Simmons and Jalen Rose team previews!

[kmgarnett21]

What's shocking is so many of you being shocked that Bill Simmons has little to no idea of what he's talking about. That's shocking.

[kmgarnett21]

Do people actually take Bill Simmons seriously?

He is a realgm poster with connections. Give it another two years and his niche will be gone and the world will be a better place.

lol, Bill has been at it since the 90s, went from a blogger to ESPN columnist to biggest sports podcaster to "30 for 30" producer to Grantland editor-in-chief and media personality. He's worth billions to ESPN and ain't going nowhere.

Only b/c tools take him serious and find his takes refreshing....kinda like the same crowd who religiously watches First Take with Stephen A. and Skip Bayless. I'd say the Bill Simmons fans are a little less depressing than those First Take viewers.


Did anyone watch the Grantland Basketball Hour or whatever, with Jalen and Simmons last night? My goodness, that was brutal. It had some promise from time to time, but Jalen or Bill would do or say something that just makes you not take them serious.

I stand by my statement from a couple weeks ago that Simmons is just a fan who had connections and got lucky with his career. There's thousands of sports nuts who could do exactly what Simmons does.

[hands11]

I really look forward to listening to those two together. Good stuff and usually entertaining.

As for MIN, they aren't my home team but I am looking forward to watching them. They have several players I think can be good.

I think Rubio is going to get more recognition this year.
Gorgui Dieng was a player I liked as a value pick in that draft.
Pekovic was a player I wanted also for the Wizards years ago. He is huge.

I wasn't a fan of Bennett going high in the draft but I think MIN is a good place for him. Dude is build like a tank. I think he might be able to find his game in MIN.

And they have some vets to help the younger players in TY and Mo Williams.

Wiggins and Levine will be interesting to check out and Rubio should fine them for dunks.

Should be a good gel year for them.

I would be shocked if they make the playoffs, but they should be fun to watch. Question is, what the next move ?

[Tirion]

Did anyone watch the Grantland Basketball Hour or whatever, with Jalen and Simmons last night? My goodness, that was brutal. It had some promise from time to time, but Jalen or Bill would do or say something that just makes you not take them serious.

You still watched it, that's the point. As for being taken seriously that's not their goal, their goal is to entertain. If you're watching and talking about it, then you're on the hook, it doesn't matter if you think that they suck.

I stand by my statement from a couple weeks ago that Simmons is just a fan who had connections and got lucky with his career. There's thousands of sports nuts who could do exactly what Simmons does.

Maybe, but that's irrelevant, cause he's the one doing it.

[Sothron]

Does Jalen Rose still use crack? How the hell can he keep saying Rubio is a bad defender? Rubio is an elite defender FFS. His advanced metrics show just how valuable he is to the team and yet Rose is acting like he's some kind of bum out there. It amazes me how someone can say something repeatedly even after Simmons corrected him on Rubio's defense.

[kmgarnett21]

Did anyone watch the Grantland Basketball Hour or whatever, with Jalen and Simmons last night? My goodness, that was brutal. It had some promise from time to time, but Jalen or Bill would do or say something that just makes you not take them serious.

You still watched it, that's the point. As for being taken seriously that's not their goal, their goal is to entertain. If you're watching and talking about it, then you're on the hook, it doesn't matter if you think that they suck.

I stand by my statement from a couple weeks ago that Simmons is just a fan who had connections and got lucky with his career. There's thousands of sports nuts who could do exactly what Simmons does.

Maybe, but that's irrelevant, cause he's the one doing it.

I watched it once, just to see how bad it was. I don't think that counts as being "on the hook." It's like watching Sharknado. Everybody knows it's bad, but you watch to see how bad it is. I won't be watching it again.

I don't get why someone would stand up for Bill Simmons. It's like the guy has some cult following.

[Esohny]

But you're talking about it, right? Any publicity is good publicity?

For example, "Hey, that restaurant has a history of Health Department violations and I even found a human finger in my hot dog...I wouldn't recommend that you eat there."

