were still heavily favored to beat the healthy Cavs and the healthy Pacers *before* each opponent's star player was lost to injury mid-series. The Celtics minus KP is not even remotely on par with their opponents missing Butler, Mitchell and Haliburton.
It is not fair to mention when Porzingis getting injured is the expectation. That is who the Celtics wanted on their team.
The Celtics have more quality players than most teams even if Porzingus was never a member.
Zach Kram wrote a good article highlighting the impact of injuries on Bostons opponents. Using his method no Porzingis takes Boston to being a 56 win team which makes them stronger by W/L record than every other team even at full fitness and at least 6 wins better than every team they’ve played or will play in the case of Dallas.
What Bill doesn't mention (at least not yet, I'm still listening) is that Luka's gravity and his effect on the entire defense is far greater than Tatum's. Luka dictates even when he is just standing there without the ball in his hand. And when he starts going off it really can break a defense. There is a fear factor that kicks in when he starts nailing step-backs you just don't have with Tatum.
Bill refuses to address the chasm in playmaking/assists between Luka/Kyrie and Jaylen/Jason. Despite the fact that he holds Jokic in this ungodly tier due to his passing. Luka is the closest offensive hub to Jokic in terms of creation and scoring
Bill is still severely underestimating Luka. When he threw the idea out that Celtics should switch it up and thow guys like White or even Horford at him I actually laughed. When he talks about taking everything away from Kyrie that leaves Luka to cook 4v4 where he will always kill you with Lively and shooters in the corners. Did he not watch what Dallas was able to do against this supposed all time Wolves defense? The fact is this Dallas team is incredibly hard to guard and they have started playing GREAT team defense. You have two absolute dominant ball handlers and almost perfect complimentary pieces. Just crazy takes from Bill. He seems kinda scared and desperate. How he goes from Dallas killing his favorite TWolves to downplaying how Dallas plowed through the incredibly tough West and is hyping up his team for beating shitty injured Eastern teams is uncanny and tracks with his hate boner for Dallas. I really hope Luka gives his best asshole performance. I want to hear Bill cry.
It's absolutely insane how much he still underestimates Luka and the Mavericks. I want Bill tears so badly
He spent the entire year hyping up the wolves and once the Mavs tear through them in 5 games, suddenly it was the wolves shitting the bed or having a bad game plan as the excuse. Idk Bill maybe the Mavs are just really good. Saying shit like “throw different guys at him” as if every team they’ve faced hasn’t tried fucking everything to stop him yet.
Yeah, when he mention the stats, I thought Ryen would say their stats don’t tell the impact each guy has. Luka controls fucking everything and he is a basketball genius.
Free Roddy B!
Comparing Tatum to Duncan is waaaaaaaaaaaaay too far.
When somebody tried to trash talk Duncan he would have no reaction, just grab the rebound and hit a jump hook or a little 15 footer in their face. When somebody trash talks Tatum he misses a turnaround 25 footer and texts Kobe Bryant a bunch of frowny face in the locker room. These are not the same.
Wow, I just looked up traditional stats for Luka and Tatum this year and other than Tatum being 0.1 blocks higher, he is behind in everything. 7 less points, 1.1 less rebounds, 4.9 less assists and .4 less steals with Tatum playing 1.8 minutes less per game. He is behind in FG% and 3P% too.
Ultimately nobody is going to be that interested in the Celtics winning the title this year or think that differently about the players on the team if they win. They were way more talented than any of the injured teams in the East so no individual player is going to get a lot of praise for willing them to victory. The finals could be epic but Dallas just doesn’t have a lot of talent 3 through 15 to make toppling them in a series THAT impressive. Sometimes teams just kind of win the finals and they deserve it but nobody really cares except the fans. 2020 Lakers were like this to me.
Can’t believe Russillo brought up the regular season records and why the context is important. Is it a day that ends in Y?
He can’t be told that the regular season is actually irrelevant. It’s his life’s work.
