Are Ant Edwards and the Wolves About to Blow Up the NBA’s Hierarchy? | The Bill Simmons Podcast
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- Опубліковано 7 тра 2024
- The Ringer’s Bill Simmons discusses what it would mean if the Timberwolves sweep the Nuggets and go on to win the Finals this year.
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Twolves were playin full court press up 30. They snatched denvers souls 😂
NAW literally laughed in Murray's face as he picked him up full court.
Denver is cooked.
God is was both brutal and a thing of beauty. I was grinning like a dumbass the whole game.
According to Simmons they sucked the soul out of Jokic. So tough for his legacy but at least he got some good dome out of it 😂
Denver has no secondary ball handler in starting lineup. With Jackson going down, yes. They are super cooked. Super duper cooked.
They literally broke Murray's brain 😂
The wolves are a perfectly constructed roster. The best defensive big, one of the best offensive bigs, a veteran pg who plays traditionally, great role players who play defense and has length, and bonafide superstar who hasn’t sniffed his prime yet. The worst possible matchup for Denver.
Danny Ainge is doing better building the Wolves than he is the Jazz 😂😂
I'm wondering people talking bad matchup, whats the match-up like with Mavs, OKC and Celtics? I think OKC and Twolvea are similar and will be a dogfight.
Imagine trying to play this angle after the Gobert trade…. They were getting HOUNDED
The only thing I’d like to see is add would be another veteran pg. I don’t think morris is giving us what we need rn.
@@WaveRider1989The Celtics definitely have the best chance of slowing down Edwards with Holiday, White and Brown and they also have a strong front court in Tatum, Porzingis and Horford to matchup with Towns, Gobert and Reid. Those two teams played a couple of really close games this season in which each squad won at home by a small margin. I would expect a Finals between the two to go six or seven.
35 year olds with max contracts are now officially team killers in the playoffs.
Yup. Guess what Dallas has? The last standing one of those in Kyrie. And you see what OKC did to Dallas last night.
Rudy & Kyrie probably the only ones
How long until gms figure that out?
Kyrie 32
Except gobert ?
Ant's career 22.9ppg in Regular Season is good, but his 29.6ppg in Playoffs is legendary...
Career ppg is sill being in the league 4 season. He's 26 now and jumps every season in every category. He's a freak at 22.
What who’s 26?
Yeah he’s going to be the best player in the league next year and will have his peak start. I’m so impressed and sad it’s crushing my nuggets lol
@@Juice-ig3jzMaybe he is saying he is playing like in his prime 26?
@@Juice-ig3jz26 PPG probably
Jaden is the best perimeter defender in the league, this wolves defense is astoundingly good
Tim Connelly is a genius. He went against the grain and traded the farm for Rudy (the only reason he included so many first round picks is he pushed against including Jaden in the deal). Then he traded Dlo for Conley, NAW and three second round picks. Granted all this mixture goes with the explosion of Ant, but Tim realized what he had and did what needed to be done to make a super team.
A big what if: include DLo and Conley in the originally Gobert deal. Do we save picks or have to include more to get the deal done?
@@wrenches3 we didn’t have Conley when we traded for Rudy.
@@skoolynugenator1802I think he means trade for Rudy and Mike all at once
@@wrenches3 less picks. Because they got 2nd rounders in return later. pretty sure they had that conversation, and wanted to keep D'Lo to see if there was chemistry (there was, it was bad chemistry). Luckily the deal was still on the table mid-season and the Lakers wanted a scorer.
@@ryanwall1780 oh yeah I see that now. I think it worked out great the way it went because we got NAW who’s an incredible defender and hits big threes.
I follow a lot of the Wolves media and podcasters so obviously we are feeling good about our team.
But F'in-A! It's crazy hearing Simmons talk like this about MY TEAM!!!!!
I have Minnesota sports PTSD so I'm trying to keep it realistic but enjoy the run. It's tough!
Thanks for all the kind word Bill!
Enjoy it man
I also have Minnesota sports PTSD, so I kind of hate everyone talking us up lol. Back of my mind is thinking, this could really hurt.
I'm 60, saw most of my games watching Tod Murphy, Poo, Breuer, Sam..Have not been to a game for a long time. So excited for this team & will hope this defense & our Antman win it all
How are you doing? Everything is fine?
This guy had Mobley, higher then antman 😂😭
You still in love with Dlo? 😂
So, you're one of those guys who struts after all the dust as settled? Nice. Even a year ago it was "I think Ant may be an all-NBA talent, not "I think Ant may be a top-ten ever player."
The drafts are so spectacularly poor at predicting talent. It's only very rare they we have a LeBron or Wemby. Or the Olajuwon/Jordan top. More often you get a Markelle Fultz or Darko Milicic or draft Oden ahead of KD. Plus, NBA teams always go for height if all other things are equal. And with the one and done era it is VERY hard to tell how guys will mature physically and emotionally. 19 year old make perfect soldiers because they are young, dumb and full of cum. It's near impossible to pick those who have their shit together.
