Month / November 2021

Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers, Sixers
by Alex Fischbein

Last night in the Atlantic (11/4/21)

The star players on both of the Celtics and Sixers didn’t exactly look star-ish in their respective games. Which does seem to be a common theme throughout the league. Some blame the new basketball, others blame the new foul rules, but people like Seth Curry just keep getting buckets anyway.

Standings:
Philadelphia 76ers 7-2
Toronto Raptors 6-3
Brooklyn Nets 5-3
New York Knicks 5-3
Boston Celtics 4-5

Let’s talk about last night.

Tyrese Maxey

Tyrese Maxey, on his 21st birthday, looked every bit of dynamic that has been advertised. His first step is already elite and he can hit a burst of speed at any time that not many other NBA players can do. In this game, however, he was flashing his three-point shooting ability along with his finishing skills at the rim. If he can keep these kinds of games going, all they need is a backup point guard in that department!

Shake Milton

Shake Milton had himself a very nice game in his spot start. Harris, Korkmaz, Simmons, Green, and Isaiah Joe were all out so it was his chance to really shine. Shine he did with a stat line of 16p, 8r, 5a, & 2s. His offense came at very timely possessions and he gave the team another creator on the floor. Sometimes he still just needs to take the open shot instead of always pump faking and driving into the defense.

Aaron Nesmith

Aaron Nesmith had the kind of game that tells his coach, “Hey, you should play me more!” In a game where neither team could hit the broad side of a barn, Nesmith provided some MUCH needed shot-making. He put up 13p, 3r on 5-8 FG & 3-5 3P. Honestly, I’m not really sure why he isn’t playing all that much because it can’t be much worse than what’s going on right now. Especially when you have Tatum and Brown going a combined 8-27… Shout out the Boston Celtics defense though that did have a second consecutive good outing!

Fred VanVleet, Toronto Raptors
by Alex Fischbein

Last night in the Atlantic (11/3/21)

All five Atlantic teams were in action, but the Knicks were the only ones to not grab a win. A lot of teams debuted their city edition jerseys and courts as well!

Standings:
Philadelphia 76ers 6-2
Toronto Raptors 6-3
Brooklyn Nets 5-3
New York Knicks 5-3
Boston Celtics 3-5

Let’s talk about last night!

Fred VanVleet

Fred VanVleet was nearly unstoppable last night! He shot 50% or better from the field overall and from three. His separation on any of his dribble moves was insane and he was consistently giving himself open shots all night long. On top of that, he worked the pick and roll to perfection and even attacked the lane with ease. He finished with 33 points & 6 assists.

Seth Curry

Here’s your reminder that the Dallas Mavericks really traded away Seth Curry for Josh Richardson. Yes, the same Richardson who isn’t even on the team anymore! Curry has proven to be one of the most underrated offensive talents in the league right now. Plus, he’s played a big part in showing that Ben Simmons is quite expendable as he keeps contributing to winning more and more games. This win against a very good Chicago team was huge as they didn’t even have their second-leading scorer in Tobias Harris either. Curry finished 22 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists on 9-14 FG & 2-4 3P.

Jaylen Brown

This game was Jaylen Brown’s turn to go crazy in the scoring department as he put up 28 points on 58.8% shooting compared to Jayson Tatum’s 14 points on 25%. It was reported that the team had ‘an emotional’ meeting after Smart’s comments. Not sure if we can say the meeting changed anything in terms of on-the-court production, but they did get a much-needed win!

RJ Barrett

The Knicks had a really tough night shooting the three as they went 5-24 as a team. RJ Barrett was the high-man, as he has been the last couple games, with 23 points on 40% shooting. His defense has improved and his offense is coming along too. As a team though, it looks like they’re hitting a little wall at the moment. To be fair, the Pacers couldn’t miss in this latest game as they shot 46.2% from the floor as a team.

