Thank God these guys no longer work for ESPN! This is the best basketball content available, anywhere, period! Simmons and Russillo are 2 of the best in the biz.

Ginobili ceiling for Reeves may be the nicest thing Bill has ever said about a laker

Booker in the playoffs last year: 33.7, 4.8, 7.2 on 58.5/50.5/87 % shooting against the Clippers and Nuggets. Only team to win two off the Nuggets.

Russilo “I …just think nurkic sucks” Made me lol so hard for some reason

Russilo is right Booker is built way different

I could listen to these guys banter for hours

Booker will be in the top 3 MVP conversation this year, he will be the best player on the Suns

WTF! Have these guys been watching the Suns? The have Okogee and Goodwin for point of attack defense and they got 6 foot 8 wings for days coming off the bench. Injury concerns go for every team. The Suns are DEEP af. I cnt wait for these guys look like fools, about 3 weeks into the season when they see how good this team actually is

6:40 doubling down on Shamet = Beal Holy 💩

This was really good solid NBA Talk...Just what I was looking for as Opening Day is 2moro and I've ignored the entire Pre-Season. so today and tomorrow afternoon I'll be trying to find more NBA team breakdowns to get up to speed...This was good..I'll try to find your other division breakdowns now..

Man bills takes have gotten completely insane over the years. Dude couldn't go 15 seconds without bringing up tatum 😂 The suns dont have to worry about guarding tatum in the finals cause he'll just start bricking when it matters most. He just doesnt have that killer in him that book does

Thank you for the video! I would really like to see all of the audio podcasts available in video. I know it might seem like it shouldn't matter, but I pay more attention to the content if I have the ability to watch the speakers. Thanks!

Lebron doesn’t affect winning the same way. It’s not a cliff. It’s just what we saw last year: Lebron is the headline, but AD determines whether the team wins.

Suns have three of the best offensive players in the game and Simmons is asking "Who's gonna cover Luka?", "Who's gonna chase Steph Curry around screens?" How about who in the hell is gonna cover KD, Book, and Beal?

I trust James Jones talent evaluation over these 3 guys. Simmons and Rusillo are entertaining but their opinions are just that, opinions. We'll see how the season plays out but I bet the Suns put all of these concerns about defense to rest early in the season. Vogel is a huge upgrade over Monty Williams as far as defensive coaching goes. And Kevin Young has the offense already in a dangerous spot for other teams.

Russilo says Nurkic sucks like Ayton doesn’t

Bill trying to downplay the fact he said: "Are we sure Bradley Beal instead of Landry Shamet makes any difference in the Nuggets series?" to "Denver would've still beaten them" is insane damage control

the okogie and Goodwin disrespect tells me they dont watch the suns

If every team stays 90% healthy or better, and that's a BIG if, this could be the best division in NBA history. Either way, it's gonna be wild seeing this season play out.

Great !! Thank you!

It’s all about matchups. Seeding doesn’t matter.

This is what we all been waiting for 👀

Beal missed games. Covid twice, wrist surgery and sitting at end of season/tanking. I think he’ll play 70+

Bro do research on the suns bench! NOBODY has a better bench than Phoenix! Trust me! Teams will have to drop 125 a game to beat them.. not an easy task

Anyone else notice how a piece of Ryan's mic fits perfectly on Andre the Giant's nose?

I’m looking forward to Bill trashing a player and then later on in the season praising the player like he never trashed him. Like every year

Durant is wayyy better than Dame

I love with these three get together

Can't forget about the Wiseman experiment with the Warriors last year. They started 3-7 before they finally decided to stop playing him.

Keegan Murray is going to be in conversation for most improved. He has all the proper ingredients. He is going to be a better Paul George

Haha good pod boys

Why does Magic look so Sus 😅😂😂

Klay in a contract year aged like sushi in sunlight

Who's guarding Phoenix Big Three from any of the teams mentioned?

As a Laker fan it sucks I have to go to the Bill Simmons Poscast for real basketball takes, but these guys are the best. Especially Russillo. Most knowledgeable basketball guy there is.

Clips hit the over.

It's so interesting that Russillo is that into Booker. There's multiple instances of Booker not stepping up as a true #1 and Durant isn't capable of carrying a team for extended periods of time anymore

Chortling about Year 3 Kuminga? Huh? He’s the best athlete in the NBA.

Why is magic back poked out like that? 🤔😅

I just want to put this here for timekeeping Barring major injuries to Curry or Wiggins, Warriors are going to western finals Love the chemistry of that team. Other than the main guys (I am actually the most worried about Klay. He's been alittle out of it) Kuminga looks really good, Moody is next Iggy, Saric is vastly underrated, full season/healthy GP2, the 2 rookies look solid. I could care less about Corey Joseph... I hope Rudy Gay is 60% of what he was

Kevin Durant had a Achilles tendon injury y’all act like he’s just 26 again tf plus this year will be his year

It's not just beal that was added on offense. The bench now has Gordon, yuta, and Grayson. All three of those players are better than what was coming off the bench as the 6th man for the suns ladt year While beal isn't a great defender he's much better than 38/39 year cp3 just from a conditioning standpoint. Basically the suns improved from 3-8 with the exception of Nurkic. I totally understand the Nurkic worry. He's just too unathletic for guys like AD, Giannis, and Embid. The suns might be able to avoid those guys if Boston makes the finals and if someone takes out the Lakers before meeting the suns. But i think the offense and bench will be good enough to win rhe chip.