Definitely not anymore. Bill has talked about his Mobely stock not looking so good
@@noahwelch2931you wasn't saying that last year when lakers was In wcf. Are you still hating on kat because you don't like him 😂
@@tonymack2007 i was 100% saying that about Dlo in the WCF last year….and nice Gobert comment. Good to see you switching up for once
Anthony Edwards looks at someone = technical foul
Malone storms out on the court and cusses at ref = no technical or ejection
Rudy Gobert does money sign = 100K fine
Jamal Murray does money sign, does taunting gesture at KAT, throws a towel at a ref, and then threw a heating pad on the court = 100K fine
Woah..... ive never seen somebody with this take before and pointing out the hypocrisy of officiating in the NBA. We are all now enlightened
Progress?
They had to balance it out after the ridiculous lopsidedness of the Lakers series.
They wanted Denver, Wolves winning this series 8 v 5
@@chopin1975-tq3gx its good to have evidence for claims. Dont want to forget it.
It’s crazy that Rudy’s getting an entire week off between games
Yep. Plus technically Kat is fresh too as he nissed 18 games coming off mcl surgey. Probably is just noe getting into full health and game shape. So this does wonders for our team. Also including the Rudy short time off. If they go up 3-0 they need to limit Mikes playtime in game 4. Play Monte a bit more so he can get more used to playoff ball for the other series' going forward.
😂😂😂😂
95-96’ Bulls defense was incredible . Harper, Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, Longley was a beast!
True, they had the greatest perimeter defensive team of all time, but they had one weakness, shot blocking and athletic big man. Longley and co. don't compare favorably to historically great interior D featuring Olajuwon, Duncan, Bill Russell, even Gobert...
@@Murali_bala13 Yep, it's why Shawn Kemp was killing em.
There is no hierarchy. It's wide open. GSW didn't make playoffs, and the old guard guys were out in the 1st Rd. Anthony Edwards has the advantage because he defensively can put the clamps on a Luka, SGA, Tatum, Brown, etc. But none of those players are good enuff to clamp him. This is the real separation
L
@@elmehdinafia1237 Wolves winning or losing still doesn't invalidate my opinion about Ant as a player in regards to the other younger stars. He put the clamps on Murray in game 5 even tho it took a double team to slow Ant down. Two people
@@1RobertSmith Jokic gets double teamed all the time and it's normal you have to deal with it..he really thought that no team in the playoffs would double team him? That's so dumb
this aged hilariously
We war criminals on defense. Worst trade ever huh?💀
Honestly, there's still a reasonable chance that trade blows up in their face. If they don't win a championship this year, they might lose Kat and never win one and they won't have draft picks for a decade or whatever. I'm being a little hyperbolic but... That's a lot of draft capital a very short run.
@@michaelcorcoran8768 they gave up 4 draft picks and Kessler...the Wolves have their own 1st round draft pick in 24, 26, and 28. It was NOT a bad trade!
@@michaelcorcoran8768 finally... somebody with a decent take; still a ton of basketball left. They gave up a ton of draft capital. You really have to win it this year or you're fucked.. lol
@@michaelcorcoran8768 We're talking Minnesota. When the trade occurred I said it was a phenomenal business decision because the fanbase would get excited, they sell tickets, and maybe they make the 2nd round. Mitchell Jazz 2.0. Everybody was wrong. (I did say it depended on KAT not being an idiot. But I still said the ceiling was 2nd round, not knocking off the champ.)
@@michaelcorcoran8768 they still have a first and 2nd this year but yes it gets slim until 2028. That’s enough time with this core of players until they need to start retooling through the draft again hopefully
I remember everyone hated the Gobert trade. I'm glad you mentioned it.
Yeah him and Ryen despised it.
His Leadership is way beyond his years! He is special so clutch every fourth quarter.
Bill and Rusillo were ready to anoint Denver for the next 4 years last week
Because they are stupid, just like most Chicken Nuggets-Jokic bandwagon stans
Minnesota is the deepest team in NBA!!!
and the wingspaniest..overall lenght of this team is amazing
Remember when these guys were clowning mn after gorbert trade .
BRO NO WAY YOU ARE ON HERE SAYING THIS 😂
Yes but I think it is also interesting that they had their best defensive performance without gobert. Obviously he is the defensive anchor. But the ability to switch everything with a smaller guy almost makes them look more dangerous.
Almost everybody did. I thought it would work if Kat could handle it. (A huge if). But to be perfectly clear: I said this could be a 2nd round exit that excited the local fans and be a great business decision, but not contend. If anyone but a MIN homer says the saw this coming they are lying. KAT was a flaky shit in the first round last year and Ant looked like a future all-star. Now he's 1st team NBA and possible MVP, at 22. He might be 07 LeBron at that same age. More emotionally mature, I'd say.
