The Bill Simmons Podcast
Minnesota’s Coming, OKC’s Here, and We Can Save the NBA Season With Kirk Goldsberry and Bill’s Dad
Thu, 13 Mar 2025
The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by Kirk Goldsberry to discuss the Timberwolves' late-season surge, exciting Western Conference Round 1 playoff possibilities (2:26), the Thunder beating the Celtics for the second time this season (28:33), and Bill and Kirk's pitch to completely revitalize the NBA (51:10). Finally, Bill talks with his dad about being in TD Garden for the Thunder's 118-112 win against the Celtics, Patriots free agency buzz, the Bruins' decision to trade away longtime wing Brad Marchand, and more (01:16:45). Host: Bill Simmons Guests: Kirk Goldsberry and Bill's dad Producers: Kyle Crichton and Chia Hao Tat The all-new, fully electric Audi Q6 e-tron is a new way to experience driving. Learn more at audiusa.com. The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit www.rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: What are the standout trends in the NBA season?
Yeah.
And so they have to do this. How crazy would that be after all the hype and buzz about them if they ended up with like a top three pick? I mean, honestly, that'd be insane. What were the odds? I guess the odds were actually half decent.
Oh, remember, even forget the Georgian and the Georgian and beat stuff. They have a pretty good young backcourt in McCain and Maxie here. Like, right. They could have a young core if they hit on this draft pieces. Yeah. So it's it's crazy. I know the cap. They're in cap hell. They are in cap hell for the rest of this decade.
But if they have rookie players playing over value, that's a pretty good deodorant for that situation.
The Embiid thing's tough. We've been down this road with injured older centers and you're just kind of held hostage by it for a couple of years. And then somebody will write this story. Embiid's knee feels the best it's ever been. And Embiid, full scrimmage today. And then he plays two games, he gets hurt again. And it's just this cycle you don't want to be in.
Washington, Utah, Charlotte, New Orleans. The shocker in that group is New Orleans. We knew somebody in the West was going to have the year from hell, and they were a really good candidate. But for them to be in the top four of the lottery is nuts with the kind of talent they have. I mean, honestly, it's crazy.
Yeah, they're deep. They can survive a few injuries, you'd think, and still be better than this. Better than this.
So here are my OKC Celtics takes. And we might call my dad at the tail end because he went to the game after you go. But... First of all, OKC has beaten Boston twice and I watched both games and I thought they deserve to win both games. And I thought SJ was the best player in each game. There was no KP last night, but OKC didn't have Jalen Williams. So I'm not going to make excuses.
The free throw advantage was way skewed toward OKC. I thought that was more a result of how both teams played and what they're trying to do. The Celtics took 63 threes, which is fucking absurd.
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Chapter 2: How are the Minnesota Timberwolves performing this season?
I wouldn't want to play them if I were the Knicks. But, you know, we want to see what the Knicks get whole. But anyway, I just thought throw that in there.
I like that every guy in the Pistons is ready to get in a fight. Talked about it before, but I just, I love their attitude on everything. And by the way, they have a realistic chance to get the four seed. So we're taping this Thursday morning. Milwaukee's 36 and 28. Indiana's 36 and 28. Detroit's 37 and 29. Yes. And playing better net rating wise. Name a stat from the last 25 games.
I'm going to look it up right now as we're talking. Just last 25. This is nuts. I have all these bookmarks for the net ratings. And I have like 15, 25, and 20. Detroit, 69 in the last 25. And their sixth offensive rating. They have the second best D, as you mentioned. Like that's a, that's not a small sample size. 25 games is fucking, that's almost two, two months. It's like seven weeks.
And they have a great offensive player. And I know if you haven't gotten a chance to enjoy the Cade Cunningham breakout season.
Wow. It's beyond the breakout. Would you vote for him for most improved? Most improved.
Who are our candidates?
I'll give you them right now. Do you have a vote? I can't remember. No, I do not have a vote. I have a vote, so I'm not allowed to bet on this. I always want to mention that. Oh, there it is. Yeah. Oh, he's the favorite. Minus 270. Is Mobley in there? Dyson Daniels is plus 220. Mobley is 100 to 1. Now, I will get... The crazy one is Pritchard as the favorite for six man at minus 240.
Malik Beasley's plus 300, which tells me nobody's watching the Pistons. Cause I would have thought Beasley should be the favorite at this point with how important he is. And he's like their, you know, their number two crunch time guy. And I tied Jerome is down to 25 to one. It used to be 55 to one. I think he's in there too. And then I guess Nas at 25 to one.
I, I don't really think of him as a bench guy because it feels like he starts so much and there's always somebody hurt, but. He's in there too. Who would you have? Would you go Beasley?
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