Kirk Goldsberry
Appearances
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
You know, I think P.J. Washington is a huge part of that equation. And I don't know if that's the correct answer, but it's not going to be Kyrie and it's not going to be Luka. I think we all know that. And then they have the big. And, you know, I think P.J. would be my answer. But, dude, who can guard this guy? Nobody can guard this guy. So, Dallas...
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
I think beat them last year on both sides of the ball. And I think that it was really PJ who, if you look back at the stats from that series, did a lot on both sides.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
Yeah. So I think I can't talk myself into what I saw from Dallas beating Oklahoma City, but I have very, very, very big recency bias right now because of what we just watched.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
I think if I zoomed back out, seven-game series, yeah, if PJ is going to be 20-10, kind of like he was, I think it was 18-8 in that series, and shooting threes and playing great defense, and they have their bigs, and Luka and Kyrie, obviously, at the end of games, they could win four games against that team if they broke their way.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
Yeah, I think they've been sort of showcasing players all year. I think it helps explain why Steve Kerr's been playing 12 players a night. Oh, look at all these guys. Like, you could read into it. And I think they're one player short of being.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
Yeah, farm-raised Kyle Anderson over here. But I think then, but Jimmy Butler to Houston intrigues me too, because of something you said earlier, Bill, which is like, who's their guy at the end of the game? We don't have that guy. And Jimmy's from Texas. You could see E-May talking himself into Jimmy Butler. I'm not sold on it.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
The other thing that I would say is the trade machine Picasso is coming into hard times. This new CBA is pretty much, could make a trade into half, if not more, because so many teams are limited into what kinds of trades, the financial rules, what they can and can't send out or take back are so punitive or prohibitive that just the trade market itself has shrunk.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
And I think that's going to sort of limit the amount of Picasso-ing you can do between December 15th and February.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
The whole trade demand thing. ecosystem, the whole science of the trade demand from the player's perspective has to get updated too because you can't just say, oh, I want to trade and make sure it's the Phoenix or whatever.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
I think so, and I think there's one more layer of it, which is the Moneyball era of pro basketball is so intense. We know so much about how bad bad contracts are, particularly in this new CBA, that those were the contracts the teams used to be able, hey, take this guy. Maybe you can deal with the contract for a year or two and win a title.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
No, like I was trying to think of who the best team with a terrible contract is, and there aren't many. And so it's like, okay, do you want this Levine deal or this Beal deal? The answer to that question is smaller than ever, not to mention the point we already made. The rules to get that player in a trade are more sort of strict than ever.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
So yeah, I think we're in a brand new era and it is bad for podcast content.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
I think it's working, but I think those are valid points. In fact, I talked to one Western Conference executive who's like, oh, I'm kind of glad we don't have to go play at Oklahoma City tonight and maybe play Houston and Vegas. And I think I'd much rather have the time off or these lesser opponents. I think the league has something.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
I also think it's really cool that we had these two games tonight and the whole league was watching them. And I wish we had more of that, that sort of community feeling. where it's not just like league pass overload, where these games are meaningful in December. Let's not forget, this time of year is really hard.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
I do think, and I think we talked about this last time, they should use the divisions for the groups and just bring some spice and meaning back to those teams. groupings of teams. I think there's some little stuff. I'm glad we have it. But I think it is fair to say that some teams are kind of not disappointed they're not going to Vegas this weekend.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
Yeah, like the Elam ending. Wait, one more thing on that. The Elam ending would be great. And I know they got rid of it from the All-Star Game, Bill. But like tonight, the end of that first game was like 25 minutes. The last two or three minutes. And it bled into the second game. It's like, what are we doing? Doing this free throw, free throw thing.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
I mean, every pickup game we've ever played ends with a bucket, dude. And then we watch these free throw contests. The worst one I saw this year was Celtics-Cavs, and it was like 30 minutes. And it was back and forth, back and forth. And now, because I always say this, the team that's ahead is now fouling a lot of times. So it's just adding to it.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
Yeah, so I'm a big Elam ending guy, but I like Jacoby's idea. Make it feel special. Do something else. Elam ending is the best I got for that one.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
I think they're 11-3 in their last 14 games after starting 2-8. And what you just said, one of the sort of deep cut takes is like, yeah, AJ Green, Gary Trent, Torian Prince, Bobby Portis. They're getting really efficient three-point shooting from those dudes. And then Giannis stopped shooting threes. He stopped shooting threes. Today, he shot his first three in six games, I think.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
He shot another one at the end of the game, but he'd gone five games without shooting a three. He's attacking the rim, and then they're surrounding him with shooting. Tonight, they played a smaller lineup. They took Brooke out, and they put these aforementioned shooters. Chris Middleton's back in the lineups. Damian, obviously. spacing starts at the rim.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
Giannis pressures the rim better than anybody in the league right now. And he can make passes. If they can make those shots, they're very good. The Bucks were always supposed to be this good. The other thing weird was they were two and eight. Uh, do I trust them to be better than the Boston Celtics?