@@jstdun Hell yeah man. They played a 7 man rotation without Gobert. It just means they can go small ball ferocious defense 5 with shooters without Gobert, or twin towers more ferocious defense with 4 shooters with Gobert. I hope Porzingis is pissing himself right now. (I really want to see Wolves and Celtics go at his with both teams healthy.) Fanghood aside, I ALWAYS want the best teams healthy in the Finals and I always root for underdog franchises. Except the douchey Sterling Clippers and the active Dolan Knicks.
The "I'm weirdly obsessed when someone gets it wrong with a sports take when everyone does it" guy 😂😂😂🤡
Edwards’ competitiveness and swagger has rubbed off on Towns in a way Zach Lavine, Andrew Wiggins, D’Angelo Russell and Jimmy Butler did not. All of them were more concerned about their own stats and getting paid more than winning at title in Minnesota. Anthony Edwards is like if I lead my wolves to a title the stats and money will take care of itself on its own.😂😂
His leadership to get the best out of KAT is incredible. Edwards is literally doing everything you could ever want from a star player right now
I doubt it, he's just better than them.
@@astralmindny9055 he got better than them. Edwards didn’t even win rookie of the year being the number 1 pick in a weak 2020 pandemic draft class.
Bill, ILOVE IT! Wolves and Nuggets are making basketball really exciting right now!
Ant is in the middle of his "are you not entertained?" Russel Crowe, and we're witnessing it :)
Since Toronto lost in the bubble, the defending champs haven’t gotten past the second round. If Jokic and crew can figure it out, this could be their defining moment. Maybe it won’t happen. This could be Minnesota’s year. They finally won a series for the first time since 2004. They’re not stopping. Denver will have to decimate them to keep from being destroyed as they have been. This is absolutely brutal, what we’re seeing, and seeing a defensive team thrive in a league that’s too offensively driven, I’m so freaking happy. Just sucks that it’s not my Miami Heat doing this.
I don't give the Nuggets a great shot to win game 3 in MN. Wolves in 4 or 5.
Keep dreaming. T-Wolves are definitely sending them home yawn
😂😂😂
@@elmehdinafia1237 Well I was wrong. I fell into the hype of going up 2 - 0 and then coming home. Going into the series I thought it would go 6 or 7, with either team having a chance to win.
04 Pistons were like the 2000 Ravens, just throwing shutouts
Retitle this “It’s Anthony Edwards Era”
That first half mainly the 2nd qtr was some of the most intense defensive basketball I've ever seen.The way minnesota kept doubling without fouling,caving in on the elbows and baselines,avoiding picks n switch attempts,cleanly hitting the ball to get steals/blocks and putting denver in straight chaos everytime they had the ball was some of the most genius shit I've ever seen.I don't think jokic ever looked as lost like this since maybe his first year in the league as a role player
It was eye opening. Denver got manhandled.. And showed frustration. I definitely picked Minnesota as the team that could challenge and beat them, but seeing how dominant that defense was vs them wow
Jokic figured them out..only took him 2 games lol
@@elmehdinafia1237💀 He did? Yet another big loss for Denver.. (3-3)
@@elmehdinafia1237Lmao 💀. So who WON the series?? Jokic figured what? Ahahahaha.. Bye bye Jokic bandwagons ..
No matter how great you are individually, you'll always have years where things just didn't go right. Even when we discuss Michael Jordan being 6-0 in the Finals, we rarely mention how his other 9 years in the league ended, whether it was being bounced in the 1st or 2nd round a handful of times or not even making the playoffs. Sometimes you just don't have the roster, the health, or the matchup is the worst one possible... and it can happen in the 1st round or the Finals or anywhere in between. If Jokic loses here, it shouldn't negatively impact his legacy. The Wolves are on a heater, everything is clicking, and sometimes that's extremely difficult to deal with.
For real, we can tell that this year's Nuggets team is not the same as last year. No shade on the Wolves, they are looking like a team of Destiny this year. But it is one year. Last year Joker led the playoffs in points, rebounds, and assists. The Nuggets lost 4 games total on their way to their first ever Championship.
So far the Wolves are doing awesome, but the playoffs aren't finished. If the Wolves beat the Nuggets, then lose to OKC or Boston, how will we remember this run? What if Denver comes back? People are reacting so much to the moment, and that's what I hate about the discourse. People act like the last game played is the reality.
@@shorewallI'm sure you've seen this before, but Denver had one of the easiest paths to a championship in quite some time.
@@shorewall There may be a non zero chance that Denver comes back. I'd put zero eggs in that basket though. They would have to play out of their minds to win game 3 in MN.
@@shorewallNo. Let’s just be real: Every casual on Earth picked the Nuggets to repeat and said nobody can beat them (Not me, definitely not.. Denver didn’t even upgrade after trading Bruce Brown & Jeff Green).