Take on phoenix is ridiculous. We are quite deep. If each of the 3 play just 60 games we will win 60+ games. Best suns team ever in my opinion.

*I like Golden States chances*

I used to be really high on Nurkic. But he has just been nowhere near what he was before that horrific leg injury.

Wtf is up with magics pic behind Bill lol

When I used to cover the Clippers when I lived in LA......

*complain about players moving* *constantly debates on whos next to move* Which one is it. The media preys on whos next to get traded and complain about it. Pick one.

WHY DOES EVERY YEAR START OUT EVERYONE TRASHING THE SUNS. WERE IN PLAYOFFS ALMOST EVERY YEAR.

So many are overlooking the Warriors, and I love it. This Warriors team is deep AF, especially if the young guys like Kuminga keep getting better. They also still got a roster spot to fill after cutting Rudy Gay. I'm hearing Dwight Howard isn't off the table.

Every year at gsw he played over 60 games. Every since then he had Achilles injury then freak accidents not actually injuries lol so yes he can play over 60 you don’t supposed to be prepared for someone to fall on your leg or your teammate bumping his head into your knee. Nor you working out and you tweak your ankle. That’s unfortunate but kd had a Achilles and foot injury that’s it

Lol'd at the Nurkic take I get it he's cheaper lol but better hope he's ready by playoffs

Suns will finish well ahead of old ass LeBron and broken down AD lol

You mean Monty Williams highest paid coach in the league.. I cried😂😂

Simmons has jumped the shark.

I was understanding about the Suns takes until I heard all that nonsense about the Lakers. I don’t know why all of a sudden we should pretend AD is any more durable than Zion I mean what is going on here

I like Joe’s shirt but it is a thing to wear cuffs unbuttoned? Did he forget to roll them up? Would annoy me.

Ishbia is building a $100m practice facility for wnba players making less than UPS drivers, he might be trying to generate red ink on purpose.

Notice how they never talked about the Suns bench and how deep it is!! The Suns are so deep every NBA team is going to feel it in their trough!

Beal = Landry Shamet. smh

1. Turn off injuries, KD. However, there are injuries so Steph. 2. Luka. I am also Tatum over Booker. I understand your reasons, but my ceiling is higher on Tatum. 3. Luka. 4. AD but, I trust Embiid to be on the court longer. It is close & preference. 5. Wagner. Mobley is an old school 4. Franz is a modern wing. Garnett turned into a 2. He did so because his body stopped him being continuing offensively. Most players have to choose 1 elite end. 6. Murray, but I am not sure what is the Jokic factor. 7. Pass. Both are killing a franchise.

taking the under on 52 wins for the Suns is absolutely absurd

Lakers won’t get injured, The suns will. Simmons being Simmons and discounting Phoenix, again. Suns just schooled the lakers without Booker and Beal….. with great defense. These guys are a hoot.

Nurkic is for laxk of a better term "not good"

Obviously, you guys above don't like the Suns very much, do you? Because you're not talking objectively here at all...the Suns just gave the Lakers a beaten the other night where the Suns bench OUTPLAYED the Lakers starters for most of the game, Booker and Beal didn't even play.... LOL....but you're sitting here talking about KD's injury over the years, instead of focusing on this current Suns roster which is one of THE best rosters if not THE best in the league currently. You're talking about the Suns like they're the worst team in the league??? Are they?? Nurkic is better than Ayton and secondly the Suns acquired Nurkic for FIT purposes, the Suns did not acquire Nurkic so he can jump from the free throw line and dunk the ball like Michael Jordan did...lol...do you get where am going with this??? Nurkic offers IQ and a post presence not seen in the Suns uniform for years...instead we Suns fans have had to deal with a SOFT Ayton, low IQ Ayton! You guys above, please get your facts straight before you talk about the Suns at all...

Not to gas the Dubs, but they also have a healthy Payton all year

phx top 10 def

"I like Plumlee against Jokic" Russillo please be real

you guys haven’t kept up with our depth

If you hate on Kd u shouldn’t cover em cus clearly mfs bias

Suns are better than the lakers and nuggets.Three guys that have averaged thirty hasn’t been done

Shitting over Suns.. music to my ears 😂

look at these old timers giving their basketball opinions. i love it

6:33 this is the funniest most absurd thing I heard in this podcast. Comparing Beal with Shamet and their skillsets would now make a difference in the Denver Series. Remember, Shamet one us one game where he scored 19points. Imagine Beal doing more of that CONSISTENTLY. THINK ABOUT THAT BILL. TBF I don't disagree with the Under prediction because Playoffs are more important for this team.