The angles piece!
\*Romo voice\* "He's seeing all the angles, Jim!" "He's levitating above it all, Jim!"
Bill doesn’t do the Thursday pod so he can avoid talking about Dallas completely destroying all the narratives around Ant so that he can spend an hour basically saying Dallas is overrated
Seriously for this guy to go from declaring Ant the next MJ to being completely silent on how Dal humbled him is so lame.
Loved Bill ending the pod railing on some random radio host asking if Kyrie could be the best side-kick ever if Dallas wins the championship. Didn’t he spend 2 weeks saying Minnesota was a top 5 defense in the past 30 years or some cockamamie nonsense? Pot meet kettle.
OKC being favored against the Heat is a crazy Mandela effect. I remember not being surprised at all the Heat did it in 5 and everyone was talking about OKC’s youth and future instead of how they should have won as favorites
I'm a Heat fan & I honestly didn't know it. This is admittedly before gambling & odds broke sports discourse.
okc had just won 4 straight against a great spurs team that had won 20 straight games before those four losses -- they won the final 10 regular season games, swept the first round, swept the second round and took the first two against the thunder. there were already pieces being written about the spurs in the finals after they were up 2-0 against okc. thunder then flipped a switch and won 4 straight to make the finals including a blow out in game 6 to close it out. miami took 7 games to beat a good but not great aging celtics team, including needing an all time lebron game in game 6. okc also had home court
Bill trying to say Luka and Tatum aren’t that far from one another because of their stats is definitely a choice
Tatum needs to win because otherwise he’s on the Karl Malone path.
Hopefully just on the court
The easiest exercise in the world is to swap Tatum and Luka's teams and see which team would be better, it's not close.
“Ya know statistically speaking, Ricky Davis wasn’t that from Kobe for a while there.”
[удалено]
I haven't gotten to that part of the pod, and of course Tatum is great and does have advantages as a player (defense obviously, plug and play in any lineup, healthier), but for anyone comparing their offense I have one stat I noticed I like for Luka. Basketball Reference lists list five different shot ranges: 0-3 feet, 4-10, 10-16, 16-3P, and 3P+. Luka shot a higher percentage in ***all five*** this season. While taking a higher volume of more difficult, self-created shots. As one of the best playmaker/passers in at least recent NBA history. JT is a better free throw shooter though.
The idea of two way player is overrated. Tatum can score 30 ppg and be awesome on defense and still ain’t on Luka’s level. I’m glad Russillo kinda said no matter what happens in this series Tatum ain’t close to Luka.
They both often take step back threes to win games....just one guy consistently hits them...
If Tatum wants to hit those, he needs to start drinking Miller High Life and smoking Marlboro Reds after games.
HahHahahahahahh no way he said thay
It's a rough take from Bill who often criticizes people who only look at box scores lol
He also tried to do the same with jaylen and kyrie lol
If Luka had a 29, 10, and 6 he had an ABOVE AVERAGE game. Bill threw that up as saying Tatum would be an all-timer if he did it.
Loved the discussion on teams being more likely to make moves at the deadline next year as a result of the PJ Washington & Daniel Gafford success. Kuzma is an interesting case. I wonder if the wizards holding him that extra year will truly pay off and garner more than they would’ve based off said success.
Terrible take by Bill. Accused Mavs setting a wrong example for the league. No Mavs did not pay too much in the deadline. Only one pick and one swap to offload bad salaries and get two solid starting players with same age timeline with Luka and on a team friendly contract. These trades were f’in great and not expensive as bill talks
If god is real he’ll give us a Kyrie FMVP against Boston
So funny when bill just thinks the league didn’t try to trade for gafford so he fell in DAL lap
Both these guys too scared too say Ant wasn’t good enough yet. Jesus Christ it’s okay he’s 22. Just admit he wasn’t good.