Now: Everyone wants to act like they knew this would happen, BS. Denver is ‘overrated’ and had one of the most unimpressive postseason runs in NBA history, they literally beat ‘3’ play-in teams for the title and none of the teams they beat would even be in the play-in this year.
Can’t wait till Flabby Bod Great White Hope Pony Lover, Most Boring Superstar Ever Jokic & his team get wrecked by T-Wolves and are gone, period
@@ryanwall1780Thank you. Facts.. Denver beat 3 play-in teams. They are frauds how people don’t see this?
Definitely hope Denver comes back. If nothing else than to kill these BS narratives
BS from BS huh😁😆
If that happens… Ant becomes a legit movie star and shoots a movie every off-season.
Have to love the 20/20 hindsight Wolves analysis. Nobody watched them all year, but now they're all experts about how they play. Only Perk (and I'm very sad to have to side with him) has warned everyone the Wolves are no joke.
How are you only have that many subscribers is crazy. You’re way more popular than this and you deserve more promotion. You’re the voice of basketball in a lot of ways and a lot of people love you. You’ve been here for a long time. I don’t know, man. I’m so sorry. this is amazing though, and I hope you get more successful than most of the people that are in competition with you because of it.
Simmons is such a homer. 2008 Celtics was undeniably the best team at the end of the season. Really? They with 3 hall of famers have to play 7 games against the 8th seeded Hawks filled with luminaries such as Josh Smith and Zaza Pachulia to get to round 2 after which they have to play another 7 games series to beat Cleveland to get to the conference finals. And along the way they lost another 4 more games before they were able to win the chip. They won with a 16-10 playoff record and then failed to defend their chip the next year.
Four days later, Rocky woke up against Clubber.
The point of the Gobert trade wasn't NECESSARILY to win it all, even though it's now in play. The point was to make sure Ant had the years of playoff battle scars usually necessary to win it all by the time he hits his prime at 26/27. And Gobert guaranteed a certain floor for his formative years.
I call bullshit.
But was to win it all because the salary cap exists.
Minnesota was already a playoff team. Ant was already getting those battle scars before Rudy even showed up. They were damn near a 50 win team already. Having Anthony Edwards guaranteed a certain floor. What the trade did was moved up the time table. Minnesota didn't trade Vanderbilt and pick for a veteran center. This wasn't Houston signing FVV and Dillon Brooks. They went all in.
When Ant is 27 it's him, KAT, McDaniels and a 37 year old Gobert making more than the salary cap by themselves.
It looks like it's gonna work out because Ant is just already playing like he's 27, but if the plan was to be capped out to hell with an aging roster when Ant is hitting his prime that's a sh!t plan
@@michaelahurt Gobert is only under contract for two more years, which puts Ant at 24 years old at the end of that season. There is no indication one way or another whether it goes past that point.
@@jjstraka1982 the indication is teams aren’t in the business of losing good players for nothing
KAT + Ant + Jaden = $123m in 26-27. The salary cap is $127m so they are already capped out. They can’t afford to let Gobert walk. (It’s like even Philly re-signed Tobias Harris)
They are already gonna lose Conley to retirement/age. They probably can’t afford NAW after next season. Naz will want a raise after next season so he might leave.
And they traded all their draft picks.
You have to re-sign Gobert - probably for $200m - if for no other reason than to trade him (and KAT) to try to rebuild on the fly around Ant & McDaniels
That isn’t a plan.
The plan, most likely, was the Daryl Morey plan which is 1) acquire stars and 2) if you have a 5% chance go all in because the future isn’t promised
That plan usually doesn’t work. And I’m not sure this would have either if not for Alexander-Walker.
It is well documented that they wanted consistency of making the playoff yesr after year to change the culture of the organization. Sure they want to win it all. But being logical if you can keep a team winning year after year it improves your odds versus making playoffs then missing. Then making then missing for 2 years. Yada yada yada. So yes i call cap to the guy call b.s.
People don’t realize how hard it is to go back to back. You need at least two hall of fame caliber players to do that (Denver has 1)
You need your superstar not to have a meltdown too
@@Edd-zd5wb 100% Jokic gave up and didn't fight hard enough to win the game.
@@kimlove5760 exactly. And now clowns are saying this is a "bad match up"?
He got clamped one on one by Naz Reid and K Towns.
How are two offensively minded centers "a bad matchup for him"?
He melted down. Period. And he won vs injured team last year.
Period
@@Edd-zd5wbDenver fans have been saying this is a bad matchup all year. Literally since the series last year we knew it would be tough. Don’t pretend like this is a new talking point.
@@Ewach21 For THE NUGGETS.
AND WITH GOBERT "GUARDING" GORDON.
But struggling against Towns and Anderson? Stop it.