Damn, they really have the team who won the division last year. So low!

Beal and Goodwin.. Goodwin is young Marcus Smart

Suns have the 3 of the most efficient players in the league. These guys are going to be dangerous. We have players that play D. Suns have one of the best benches in the league. Ppl better hope they all have a bad game

All you keep hearing these guys say is who playing LeBron or Tatum so my question is who sticking kd booker or beal

"Beal is not afraid of missing some games.."- made my day, lol. Misic and Vezenkov can play, guys. To compare them with Campazzo, is just disrespectful. Euroleague MVPs are good, really good. Some lack a little bit defense ability like Vezenkov, but i can name several NBA "stars" who do aswell. Misic is an overall player like Luka, can do it all. Not on the same level, but if he gets minutes with OKC, he will produce and guide the young team.. I don`t get in general, how Euroleague MVPs are not taken serious. Toni Kukoc was a 2time MVP, was a potential franchise player, if he would have got his own team in his prime. Petrovic the same. Why Portland drafted him in the first place and keept him for several years to warm the bank, is beyond me. We saw what he can do with the Nets, unfortunateley he was taken way to early from us. And how many doubted Luka a few years ago, is still comical to me. He dominated Europe being 18/19 years old. To think that he could not produce in the NBA, was simply hilarious. If guys would have driven over and actually watched him play for more than 2 minutes live with Real or SLovenia, not one single sane GM should have passed on him. Let alone the Suns, having the no.1 draft..

Magic Johnson looks pregnant.

Lakers are gonna be the 6 seed at best. Mr Glass and LeGrandpa probably aren’t playing 50 games together, Rui has played 3 good basketball games ever, Reeves is Jeremy Lin 2.0, Russel… really? Gee, how did you land Wood on a minimum contract? Oh, because no one wanted him? Nice!

Lakers, I don't trust LeBron and AD to stay healthy... but they certainly have a lot of pieces that can fill in that can score.

The Kings are winning over 50 this year stop it.

KD will be out for 2 months by December. Bradley Beal will get frustrated with shot selection. Booker will have a solo MVP run and flame out by playoffs.

Sean Hayes doesn't follow sports and he didn't know who the Smartless guest was going to be. And even to this day, he still probably doesn't understand who Bill Simmons is.

Kings say hi

I think Lebron is hoping for an NBA Championship/Olympics gold medal double whammy to retire on. How do you one up a retirement farewell season? Make it global

The Suns are lacking defense. They don't have Crowder, they don't have Bridges, they don't have a point guard, their center sucks, they are not a good regular season team. Phoenix had all that and dominated in 22' with 64 freaking regular season wins... and then games 6 and 7 against Dallas. Phoenix is built for the playoffs, period. How can these guys gloss over Lebron's age and availability but make dire predictions for KD and his age. It's the same ageism that Suns fans heard the entire time CP3 was there, yet Chris Paul led them to the finals. I really wish that he didn't pull his groin game 1 against Denver because it would have been a different story if he and Ayton stuck around for the rest of that series. Maybe let's see if Denver has title hangover and fall well shy of a repeat because that is common in the NBA, and repeats are much more rare to see.

Nurkic "sucks"? I doubt if there is another center in the league that can compete with him in rebounds, blocked shots, and assists. Scoring, well that's mediocre, at best. Not sure how to measure his worth on defense. Bad defensive rating. OK plus/minus. I'm guessing that this is regarding to his play in the last few seasons. Still, he's only 29 years old.

Warriors roster is as good as it has ever been wout KD/Igoudala super team years. It’s just the stars aren’t at peak power anymore outside of Curry. But… Curry, CP3, GPII, Moody Klay, Wiggins, Kuminga, Dray, Looney, Saric That is loaded. Obviously a rim running big even in the JaVale mold is what everyone is thinking they need. Maybe they get one in season. But other than that the roster is missing nothing.

If Nurkik is trash.... his numbers are already better than Aton.

BILL SIMMONS ALWAYS HAS TO COMPARE ANYTHING TO THE CELTICS. LAST YEAR HE LOVES MARCUS SMART, NOW HE IS CHOPPED LIVER. THAT BEING SAID I STILL LIKE BILL SIMMONS, ITS JUST TOO MUCH CELTICS SHIT. THATS WHY I LIKE RUSSILO WITH HIM. HE EVENS HIM OUT.

That Lakers will bully the f out of them take aged well 🤡

Lebron is overrated now. He’s still high IQ, but his post-sweep tantrum was a direct result of realizing he wasn’t the best player in the series by a long way.

I'm disappointed by this group of dudes clearly you guys are one sided it's quite obvious 😂

Yerrrrrrr

The suns offense is nothing compared to boston's.

Sacramento will be the #1 seed in the Western Conference. Warriors will win the Western conference. Screen cap this.

Kd went 20-1 with Brooklyn sooo… I’m lost on this one this is a new year and Kd is still in his prime

Finally, a reasonable assessment of Phoenix.