I'm sure that people would have to go and see what kind of food poisoning or results of Frank Dreben's handiwork that they would get, amirite?

[Worm Guts]

Simmons is more about entertainment than good takes. Simmons can be legitimately funny, it's just frustrating to listen to him talk about your team sometimes. He's still one of the few columnists that I make a point to read.

[Nitroglycerin]

I really look forward to listening to those two together. Good stuff and usually entertaining.

As for MIN, they aren't my home team but I am looking forward to watching them. They have several players I think can be good.

I think Rubio is going to get more recognition this year.
Gorgui Dieng was a player I liked as a value pick in that draft.
Pekovic was a player I wanted also for the Wizards years ago. He is huge.

I wasn't a fan of Bennett going high in the draft but I think MIN is a good place for him. Dude is build like a tank. I think he might be able to find his game in MIN.

And they have some vets to help the younger players in TY and Mo Williams.

Wiggins and Levine will be interesting to check out and Rubio should fine them for dunks.

Should be a good gel year for them.

I would be shocked if they make the playoffs, but they should be fun to watch. Question is, what the next move ?

Evaluation and Development

[kmgarnett21]

I don't have as much of a problem with some of the column writing he does as much as how visible he's become on ESPN and pre/postgame shows for NBA games. He just comes across as a douchey fanboy or hater when he's on live TV. I guess that's my big concern with him. I like some of the work they do on Grantland (not all him, btw). I just can't stand watching him or listening to him on live TV. He tries to be funny about 90% of the time and it just comes off as stupid and/or awkward.

[WolvesFMC]

I don't watch ESPN at all, mostly because of people like Bill Simmons, who from time-to-time, I agree with, but hell you can find truth in just about anything. I think their preview was about 60/40 leaning to the inaccurate side, there are certainly things they were right about, but more that I just dont believe to be true, like being a lottery team. I do think they win 45 games this year, and that may be because I am biased, but taking away one ball hoarding PF and inserting good role players with two (Thad and Martin) along with two above average bigs in Dieng and Pek, is a recipe for success. They squeak in the playoffs at either 7 or 8.

[urinesane]

I don't watch ESPN at all, mostly because of people like Bill Simmons, who from time-to-time, I agree with, but hell you can find truth in just about anything. I think their preview was about 60/40 leaning to the inaccurate side, there are certainly things they were right about, but more that I just dont believe to be true, like being a lottery team. I do think they win 45 games this year, and that may be because I am biased, but taking away one ball hoarding PF and inserting good role players with two (Thad and Martin) along with two above average bigs in Dieng and Pek, is a recipe for success. They squeak in the playoffs at either 7 or 8.

Though it may be a bit high, more positivity around here can only be a good thing!



Also, 45 wins will not get them in the playoffs in the West most likely. Last year the 8th seed had 49 wins.

40 or more wins for this team would be a huge achievement this season (I think they can do it if things go right).

[guest81]

I don't watch ESPN at all, mostly because of people like Bill Simmons, who from time-to-time, I agree with, but hell you can find truth in just about anything. I think their preview was about 60/40 leaning to the inaccurate side, there are certainly things they were right about, but more that I just dont believe to be true, like being a lottery team. I do think they win 45 games this year, and that may be because I am biased, but taking away one ball hoarding PF and inserting good role players with two (Thad and Martin) along with two above average bigs in Dieng and Pek, is a recipe for success. They squeak in the playoffs at either 7 or 8.

Kevin Love averaged the most assists of any PF in the league last year! Ah I can get some of the Love hate, but just making stuff up about the guy drives me nuts

[moss_is_1]

Man, Jalen Rose is really stupid.

1. No vets? Martin, Brewer, Mo Williams,Thad, are all guys that are going to be playing a lot of minutes and have made playoff runs, or been all-stars.

2. Rubio is a turnstile? Absolutely not, great defender. He gets steals without a lot of gambling. Only thing I think he needs to improve defensively is his strength to fight through screens and getting posted up.