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
No, but it looks like they've righted the ship and look like they're a viable Eastern conference contender now. Um, because Giannis is putting up scoring title numbers and they're getting this three-point shooting from the supporting cast and now they're whole. So they have Chris, Damian, and Giannis. They were supposed to be good.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
No, I was just saying, when they won it all, they were great on defense. This was a defensive juggernaut, too, with Brooke and Giannis protecting the paint, and then Drew and Chris. And the role players all seeming like, you know, these younger Thunder Rockets teams that we're seeing the more like, yeah, they were a great defense. I don't see that happening.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
And for that reason, I'm out to quote Mark Cuban on their ability to compete with Boston and maybe even Cleveland at the very top of the Eastern Conference.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
Yeah, they're the clear favorite now. And I know Dallas is going to sit here and say, oh, we didn't have P.J. Washington and we beat him last year and this. And fine, they should be confident. But from what I'm seeing, Bill, their net rating, their defensive rating, like Jacoby just said, and then the eye test, Oh, my God. Yeah, Luka threw a lob.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
Yeah, so Rudy should be thrilled, man. I was talking to Vince Carter and Jalen. We were watching this game, and we're like, holy crap. a score on and like Oklahoma City they're a pain in the ass to pass on and get rebounds on I love the two big lineup I love that it's Mo and Goga and Wendell like they're playing bigger than almost any De Silva too when he's at the three they're just big
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
And yeah, the biggest point here is they didn't have three or four of their normal rotation pieces. Gary Harris, Jonathan Isaac, but obviously... Gary Harris. Bill's favorite guy. Paolo and Franz, who, you know, torn oblique club, like stand up. And as a holder of Suggs coin for years now, You guys should be thrilled.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
I know you didn't get the result tonight, but it looks like you're built for war for a long time, and you're the Orlando Magic. You guys should be thrilled.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
He said their defense is hard. But I think those corner threes come from good movement elsewhere. Corner threes are created when their best offensive players are doing other shit somewhere else on the court. Those guys aren't playing, particularly their best offensive player. And now Franz isn't playing, who's also great at offense. So those are like indicator species.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
I think it was to Lively near the end of the game that he's thrown 100 times. And all of a sudden, there was two Thunder guys, and they were playing small, and they intercepted it. I think they had 12 steals, 31 points off turnovers. But more importantly, they just frustrate the hell out of everybody.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
Yes, their three-point shooting personnel, Jacoby, does lack. KCP is underwhelming. But some of these are sort of byproducts of the offense itself just not having its alpha and beta creators.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
Dude, yeah, he is incredible. I didn't know that Tom Thibodeau was an offensive genius until this year.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
And I feel like they're so far and away better than anything else I'm seeing in the West through the first quarter of the season that, yeah, I'm going to say they're the favorite to come out of the Western Conference.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
Yeah, I just learned that. 25 and 13, though, I think I would have put him around there. The 45, 46% number from three-point is crazy, dude.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
They're going to get Precious, and they're going to get Mitch Robinson back. And I don't think we've seen what their defense really could be. But I'm with Cerruti. I definitely go Celtics, Cavs, Knicks. Then I go Bucs. But I do think the Knicks offense deserves respect. They can score against anybody in a variety of ways. It's just like their shooting is great, and then Brunson and Catt.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
I do love the geometry, to borrow Jalen's basketball geometry phrase. I love what the Knicks have spacing the court right now.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
Yeah.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
Unbelievable draft.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
Yeah, that's a perfect word. It really is just like a black cloud or a stranglehold. I'd actually compare it to Tim. A lot of people forget that Tim Duncan had a really bad knee his entire career. Yeah. And The scourge that is known as load management has a lot to do with Tim Duncan's knee and Greg Popovich and the staff really making sure that they could get everything.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
But that also meant that Tim had to be very serious about his nutrition and his sleep and all this other stuff. And I think as Joel mentioned, enters sort of the later stage of his career, if he wants to keep playing at this level, he has to be more serious, more professional, not just about being on time to the bus, but taking care of his body.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
Like the reason LeBron is LeBron at this age is because he was really careful about his body and respected that stuff. And unfortunately, this is what it looks like when somebody doesn't do that kind of thing, in my opinion. And I'm not quite sure where this is going. I do think Philadelphia has reasons to be more optimistic than the last time we talked about these guys on the podcast.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
I still think the East, what we just went through, is like, oh, maybe Miami's the five seed. Unfortunately, there needs to be eight playoff teams in the Eastern Conference. And I think Philadelphia will get one of those slots. And so I think they could be pretty patient here. I just agree with what you guys are saying.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
This is really troubling, like the lack of communication, the lack of clarity, the weird Timmy Bontemps quotes from this week. It's depressing. I don't even know it's injured. It's just inflammation. These are bad signs, guys.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
No, that is a very debilitating contract. And we talked about this earlier. It's like, you don't see a lot of good teams with this new cap bill with any bad contracts, let alone a max contract with a guy who's not playing.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
It's like, how do you build a team when you have that much sort of money locked up in a player that may or may not even be able to play most nights?