The '72 Lakers were a great defensive team because they had an all-NBA defense at guard in Jerry West, all NBA center in Wilt, Happy Hairston at forward, and they other two starters played excellent team defense and got steals. This team turned great defense into 69 wins and the NBA championship. They were damn good on offense too. 💯
No they weren’t, sports in the 70s were a joke compared to today…
@@TCRgalaxy Wrong. Wi8lt was over 7'1", was super strong and one of the most athletic players ever. Jerry West was about 6'5", was quick as hell, is one of the greatest shooters ever, and could drive into the paint and get almost any shot he wanted. West was also all NBA on defense. The rest of the starting five was also athletic and could really play. You have recency bias. Fail.
Minnesota has no rings since 1991 Twins, I know Lynx. If we get a ring, the Rudy trade is an all-time great trade. Bill you downplaying your initial critique of the trade. You have to acknowledge this, greater props to MN.
It would be the single greatest trade in the history of professional sports in Minnesota.
Too bad you won't be winning a chip anytime soon. I'll predict that Gobert won't be on the team when you win.
Joker in his 3 mvp seasons
First round exit
Second round exit
About to get swept in the second round
Bill wont talk about this. But that has to be the worst showing of mvp seasons in nba history, correct me if I’m wrong?
@@AS-lx8jcdidn’t rose get crushed by the heat in 5? Didn’t Russ jack up a million shots and lose to Houston
@@johnnycash8567 rose lost to lebron and d wade in the ECF, russ had one mvp. This is the 3rd time joker will win the mvp and not even make the finals
@@AS-lx8jc wuddup 😎
Remember this about the cost of the Gobert trade. The Wolves refused to give up Jaden McDaniels in the deal. Tim Connelly was asked about the cost and said that they had to give up a bit more to keep McDaniels. People were confused as to why the Wolves would pay more - giving up more picks and players - just to retain McDaniels. Now you're talking about him as one of the better perimeter defenders over the last decade.
Maybe the trade wouldn't have been criticized as much if they gave up McDaniels but retained more 1st round picks and role players. But their team wouldn't have been as good.
Credit to Connelly for realizing that pairing Gobert with an elite perimeter defender would accentuate the strengths of both players
I have 3 takeaways from how Minnesota is playing so far. 1, I feel better about being a Suns fan. 2, I was saying it when it happened, letting Bruce Brown go is going to hurt the Nuggets. He did too many things too well for them, and no matter how many people told me “Christian Braun will replace his production” I’ve seen it too many times before when a championship team lets a key piece walk because of money and it backfires later. That would be like peak Warriors letting Iggy walk. 3, after the first half of game 2, Minnesota up 61-35, I placed a bet on them to win the chip and I feel good about it
Denver definitely expected christian braun to become bruce replacement.They assumed he was ready to step up when we see it's not the case and it set back alot of their plans.
Denver didn’t let him walk or want him to walk, they literally couldn’t resign him for anything higher than the $6.5-$7M they could offer. Obviously he far outplayed that number and nothing Denver could do. Would be different if they thought they were being smart and didn’t need/want him, and let him walk when they could have resigned him. But nothing they could do
“What’s interesting is how much of a choice the Nuggets were able to make in this, considering general manager Calvin Booth could offer just $7.8 million for 2023-24 because the Nuggets didn’t have Brown’s Bird rights.”
Murray and MPJ seem too up and down, Jokic needs some dependable scorers
Awesome pod Bill
The wolves taking over has my jaws on the floor. Everyone and their mom had Denver to repeat prior to the playoffs. After the first couple suns games I knew wolves would give Denver a run for their money but killing them and putting them in the coffin is hard to wrap my head around. Wolves are on a tear and I don’t see anyone stopping them at this point.
2015 Warriors were stacked defensively. Dray, Bogut and Iggy were 3 top tier defenders. #1 def rating in the regular season and they were 2 points better with a 98.8 def rating in the playoffs.
Raptor's championship team and ime udoka Celtics were defensively elite too.
This is a master class in the reverse jinx. Kudos Bill 😂
Thank you so much for the wade shoutout, he really was as good as those other two for very a brief moment.
Damn I remember that episode when you AND me were questioning Gilbert in Minnesota. It was so weird I couldn't wait to watch them play. And here it is.
The 3 min full press those Bulls teams threw at you..was some of the best defense I have seen.
It's pretty wild to see a GM that speeds up the timeline of his team potentially succeed. I feel like I can't remember it ever working before like it has with Ant.
Doing the trade keep Ant engaged and not in mediocrity purgatory and forces him to improve sooner than later via the experience from last seasons playoffs. It's smart. Look at Lamelo. Guy has not improved any faucet of his game at all. Like zero!
Dude starts off with saying I'm not trying to compare him to Jordan, then proceeds to name drop mj every 2mins.