I agree on Wiggins. Offensively his isn't going to be the guy that gets you a bucket when you need it yet. Look at Durant though. He was a great scorer in college, but he didn't have a very good handle early on(not until the last 2-3 seasons), and he struggled with his shot early on. Wiggins just has to put in the work and the sky is the limit. At worst he's going to be a 15-18 PPG type guy who will play top tier defense, IMO.

I don't think he's going to be anything like Wes. Wiggins still attacks the rim. He averaged 6.5 FT's per game at KU, nearly 2 1/2 more then Wes, and in about 3 less minutes. He already appears to have more of a handle/drive to get into the lane. Plus he's still 4 years younger then Wes at the same stage.

[MinneOOPalis]

I've seen enough to know we have a superstar on our hands. Soon it will be Lebron-Durant-Davis-Wiggins

[zauchary]

Everybody should know that Simmons is pretty slight on knowledge of the game and players, etc. he's a sports writer that makes 5 mill a year because he's entertaining. However, Zach Lowe is genuenlly pretty knowledgeable on the business side of things. The Eye on Basketball podcast is pretty solid as well.

[Esohny]

Simmons is more about entertainment than good takes. Simmons can be legitimately funny, it's just frustrating to listen to him talk about your team sometimes. He's still one of the few columnists that I make a point to read.

Is it the awkward attempts at being clever, or is it his sad attempts to come across as someone who is still "hip" despite being in his mid forties?

[WolvesFMC]

I don't watch ESPN at all, mostly because of people like Bill Simmons, who from time-to-time, I agree with, but hell you can find truth in just about anything. I think their preview was about 60/40 leaning to the inaccurate side, there are certainly things they were right about, but more that I just dont believe to be true, like being a lottery team. I do think they win 45 games this year, and that may be because I am biased, but taking away one ball hoarding PF and inserting good role players with two (Thad and Martin) along with two above average bigs in Dieng and Pek, is a recipe for success. They squeak in the playoffs at either 7 or 8.

Kevin Love averaged the most assists of any PF in the league last year! Ah I can get some of the Love hate, but just making stuff up about the guy drives me nuts

He was the best outlets passer in the league no doubt, I loved it and will miss it but the offense wasn't allowed to move unless the ball hit his hands first, there was rarely a possession that Love didn't touch the ball, whether he passed it or shot it wasn't the issue.

[guest81]

I don't watch ESPN at all, mostly because of people like Bill Simmons, who from time-to-time, I agree with, but hell you can find truth in just about anything. I think their preview was about 60/40 leaning to the inaccurate side, there are certainly things they were right about, but more that I just dont believe to be true, like being a lottery team. I do think they win 45 games this year, and that may be because I am biased, but taking away one ball hoarding PF and inserting good role players with two (Thad and Martin) along with two above average bigs in Dieng and Pek, is a recipe for success. They squeak in the playoffs at either 7 or 8.

Kevin Love averaged the most assists of any PF in the league last year! Ah I can get some of the Love hate, but just making stuff up about the guy drives me nuts

He was the best outlets passer in the league no doubt, I loved it and will miss it but the offense wasn't allowed to move unless the ball hit his hands first, there was rarely a possession that Love didn't touch the ball, whether he passed it or shot it wasn't the issue.

So by your logic Lebron is a ball hoarder as well?

[zauchary]

Kevin Love averaged the most assists of any PF in the league last year! Ah I can get some of the Love hate, but just making stuff up about the guy drives me nuts

He was the best outlets passer in the league no doubt, I loved it and will miss it but the offense wasn't allowed to move unless the ball hit his hands first, there was rarely a possession that Love didn't touch the ball, whether he passed it or shot it wasn't the issue.

Not to be negative or anything, but seriously, we ain't going to the playoffs this year guys. If you think we're going to the playoffs with a team comprised of dudes who have never played together? Also 6 of these guys are in their first or second year. That's not going to cut it. Maybe in if the Wolves were in the eastern conference. Maybe.

The future is bright. I was one of the only people on this board clamoring for Lavine while the rest of you were having a meltdown when we didn't take Garry Harris. I'm optimistic, its just a three year down the road brand of optimism. Until then, I'll enjoy watching these dudes develop.