Boston Celtics apologist Bill Simmons made an appearance this week on ESPN’s “Jalen & Jacoby” and made two things clear: he doesn’t believe the Sixers are a threat in the East and Markelle Fultz didn’t have as good of an offseason as Jayson Tatum.

In a three minute clip, Bill drops some profanity on a live show – THE CHILDREN, BILL, THE CHILDREN – lists the Toronto Raptors as the biggest threat in the East, entertains the possibility that Giannis Antetokounmpo could present a tough challenge, and outright dismisses the Sixers unless they prove they can stay healthy:

Transcription after the jump:

On the Sixers

Jalen Rose: I have to address the elephant in the room in the Eastern Conference: Philadelphia. They didn’t get mentioned.

Bill Simmons: Yeah.

Jalen: Joel Embiid…

Bill: They didn’t get mentioned.

Jalen: Ben Simmons…

Bill: They did not get mentioned.

Jalen: Markelle Fultz, #1 overall pick. They went to the conference finals. They did lose to your Celtics. Did you lose a little respect for them because they lost?

Bill: Philly, I just wanna see if both guys are healthy. How many games do they need, like, 150 from those two guys? Embiid’s played I think 3,000 minutes total in his career?

On Fultz:

Bill: The Fultz thing, I just wish the buzz was better on his maturity. He just seems like one of those guys who’s eating cinnamon buns on the bench before the game.

David Jacoby: Joel Embiid ordered up pitchers of Shirley Temples to his room.

Bill: But Joel Embiid puts in the work. Fultz, I don’t know, he just seems like a little kid. I just don’t see the maturity. You look at Tatum’s summer, not to compare the two, because they were traded for each other. Did you follow Tatum’s summer? Because that was work. I was like, “Oh ****.” Tatum the whole summer… he’s playing basketball here, he’s with Kobe Bryant there, he’s with Durant, he’s at his basketball camp. I was really worried. I was like, “Oh he’s gonna be at the premiere for this. Oh he’s gonna be shooting a shoe commercial today.” And it really hasn’t been that way. It’s been basketball, basketball, basketball.

Here’s the thing Simmons left out: FULTZ HAS BEEN TRAINING ALL SUMMER WITH DREW HANLEN WHO ALSO TRAINS JAYSON TATUM AND JOEL EMBIID:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkWA9dQho0I/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Look, I don’t expect Simmons to bend over backwards to give Fultz props, but for the love of Bill Russell, at least acknowledge the grind.