Bill Simmons believes Warriors are back, ready to settle scores

It's still early, but it appears that the Warriors are all the way back to their elite form from years prior.

Sitting atop the NBA with a 14-2 record, Golden State appears to be primed for another title run in the 2021-22 season.

The Ringer's Bill Simmons sat down with The Athletic's Marcus Thompson on the latest episode of the Bill Simmons Podcast, where he discussed the Warriors' success this season, and when exactly he knew Golden State was back to their elite form.

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“Here’s when I knew -- the end of the Brooklyn game," Simmons told Thompson. "Not the Brooklyn game, because you can go in and beat anybody. Their ‘f--k you' came back in the Brooklyn game. They kept [Steph] Curry in for the extra two minutes so that he can get the ninth 3, and I was like ‘oh, we’re at this stage already. The ‘f--k you’ Warriors are back.’ I just thought they were good."

Having missed the playoffs the previous two seasons, the Warriors' fall from grace after winning three titles in five straight NBA Finals appearances was out of character for any Golden State team led by Steph Curry, and opposing teams took advantage.

“This happens, where the teams kind of remember ‘oh, I remember that game during that season where we finished second in the lottery where that one team kind of poured it on.’ " Simmons added. "They start filing that s---t away, and they’re going to go through -- and I guarantee Draymond [Green] and Steph remember every moment from the last two years where somebody poured it on, somebody said something.

"I do think this is what’s going to happen if this team stays healthy. It’s going to be the Denzel [Washington] Man on Fire settling your scores portion of the season. I felt it in that Brooklyn game.”