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
Yes.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
I'm going to come back to you on Edie, because I need to know how the surf has been over at Edie Island, if the seawalls are holding up. But I want to know, yes, Castle is the answer for me, and it's not close, and I'm obviously close to the Spurs. They are very excited about all the stuff he does. I love the description of a Thunder-like player.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
He is that kind of dog in him stereotype, but he does the stuff that doesn't show up in the box score. They love this guy. He's adding sort of an edge to their group. I think Jeremy Sohan is kind of like that too. And I think it could help them They're destined to build a great defense in San Antonio, and I think he could be part of that.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
Like Lou Dort, another potentially great defender, he needed to get a shot, and Lewis figured that out, so I feel like Castle could get a little of that. Dalton connect obviously needs to be mentioned. I know he's older, but I think he's been fantastic given where they got him in the draft. I'm still on research day Island. I'm not giving up on that anytime soon.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
But for me, I'll say Reed Shepard, I think is going to be great in this league for a long time, but I'm going castle has really won me over in the last few weeks specifically. But tell me bill, Zach Eadie, was he everything you dreamed of, or are you a little bit let down at this point in the season?
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
Well, this one's for Chris Vernon. The Memphis Grizzlies. I've been very disappointed. I'm just kidding. He passed word and he didn't hear it. Yeah, that's right. That's right. I would say... The Minnesota Timberwolves, because I thought the Randall trade was good. Dante DiVincenzo, too. It hasn't worked. It has not worked.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
They went from having a very strong identity with great defense and good offense to not really having an identity and looking like a middle-of-the-pack team in the Western Conference when most of us thought they were going up a level. not down a level in this exact season, Bill. So for me, I think the Pacers have a very strong claim to this conference finalists.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
But I will say Minnesota because I really want Anthony Edwards to be the face of American superstars in the next five, 10 years. I love everything about him. So I've been particularly disappointed with that team's performance after what they did last year.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
Yeah, it goes back to our theme earlier. It's like, there's not a lot of old and overpaid great teams in the NBA right now. And they're best players older, as you pointed out. Devin Booker's certainly not old. I'm not mad at his contract. The Beal deal, to me, sticks out like a sore thumb on their cap sheet. Nurk, like... you have to have pretty much a perfect roster.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
And I kind of agree with you. Doesn't everybody have at least one superstar that we're talking about winning at all? Yeah, pretty much. I think that is fair. And to me, the differentiating stuff is now lower down on your depth chart. And that's where this team is just really not great. And I don't think they'll ever be able to play defense well enough to keep up with the top teams in the West.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
But I keep going back to that Bradley Beal Because that was a lot of depth they traded, essentially, for one other player that might have sort of a repetitive role next to Devin and Kevin.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
Houston, I think... Golden State here in this quarterfinal. I don't see anybody else because Minnesota, I think coming in to the season, Bill, was that other team for me. And they have just been off to an awkward start. So I don't see the Randall piece really fitting in there to put them in that category. And Dallas was the hottest team in the league, period, before tonight.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
And I think they clearly deserve number two status. They won't. won the conference. They beat this team in the playoffs last year in six games. So I think until further notice, it's OKC, Dallas, then Houston.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
I love Houston at three, and I want to see what they do in this tournament. I know some people think it's silly, but I think this is a catapult for them. If they beat Steph and Steve Kerr tomorrow, and they get to Vegas, and they play the Oklahoma City Thunder, I think it really starts to feel like they're not just a flash in the pan. Like OKC, Bill, their defensive indicators scream contender.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
They are not... Just like Orlando. Orlando, OKC, and Houston. Three young, pain-in-the-ass defenses that nobody wants to play against. And Ime has really built that team up. So I would put them at three. I don't know if there's somebody I'm forgetting.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
That might be intentional. I might have heard that he fast forwards the minutes that I speak on this show.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
Yeah, I think that's valid. And I think that we went too long not talking about what we saw from SGA tonight. And I think he really is the differentiator in the top of the West because he is legitimately the MVP candidate over there right now. When you look at those three teams we talked about, you throw in Memphis, maybe John Morant, but SGA is on a different plane.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
And what we saw tonight from him on both sides of the court, nearly scoring 40 points and then just putting up crooked numbers. Made some threes.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
5-9 from three, and then just sets the tone on defense, too. Like, he is a truly, truly impressive two-way superstar, Bill Simmons. And I think No other team has that. And if it does get to sort of crunch time at the end, you know that the guy who has the ball in his hands can score in an isolation situation. By the way, he's isolating more than anybody else in the league.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
And Houston doesn't have that. That is fair to say. And I think that is one of the things that separates the Oklahoma City Thunder from everybody else in the West right now is that their best player can be that guy at the end of a big game like we saw tonight.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
Who do you have in the MVP ladder right now? Just between those two.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
I agree, but does it matter to you that OKC is emerging as a clear number one and they're sort of dropping down to maybe play-in status? Does that factor into the Professor Simmons model?
The Bill Simmons Podcast
OKC’s Revenge, NBA Cup Nitpicks, and NFL Season Fun Grades with David Jacoby, Kirk Goldsberry, Kyle Brandt, and Craig Horlbeck
Exactly.