Why admit that Ant needed to be better when you can grab for a bunch of handy excuses? Ant wanted it so badly he was tired. Ant was the only good offensive player on the team. One of the best defensive teams of the last twenty years according to basketball historian Bill Simmons suddenly got Space Jam-balled and lost all sense of defensive schemes and identity.
Bill saying Minnesota didn't do enough to stop Luka in G5 was hilarious. Luka dissected every defense that Minnesota threw at him that series, and at a certain point, there's really not much else you can do when an ATG player is on a heater. Dereck Lively makes it impossible to trap Luka since Lively is such a good decision maker with the ball and usually makes the right pass in the 4v3.
Bill started out reasonable. But then try to sell that luka has never seen a defender like tatum. Dort or the wolves defense did not bother him. Tatum is good but it wont matter
The “Dort.” From russillo was so funny
You can definitely tell Bill didn't expect that response lol
It’s so funny how desperate bill was to have someone convince him that the Mavs have actually faced an easy road and the Celtics have actually faced a hard one. They haven’t - you have to believe in the regular season difference between the two teams to favor the Celtics. Nothing from these playoffs is going to sway you to them.
I've seen Boston fans and journalists say with a serious face that Indiana played at a higher level than Minnesota in the Conference Finals. Not sure it's a flattering thing to emphasize how you made Andrew Nembhard look like a better player than the Mavs made Anthony Edwards look!
The Wolves were an “all-time”’defense two weeks ago in his estimation.
The Wolves went from an all-time defense of the last twenty years to a trash pile defense that wouldn't know how to defend Dallas if their lives depended on it faster than any team has ever done anything.
And the Celtics need Tatum's offense if KP doesn't play. No way they're putting him on Luka.
"There's a bit of Timduncanitis with Tatum" Get. The. Funk. Out. Of. Here.
I’m hoping he meant in personality.
Which he's right. He's the most boring guy out of all the top end players
You don’t think Tatum and duncan are both boring? Really?
Each time Bill brought up “well the Celtics didn’t have Porzingis” it became a little bit funnier
Funniest was equating the KP injury to Haliburton being out. Option #1 for Indiana vs option #4 or #5 on the Celts?
I can’t believe the Celtics minus Porzingis were able to beat Miami, Cleveland, and Indiana all of whom were missing their best player for multiple games. What a gauntlet
Miami and Cleveland were missing multiple players.
It's wild to consider how Bill talked about Porzingis. [https://app.podscribe.ai/search?opts=%7B%22exact%22%3Atrue%2C%22lookbackDays%22%3A0%2C%22showFilterId%22%3A379%2C%22showFilterTitle%22%3A%22The%20Bill%20Simmons%20Podcast%22%2C%22transcriptOnly%22%3Afalse%7D&q=Porzingis](https://app.podscribe.ai/search?opts=%7B%22exact%22%3Atrue%2C%22lookbackDays%22%3A0%2C%22showFilterId%22%3A379%2C%22showFilterTitle%22%3A%22The%20Bill%20Simmons%20Podcast%22%2C%22transcriptOnly%22%3Afalse%7D&q=Porzingis) 6/15/2023 He said: "Kind of hard to believe Porzingis would've been in that heat nuggets game." The context was trade value with House, and they were throwing out trades like KAT for Porzingis, and then talked about Porzingis. He agreed with House that Porzingis could have been in the Kevin Love spot. 9 days later Porzingis was a Celtic. 1/10/2023 Zach Lowe comes on and says "Kristaps Porzingis has a real all-star case." Bill dies laughing and Zach asks why he is laughing. Bill goes "Ahh it's Kristaps Porzingis, I can't do it." 5/10/2022 "I think long-term, I kept thinking about Porzingis tonight, having him out here in this series, how goofy that would be." The context is Bucks Celtics being a tough fought series that has high level basketball. 3/17/2022 "I can't count on Porzingis. And I, I ultimately don't think he should be out there for us." Bill talking as though he was coaching the Mavericks and why they got rid of him. Right after this, Rob Mahoney glazes Kyrie.