Bill, I can’t wait to come back to this video when it all comes true
Im here after denver tied it up 2-2. If theres one thing i know about the playoffs its to not overreact after two games 😅😅😅
With a defensive player of the year and a bisexual power forward ANT is MJ
If the nuggets could somehow win game 3 then we would see how minnesota handles the pressure as everyone has them advancing to the next round.
The Nuggets done and aren’t winning a thing they went 0-2 at home, series is over. They are overrated. Minnesota is clearly superior and had the personnel to guard this team coming in, anyone with eyes could see this (4x DPOY, KAT, Reid..? All bigs that could slow Jokic)..
Bye Flabby Bod Great White Hope Jokic & all these Chicken Nugget Bandwagons.. Love it..
Go Ant, go KAT.. 💥💥🔫 🐜🐈
That is a lot of what ifs😂
cannot believe the wolves are up 2-0 on the defending champs & it does NOT look like a fluke. they look dominant
I have been buying a lot of Sprite lately because of the Anthony Edwards and Grant Hill Commercial. Obey your thirst. I already own Bose headphones which is another Edwards commercial. And I saw Hustle on Netflix when it came out.
TWolves is the new meta from small ball shooting 3's now the new meta is 3, 7 footers up front and 2 defensive guards... Let's see who wins in the Finals Boston is basically the small ball 3's meta VS T Wolves Defensive lineup
7 gooters is a must for any championship team
Yeah idk why everyone just doesn't have three all defense level guards and DPOY at center and a 7 foot converted center at power forward who flirts with 50/40/90 seasons.
Size has always been the meta. What's hard is finding big players like McDaniels and Towns who move like much smaller players. This formula really not very replicable because guys like Towns and McDaniels don't exist.
Although I think Minnesota is an even worse matchup for Boston than Denver. Boston is just Phoenix east with better supporting players. Denver's movement is what should give Minnesota problems.
(I think Rudy playing actually helps Denver because when he's out they can't pick on one of Towns or Rudy with off ball screens.)
Minny lucky like 49ers. Ant is on rookie deal
@@michaelahurtPhoenix East? Lol. Umm no… Boston actually has good playmakers and every member of the starting five is a good defender. Their bench is also much better than the Suns bench was this season. Where are these bogus takes coming from?
Boston shoots 3s but idk if they are really that small. Holiday and white are both 6-4 compared to 6ft Conley and 6-4 edwards. McDaniels is taller than Brown 6-9 vs 6-6. Towns and Tatum is a height advantage 7ft to 6-9. Porzingas is 7-2 compared to 7-1 gobert. Reid and hoford off the bench are the same size. It's mostly just the 3-4 spots that Minnesota is bigger but it's not like the Celtics are the warriors starting a 6-6 draymond at center sort of small ball. The Celtics have 2 other 7 footers off their bench besides porzingas if they really needed more size.
I really think ( I love hoops ) the Memphis / Minny game in the playoffs where ant 🐜 took that bad angle on defense and they lost changed things for him - it was humbling and he had to realize this is the stuff that matters to be a guy- also Ant being around Spo and Steve Kerr last summer and him being a completely different competitor isn’t a fluke - same with Brunson.
Great Jokic chat at the end.
Yep, needed to be said
Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, Harper and Longley. Another great defensive team when it counted.
Hell yeah my ‘04 Pistons gettin some love
What has Denver done to give you the inclination it WON'T be a sweep? Murray is visibility frustrated, can't dribble up the floor and is too slow to break away from pressue....Jokic is demoralized and doesn't even try to help on defense. KCP is garbage and can't guard Ant. Jackson got carried off the floor in Game 2...Porter can't even get off his wild and off balance shots...AG will go back to being a non-factor now that Rudy is back. Wolves stole the Nuggets soul. Jokic has already booked flights to Serbia on Sunday from MSP.
Jokic has no all stars and no bench while Wolves have DPOY , 6th man, and rising star . His legacy is unassailable whether anyone accepts it or not.
No doubt maybe this will be ants run
6th man of year is a useless award naz avg. 13 this year and started a bunch played a lot....also rudy was out of this game...
Joker is the best player in the world and 3 time MVP no excuses, he needs to be better especially defensively.... It's a Minny layup line out there
@@geechiedan68 He has always been a layup line defensively and people still have him as the best player itw. It shouldn't be a surprise how he looks defensively.
"The 08 Celtics."
This guy.😂😂😂
They were a great defensive team.
It's not like he put them as the greatest defense ever they were statistically a really good defense tho.
They were good but not good enough to be mentioned amongst all time best.
@dehaman_4_144 thats my point. They have no business being mentioned on this list. He wrote off teams that won a title recently since they didn't repeat but mentions the 08 Celtics like they were special.
Maybe it’s just the cupcake era and any athletic guard can get 30-40 pts
WRONG AGAIN BILL ... NO SWEEP!
