It was only a matter of time until Bill Simmons, self-proclaimed “sports guy” and founder of The Ringer, shared his opinions on the state of the middling Phoenix Suns.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!In his latest episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, Simmons and his guest, trusted betting consultant Joe House, had a trivial discussion about the state of the Suns in relation to their projected win total heading into the season. Simmons and House comfortably took (and boosted on FanDuel) the over on Phoenix’s 45.5 win projection heading into the 2024-25 NBA season.
Thirty-two games in, the Suns are 15-17 and have been plagued by injuries and an underperforming Big Three of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.
“We were going nuts for it,” Simmons said. “I don’t know if Phoenix gets to 45 wins.”
The Suns would have to go 31-19 to hit over their projected win total for the rest of the season. But the problem doesn’t solely lie in this season, according to Simmons. The basketball guru credits their current skid to an underlying problem two seasons in the making.
“You know, the big-picture front office mistake they made was they tried to put together this Big Three model, which had been so successful in the late 2000s and 2010s because the league wasn’t as deep,” Simmons said. “Now the league is deep, and you need depth. You need the ability to weather an injury for 10 games. You need random guys stepping up night to night. And, I just don’t know if that Big Three model works.
“Great. Cool. You have three really good players. It doesn’t matter. You’re competing against other teams that have seven, eight, nine players that have real depth.”
Of the 32 games Phoenix has played this season, Durant, Booker and Beal have played just 12 of them (197 minutes shared on the court). Not only is the quantity down, but the quality is too. The Valley’s Big Three has a net rating of -4.3 when they share the court together.
Not only that, but Beal has the worst net rating (-8.4) on the entire Suns roster.
Despite starting 8-1 and Durant performing at an All-Star level despite missing stretches with injury, the Suns have a problem that has been marinating for two off-seasons.
Charles Barkley blasts Suns, has ‘zero faith’ in struggling team
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Reporter Connor Moreno covers the Phoenix Suns for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @cmorenosports, and on Bluesky, @cloading.bsky.social