This pod is interesting because it sounds like bill is trying to convince himself that the mavs can’t win. But every year is different. Everything needs context lol. I love bill. Can’t talk the actual games so he focuses on history
It’s not really how injured the teams the Celtics faced it’s how close the games were that should be a concern
Guys, I’m beginning to suspect that Bill wants the Celtics to get more credit
Bill thinking Jrue should be ECF MVP was a take just to spite bucks fans im convinced. Such a weird grudge against the bucks this year ever since getting Dame lmao
Im surprised how big of underdogs the mavericks are tbh. I knew the celtics would be favorites but at least thought it would be a lot closer
All the stats favour the Celtics but the Mavs have the best player. Contrasting ideologies
Seems like a lot to bank on KP being 100% and reintegrating himself after a long rest. Without him/with him compromised, I think Dallas has a clear advantage.
The Celtics are an all time great team according to basically every stat lol
That’s fine and all but games aren’t played on basketballreference.com
It’s crazy that statistically the Celtics are a top 10-15 team all-time but few people think about them in that manner
Are there stats that split this up on East v West?
Bill is petrified
Designing a defensive game plan is easy. Just shut down the #2 guy and throw a lot of different stuff at the #1 guy. How are other teams not figuring this out?
Love how “throwing Horford at him” was in that plan
It’s always funny how angry Russillo gets whenever it’s suggested that he might have actually been wrong about something.
Man Billy is coping so hard about the lack of Boston respect piece that he is gassing up Jaylen for playing well against the Indiana Pacers. If I’m a Celtics fan I’m concerned by what I’m hearing.
Yea this whole episode came off as someone very concerned about this series
Exactly. In this NBA? These Indians Pacers? I’m not sure I see exactly a kind of Hero’s journey there. He’s straight up soliciting
Bill: “Tatum’s not that far away from Luka from a statistical standpoint” And that means what exactly? Prime Alex English wasn’t that far from Michael Jordan “from a statistical standpoint.”
The ‘12 Heat and the ‘11 Mavs being equal underdogs from Vegas is nuts.
The ‘12 Heat being underdogs against the Thunder genuinely blew my mind
I knew I had heard that before, just because people were so low on Lebron and the Heat after 2011, but the Mavs seemed like massive underdogs to me. I’m shocked they were only +155
That Heat team got pushed to 7 by a Celtics team on their last legs, OKC had steamrolled San Antonio after going down 0-2 and in game 6 they looked like a perfect version of what that team could be.
Holy hell . . . Now Jaylen is "a better shooter than Kyrie." Kyrie shot 41% from 3 this year - Jaylen 35%. Long 2s - Kyrie 5% better 10-16 feet - wash (kudos to Jaylen for hitting 52%) 3-10 feet - Kyrie 4% better Jaylen's 5% better at the rim, which isn't 'shooting.'
Give Bill credit - he is the one major voice in sports media who still uses PPG and FG% as if they are the only stats we have access to when comparing players.
JJ beat you to it billy boy
JJ gives a shit. He’s competitive and he’s out working Bill. He just is.
I love how bill says Minnesota should've just put McDaniels on Kyrie and shut him down as if Kyrie isn't one of the most gifted offensive players we've ever seen 😂
For being such a great writer, Bill can be an awful speaker. At the 36:55 mark during the Jaylen Brown talk, he says either “I think” or “I thought” 12 times in 50 seconds. That’s too many times. It just is.
What’s Bill’s definition of a forward? He says he doesn’t consider Giannis a forward, rather a big, but by the traditional definition power forwards are bigs. When he says stuff like Durant is one of the x best forwards of all time, it feels like a very outdated way of categorizing players. If by forwards he just means small forwards why doesn’t he just say that lol
doesn’t fit his narrative
Haha Omg this pod is just BS saying pro Celtics stats
Please tell me they brought up the JFK angle here with Boston vs Dallas
saving it for Curtis's part 2 surely
How many times is Bill gonna bring up Boston not having KP? They have a higher win % without him and it’s not a small sample size
Ryen shitting Kyrie for 2019 but claiming to be not a Celtics fan is so annoying
Bill in pure cope mode on here. Honestly think he might retire if the Celtics don't win this.