Kevin Durant

There’s not much more to be said about Kevin Durant that hasn’t already been said. He’s a walking video game. He’s a cheat code. He’s not human. If you don’t have him in your top 3 of greatest scorers ever, you’re just wrong.

Boston Celtics, Jayson Tatum
by Alex Fischbein

The Atlantic Files Ep201: Boston Celtics are crumbling

This week on the Atlantic Files, the Boston Celtics are crumbling as we speak, Scottie Barnes and the Toronto Raptors are on a hot streak, and all of a sudden the Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards, and Chicago Bulls are at the top of the East.

First of all, the Boston Celtics have plenty of time to not crumble and get themselves back together. Marcus Smart called out Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown for hogging the ball, especially at the end of games. He said it’s something that they’ll definitely learn from and they’ll get back on track. This sounded more like something he’s been trying to tell them behind closed doors for a long time and since they weren’t listening he finally said something to the press.

Then there’s James Harden and the Brooklyn Nets. Harden hasn’t looked like his usual self until just recently. He finally started attacking the rim, hitting his usual step-back jumpers, and wreaking havoc in the lane. A lot has been said about him being out of shape due to rehabbing during the off-season on top of the fact he’s getting used to the new foul rules. Does anything need to change on the Nets front to make sure they succeed without Kyrie Irving?

Another Atlantic team is surprising a lot of people at the moment. The Toronto Raptors have hit a little stride early on in the season. Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby, Fred VanVleet, and Gary Trent Jr. have all been improving and showing some great offensive flashes on top of a pretty fun defensive system to watch. This team is fun and they’re finally playing like it!

Finally, we have the Chicago Bulls at the top of the East along with two surprising teams. Both the Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards were not supposed to be this high in the standings at all. Which of these two teams are the most for real? LaMelo Ball might actually be a real MVP candidate which is a scary thought!

Timestamps:
0:00 – Intro
1:15 – James Harden doesn’t look right
8:20 – Scottie Barnes and the Toronto Raptors
19:00 – Chicago Bulls are top of the East
29:00 – The Boston Celtics are crumbling and Marcus Smart is calling people out
40:30 – Who is an actual playoff team, Charlotte Hornets or Washington Wizards?

OG Anunoby, Toronto Raptors
by Alex Fischbein

Last night in the Atlantic! (11/1/21)

Honestly, all three Atlantic games ended with quite surprising results! Didn’t really see the Raptors pulling out a tough win over the Knicks and swore the Sixers had no chance without Joel Embiid nor Tobias Harris. Let’s talk about last night!

Standings:
New York Knicks 5-2
Philadelphia 76ers 5-2
Toronto Raptors 5-3
Brooklyn Nets 4-3
Boston Celtics 2-5

OG Anunoby

OG Anunoby cashed in a big-time night! In a game where the Raptors especially weren’t supposed to win without Scottie Barnes over a good New York Knicks team, Anunoby took control. This is the exact kind of performance that the Raptors were hoping to see more of and what will move him up the MIP ladder. The fact he was able to score like he did, in all of the various ways that he did, against a defense like the Knicks bodes well for the Raptors future. His slow start is starting to turn into a scorching hot streak that could even last a whole season if he starts to turn into what we predicted him to be this season.

Georges Niang

Georges Niang was that guy last night! He was the one to step up outside of the normal starters for the Sixers. His offensive production and timely buckets were needed ten-fold as the team didn’t even have Joel Embiid nor Tobias Harris for a tough matchup against the Blazers. As the fans chanted for Lillard, who shot 7-20, Niang was going to work to the tune of 21p, 5r, 5a on 43.8% from the field. The funny thing is that he does look slow a lot of the time, but his anticipation and his shooting prowess allow him to counterbalance that a lot of the time.