Stunning ball by Wolves-they’re more like “hornets” with that swarming D, quick feet and long arms. Ant is a superstar, but it’s a great *team*. Are they really THIS good? I dunno. They weren’t quite this good a month or so ago.
KAT was out with MCL injury the last month and then lost out on the #1 seed in the west
18 months ago it was still small ball 3s and 2 bigs are unplayable
Everything just said by Bill could apply to SGA and OKC......... It's early, let's take a second to have a sip of calm down juice.....
Why does he has to sweep Denver in order for everything you said to come into fruition?
I used the same analogy..this is clubber lang and rocky..pressurized defense they told old and not deep enough
Anthony Edwards has taken over the League in MJ fashion
That's what the media wants you to think. They need a new marketable plushie.
@@shorewall I'm seeing it with my own eyes 👀
@@shorewalllol
They need one and they have one.
@@shorewallnear the end of the season, ant was 0 for 20 on 3 pt attempts over a 4 game span, now he is the greatest player in the NBA. Personally, I love watching Ant play but maybe it’s a little premature to give him the crown yet. His postseason numbers are fantastic, and almost near Luca’s overall but believe this, the league is in dire need of a strong American player they can market.
@@rogerhunkapillar7171 he's on the verge. Even the Steph's and Kobe's and MJ's had off nights.
Last 2 games are just formality, now I'm rooting for a 7 game series between dal n okc to wear down our next hunt
Oh come on now, Bill. You admit you'll never apologize for your take on the trade, but you're also seemingly not willing to own up to the level of scrutiny you had for it either. You weren't saying the Gobert trade was "one of the craziest trades ever made," you were saying it was one of the "worst" trades ever made...bit of a difference there. Not that I wasn't criticizing the move myself, as a die-hard Wolves fan since childhood, but let's not revise the level of criticism you went to on your Gobert trade take now...gotta own up to it. If the Wolves win a ring this year, I'll be celebrating with a plate full of crow myself. Just how it is.
Right! And always with “we” thought stuff. No “you” thought! Lol 😆
Why tf would he apologize 💀
Yeah, a lot of people were wrong. It shouldn't be hard to admit it when so many ppl had the same reaction. I hated the trade too.
@@dehaman_4_144yeah but only bc of the amount of picks given up(we are learning tho picks really dont matter unless your drafting good and get a generational guy or using them to cash in on a guy to compliment that said player) rudy is the perfect piece to this minnesota puzzle but you cant ignore the fact that he was pretty injured last season and didnt impact immediately the way you’d want someone you gave up essentially 5 firsts😭 and vando/beasley for, especially since he is so limited offensively.. so i say the reactions were all fair until Rudy proved everyone wrong
Aged like 🍼 😂
Both Bill Simmons and Jim Petersen mentioned the
Wolves taking Limitless pills on seperate pod shows.
I didnt know that movie was so popular.
yo I seen that too! I literally just watched that before this and was lowkey kinda weirded out lol
This is fun, but let’s see them win THIS series - and then win the title.
Then I’ll have these discussions.
Yeah, the saying is, "Let me see you do it in the Playoffs, and then do it again." They are doing it in the Playoffs. But so did Denver last year. I don't like coronating people in the process.
You can tell people want ANT to be the guy, since he is American, he is cooler than Lebronna, the old gen is washed, and the current gen is all non-Americans.
@@shorewall This is a "what if" thought exercise. Simmons is not crowning anyone or assuming MN will win the title. He's just imagining what that possibility would be like and what that would mean for the NBA
Sports media wouldn't exist without irresponsibly premature takes and discourse.
As a wolves fan, yes. Please stop doing this I’m begging. It’s 2-0 in the western conference semi finals and he’s talking like they’ve already won the title. There’s SO much of the playoffs left. Even if they do manage to get past Denver, OKC or Dallas waits in the WCF, and most likely the Celtics or Knicks in the Finals. Like please pump the brakes I’m begging.
They will, 4-1
Officiating changes is a good point; Minnesota benefited from the rule changes more than anyone
Nobody expected it when my warriors got good. It was like, "oh, cute lil team, but that's not going to work." And then it just happened and everyone was like "wow, okay, guess that's there now." We all clowned the wolves for the Gobert trade, and while I still think it's a crazy price to pay, it didn't work until it did. And now they're kicking ass
But like the warriors the wolves did make the playoffs 2 years in a row prior and make a big move and play the finalist early one of those years
new rules re: Minnesota. nailed it.
You had the nuggets winning the next 7 titles
The Wolves will now assume that right through conquest.
@@themagicman225 They have to win 10 more games first.
He had the Timberwolves losing in the first round.
Nobody knew the CBA was going to swoop in and force the Nuggets into a youth movement
Mike Conley changed this team’s entire mentality.