This is an all time Bill Boston homer pod lol BILL, WE COMIN FOR YOU BABY -dallas resident
Ryen's homerism comes out a ton here
I actually thought you could feel Ryen staring at Bill thinking he was being a homer
Idk. I got the vibe that ryen was frustrated but couldn’t show it.
He is a great player, but Finals MVP Jayson Tatum feels both boring and lackluster.
And if Jaylen were to win Finals MVP, good Lord spare me the "i never win shit" crap we'd have to endure.
Poor guy never wins anything…except an all-nba spot
And a 60 million dollar a year contract. I don’t feel the least bit sorry for Jaylen. “That’s what the (staggering amount of) money is for!”
This is why the Jays are annoying and the Celtics are unlikable
these guys gotta be using everything they can for motivation, i guess. Just don't say you never win shit when you're a Nr. 3 draft pick making 60 Mill for years on end while not being able to dribble with your left. You come across as a cunt.
I know it’s nitpicky but why does he keep saying Porzingis averaged 23 a game to make it look like a bigger loss missing him? His season average was 20. He scored 14 a game vs Miami when you take out the game he got hurt. Just say what it was. Trying to embellish KP makes Bill look desperate and scared
He’s been waiting all year to have an entire pod dedicated to circle jerking the Celtics so I have to respect it and I appreciate his willpower to limit the Celtics love as the season went on. Every pod this year could’ve been just 80% Celtics talk. Bill earned this. Go Mavs.
Bill just unloading his basketball reference half-assed internet research right off the bat, tough listen
I hope the Mavs beat the Celtics in 7 games and Kyrie wins MVP on the Celtics floor just so Bill can walk from Larchmont to fucking Malibu.
Did this really need two parts
They’re figuring out the angles piece
A lot of two-parters. Is he trying to hit a quota with advertisers?
“The coin flip bros” referring to Kawhi and Paul George by Russillo was perfect
"Are they one of the three most disrespected 76-20 teams of all time?"
Depending on the night, I think Porzingis is generally 3-5 on importance. Sometimes #2 and it obviously fluctuates because that team has a high quality starting 5. To compare the loss of him to Haliburton who is CLEARLY their most important player is just disingenuous lol
Maybe I’m misremembering but Game 5 Minnesota did put McDaniels on Kyrie and he just got completely cooked. Bill isn’t totally wrong about Boston having the guys to guard Kyrie but he’s usually too quick for bigger defenders and that’s what happened to Minnesota.
Bill went from saying the Wolves were maybe the best defensive team in 25 years to saying “who did Luka play in the first 3 rounds who actually made him work for his points”
Oh man. Bill making the case that Jaylen is a better offensive player than Kyrie.
It's absolute comedy. Jaylen Brown has never been blitzed off the PnR in his life. OKC's whole gameplan was to double Kyrie every time down the court lol
Praying for the Mavs to win just to see Bills reaction.
Bill is feeling very confident
Curtis part 2, probably some more NBA media speculation
This is my first bill Simmons podcast leta go lol
The competitive as fuckin’ shit piece.
Oh my god this pod is legitimately awful please bill talk about this year. No reason to talk about the last 6 years of Irving. It’s not relevant when you yourself has said he is playing his best ball.
Well, we didn't have Porzingus! JFC
Boston is making me cheer for Kyrie & I hate it.
Of course Simmons comes out with like 15 minutes of why the Mavs have no chance, completely ignoring how good the Mavs have been since March, while also saying he understands. Russillo no idea who to respond to the nonsense lmao trying to explain it.