Al Horford

Boston drops yet another game, but Al Horford definitely gave it his all to keep the lead they built up until the end of the third quarter. Once it hit the final quarter, all bets were off as Chicago outscored Boston 39-11. Horford, however, was trying to be the steadying force outside of Brown/Tatum as he put up 20p, 10, 3a. It got so bad with this game that even Marcus Smart called out Tatum and Brown for not involving the rest of the team on offense enough. Usually, that’s the kind of thing a team hopes that Horford would do since he’s supposed to be the veteran leader, but I guess that’s Marcus Smart’s thing instead.

by Alex Fischbein

The Atlantic Files Ep200: New York Knicks szn with Josh Hayes

This week on The Atlantic Files:

This week on the Atlantic Files we welcome special guest Josh Hayes! He is the on-air host of Rotoballer Radio on SiriusXM. He joined us to talk about Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Scottie Barnes, and a plethora of Atlantic and NBA topics!

The Brooklyn Nets are only 2-2 so far this season. Their offense has looked very lackluster without Kyrie Irving and it’s a little concerning that James Harden hasn’t looked so great either. His offense has taken a big hit and we’re not sure if the foul rule changes have anything to do with it or if he’s just not mentally into it just yet. It’s obviously not time to hit the panic button, but something to follow as the season goes on.

Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers are still in the midst of a big battle. Should Daryl Morey and the Sixers just cave already and ship him off for anything? Josh Hayes seems to think that Morey needs to clean his hands of the whole thing already. Not sure if a lot of Sixers fans would love getting pennies on the dollar though.

On top of that, Scottie Barnes has already looked like Rookie of the Year material. Yes, it’s very early this season, but Barnes has still shown some huge flashes of amazing potential. Dennis had this thing called from the beginning, but it’s going to be fun to watch his growth.

Timecodes:
0:00 – Intro
2:40 – Brooklyn Nets, Kyrie Irving, Patty Mills, and James Harden
15:50 – Philadelphia 76ers and Daryl Morey need to trade Ben Simmons for anything
19:50 – The New York Knicks look explosive
26:00 – LaMelo Ball for MVP?
29:00 – Lonzo Ball’s growth and the Chicago Bulls undefeated
33:10 – Boston Celtics don’t look great
44:03 – Minnesota Timberwolves a sneaky good team
50:12 – Scottie Barnes for Rookie of the Year and Toronto Raptors great youth
57:35 – Fantasy Basketball gems

by Alex Fischbein

The Atlantic Files Ep199: Let the 2021-22 NBA Season begin!

This week on The Atlantic Files:

The 2021-22 NBA season is finally upon us! Before we get to all the fun and predictions though, we have to talk about yet more drama. More reports and news came out about Ben Simmons, so of course, we have to address it.

Ben Simmons apparently was believed to almost fake a Covid-19 exposure so that he could miss game seven against the Atlanta Hawks last year. On top of that, he didn’t believe that he was allowed to fail as much as past number one picks. We’re not sure exactly why all of this is coming out nor how accurate it may be. If it is true, however, that’s some scary stuff to hear if any Sixers fans were hoping for some improvement.

After wrapping up the latest Ben Simmons drama, it’s time to get to the fun stuff! First, we predicted all of the NBA regular season awards and even the All-NBA First Team. There are a lot of good candidates for MVP this year such as Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Joel Embiid, and Stephen Curry. Plus, plenty of super interesting candidates for Most Improved Player of the year!

On top of that, we also had to deliver our Finals and 2022 NBA Champion predictions. We may have had one team that was all the same, but our Western Conference winners were different!

Then, we get to our one bold prediction of the year. Plus a little bonus compared to past years. For all of the fantasy basketball players out there, we added something for you all! We talked about who we thought would be the top NBA fantasy scorers and our favorite sleeper picks too!

Timestamps:
0:00 – Intro
2:10 – Ben Simmons faking covid exposures and not able to fail
21:00 – 2021-22 NBA award and All-NBA predictions
50:32 – 2021-22 NBA Finals and Champion predictions
52:10 – One bold prediction for the 2021-22 NBA Season
55:55 – Top NBA fantasy scorers this season and our favorite sleeper pick