Gobert actually (coach said it)
@@Edd-zd5wbGobert lead the defensive mentality change, I don't think it happens without Mike though. You probably have heard the Dlo didn't get along with Rudy and would even talk shit on him in the locker room. The Mike and Naw trade unlocked the Wolves. If that trade doesn't happen the Wolves are not here right now.
@@ryanwall1780 oh Wait. I couldnt be more of a fan of Mike Conley since he was a young pg in Memphis.
Mike is ESSENTIAL OVERALL.
I think the defense is more Rudy. But Conley is huge and even more important overall as a group and leader
@@Edd-zd5wb I just mean that Rudy's message would sink in as much if it weren't for Conley. I got you.
@@ryanwall1780 probably Yeah.
People were saying the same thing about the San Jose Sharks in 2014…
ANT is right on the cusp of superstardom. He already a superstar with NBA fans but he will turn into household name if then wolves finish the job.
And then ESPN will start talking about when he goes to LA or NY. Lol.
Definetly 2004 Pistons were the best defensive team ever. If the wolves win it, they are pretty close.
You mean the “American face of the league” because Joker, Giannis and Luka are born elsewhere? That’s a messed up view the media has …
What Tim Connelly saw was the team he built in Denver winning it all - so he made a team specifically to beat THAT team.
Absolutely love getting praise for my 04’ pistons & the rest of Detroit thanks you 🙏🏻
The 2018 Warriors are absolutely polarizing. They stacked their roster so much they were expected to win the title from day one. You can put an asterisk on every NBA champion in history but at the end of the day they're all still champs.
It's the refereeing. They need to call the game one way every year. First they let them play, then they call everything and now these playoffs they're letting them beat up on each other and of course it's going to favor the team with the better defense over the better offense. If the refereeing was how it was 4 months ago and calling everything, the offensive teams like the Suns, Nuggets, and clippers would be favored.
O4 Pistons n 89 Pistons for best defensive team… great and accurate take 👍🏽
No love for the '22 celtics?
They completely EMBARASSED Durant and Kyrie in a SWEEP, and those two were better than Jokic and Murray.
When Robert Williams was playing they were unbeatable. Hell, even Timelord on one knee was historically great. Had he not been hurt, that Giannis' Bucks series is a 5-game gentlemen sweep , likely the same vs the Heat, and Golden State loses in 5 or 6.
When Robert went down and the only big was a worn out Al Horford it ruined the chances to win that title. Add in Tatum's ankle and hand injuries, Brown's hamstring and hand issue, Smart's ankle and shoulder and hip issues... and that was a historic upset to what was an INCREDIBLE defense through every single statistic
Series not over yet
It's over. That team is constructed to beat Denver, not to mention if LeBron was about 5 years younger, the Lakers would have beaten them.
21:09 WHAT WERE THEY DOING TO JOKIC!?!?!?!?
They molested him.
What if Jaden and Naz were healthy last year vs nuggets?
Worst trade ever huh? Timberwolves are knuckleheads are going to get bounced out the first round huh? YOU SAID THAT!!
I think this series is really good for the Nuggets. Whatever the outcome their championship hangover and days of resting on their laurels are over. They have to get better. They have to add two more rotation players. The Wolves put the on notice and they're going to answer.
That 2004 pistons team didnt roll through the playoffs like the wolves are right now. Nets had a 3-2 lead in semi. Wolves are half way done sweeping the west.
2004 Pistons were even better defensively but they didn't have anyone like Ant or even Kat. That's what is making this TWolves team so special, so far they're in the same conversation as some of the Jordan/Pippen Bulls teams or the Bad Boy Pistons teams defensively and they're still dropping 120 nightly. Crazy to think about.
@@FerrumCido I’m not so sure if that pistons team had a better defense. Ben and gobert kind of cancels each other out. Prince/billups vs mcdaniel/walker. Then you still have Ant who is a very good defender. I don’t think you can compare usual stats cuz it’s a completely different game today. But I would go with wolves cuz individual defenders are close but size all around heavily favors wolves.
and Kidd was injured after game 5.. otherwise, the Nets looked like the better team, actually
If malone was healthy for the finals we wouldnt even be talking about the 04 pistons. 89 pistons all the way. 05 spurs would've probably would've swept the pistons if they hadn't injured manu in game 3.
As a Suns fan, I want to see this team destroy everyone on their way to the finals.
Whether or not they can beat the Celtics, I’m not sure. But I don’t doubt it.
These first two games have got to feel good as a Suns fan. :D
Celtics? Are you for real?
@@Edd-zd5wb I don’t think the Pacers or Knicks are beating them. As much as I want to see the Knicks succeed for once, the Celtics are better than ever this season.
My money is on the Twolves going all the way though.
@@user-cz9jf1ec8s Celtics shaky soul against these guys? Tatum misses layups against anybody, now he has to dribble over McDanields and then face Gobert at the rim. Good luck
lol
Suns sure didn't look as bad as Denver last game
"King ANT! " Has a good ring to it!