Month / January 2022

Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, MVP, Philadelphia 76ers, Denver Nuggets
by Alex Fischbein

Joel Embiid vs Nikola Jokic for MVP | The Atlantic Files Ep212

On this week’s episode of the Atlantic Files, we talk Joel Embiid or Nikola Jokic for NBA MVP, who should get their first NBA All-Star appearances, Talen Horton-Tucker’s trade interest, our biggest surprises from the first half of the NBA season, and some predictions for the second half.

One of the biggest conversations lately has been Joel Embiid against Nikola Jokic for the best big man in the league along with who deserves the MVP. We took a look at the top-three candidates that are widely recognized as Embiid, Jokic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo right now. Which big man would you take to start your team and who do you think deserves MVP so far this season?

Now that the 2022 NBA All-Star voting is done, it’s time to set our sights on who should be getting their first-ever All-Star appearance this year. Names like LaMelo Ball, Darius Garland, Fred VanVleet, and Miles Bridges all enter the mix in this conversation. Will we see any sort of surprises like Andrew Wiggins becoming an All-Star starter?

Over in Hollywood, the Los Angeles Lakers are not enjoying this season so far. They’ve failed to even come close to their lofty pre-season expectations and now they’re exploring all sorts of trade markets. The current one is for Talen Horton-Tucker. They’ve quickly found out that there isn’t too much interest in trading for their coveted young guard and now they’re left scratching their heads. Which team do you think should trade for him?

Finally, we take a look at the first half of the NBA season and talk about what were the biggest surprises of the season so far. Teams like the Charlotte Hornets and Memphis Grizzlies have both been surprising, but did anything else stand out? Also, we take a look ahead and give some predictions for the rest of the season yet to come.

Timecodes:
0:00 – Intro
1:46 – Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, or Giannis Antetokounmpo, who should be MVP
16:13 – Which players should get their first NBA All-Star appearance
22:56 – The trade market for the Los Angeles Lakers and Talen Horton-Tucker
31:54 – Surprises from the first half of the 2021-22 NBA Season and predictions for the second half

Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
by Alex Fischbein

State of the Boston Celtics | The Atlantic Files Ep211

On this week’s episode of the Atlantic Files, Alec Walt of Down The Block Sports and the Alec Walt Show joins the show to talk about the state of the Boston Celtics and the 2022 NBA All-Star vote returns!

Alec Walt is a friend of the show as well as a Boston Celtics expert. He’s broken down every aspect of the team over the years he’s been covering sports and he’s an avid sports fan and analyst in all different avenues of sports. You’ll find the link to his show below!

The Boston Celtics have been a head-scratching sort of team this season. They have two of the brightest young stars in the league with the tandem of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, but that’s where it pretty much ends. Everyone else on the roster except for maybe Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III isn’t much to write home about. On top of that, they have a rookie head coach who has made some very questionable decisions so far.

Now, the age-old question comes about. Will the Boston Celtics make a trade and will it be one of their young stars on the move? Jaylen Brown has had a lot of buzz in the rumor mill about potentially being shipped away. Maybe that’s what this team needs to bring in a guy like Bradley Beal.

Say they make a deal, however, is Ime Udoka the one that leads this team to the promised land? Should he even last as head coach for more than this one season?

After all of our Boston Celtics conversations, we brought up the latest voting returns for the 2022 NBA All-Star game. Some of these fans have gone crazy with which players are currently listed as a starter and others who aren’t even close. This All-Star game is going to be one of the weirdest if all of these results hold up.

Check out the Alec Walt Show on Down The Block Sports: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfkP-VMF1Uhioz23EfjDPtA

Timecodes:
0:00 – Intro
1:48 – Boston Celtics breakdown, how’d they get here?
12:37 – Should the Celtics trade either Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown
23:13 – Myles Turner a potential trade target?
31:17 – Should the Celtics keep Ime Udoka for more than one year?
37:29 – 2022 NBA All-Star voting returns

Julius Randle, New York Knicks
by Alex Fischbein

What’s up with Julius Randle | The Atlantic Files Ep210

On this week’s episode of the Atlantic Files, Klay Thompson finally returns to the floor, Tobias Harris is now on the block, Julius Randle is feeling the heat in his seat, Joel Embiid is back to his MVP level of play, the Atlanta Hawks are shopping John Collins, and the Memphis Grizzlies are going nuts!

First things first, we wanted to give the shout-out to Klay Thompson on finally returning from his slew of major injuries. Rehabbing from back-to-back injuries of that magnitude is no minor feat. Now, the Golden State Warriors look like they’re going to be big-time favorites to win the Western Conference and even could be NBA Finals favorites on top of that.

Then, there are the more surprising things to take place this season. The Memphis Grizzlies are all of a sudden near the top of the West and Kyle Kuzma has been playing out of his mind. This drove us to the question of which of these two things are the most surprising? Did anyone see the Grizzlies being this good or did they see Kuzma improving as much as he’s showing lately?

Going to the Atlantic, finally. Daryl Morey and the Philadelphia 76ers are still in all of the rumor mills and on all of the news sites for more trade talks. This time, they’re actually trying to package Tobias Harris with Ben Simmons in trades. Yes, they’re putting together $80M worth of contracts together and trying to get something out of it. Harris has been a name on this podcast that has been thrown in trades already, but which team is actually willing to take on that contract?

This all brings us to our main topic of Julius Randle. Last season now looks like a very distant memory due to the lack of effort, lack of production, and all-around bad play this year. The Knicks are nowhere near the level that everyone expected after last season, and they could be in danger of only making a play-in tournament spot or even missing the playoffs. Julius Randle was in the highest of graces with the Knicks fans and all of a sudden that came crashing down as he had to tell them to shut up and cursed at them along the way.

Finally, there was another prominent Eastern team working the trade phones. The Atlanta Hawks are now shopping John Collins and they’ve even been linked to the Sixers. At this point, who knows what kind of craziness will go down before the trade deadline.

Timecodes:
0:00 – Intro
1:34 – Klay Thompson returns!
5:03 – Memphis Grizzlies vs Kyle Kuzma, who’s more surprising?
15:06 – Tobias Harris on the Philadelphia 76ers trade block
25:27 – Joel Embiid back to MVP numbers
31:06 – John Collins is on the block for Atlanta Hawks
37:04 – Julius Randle stinking and New York Knicks fans are fed up

Tobias Harris, Philadelphia 76ers
by Alex Fischbein

Tobias Harris vs Sixers Fans | The Atlantic Files ep209

On this week’s episode of the Atlantic Files, Tobias Harris fires back at Philadelphia 76ers fans, Kyrie Irving finally plays, Russell Westbrook says some interesting things, LeBron James is dipping down to new lows, and New York Knicks fans are turning on RJ Barrett too.

In case you haven’t seen the clip yet, Tobias Harris had some things to say to Sixers fans during their home game against the Houston Rockets. Fans were starting to boo Harris after he blew an open layup and only had six points through three quarters. After making his patented turnaround jumper in the post and fans started to clap, he barked back with “don’t f***ing clap!” Not sure if it was wise to say something like that unless you’re on the level of a Joel Embiid or Allen Iverson in the minds of Philly fans.

If that wasn’t enough, Philly fans have also turned their ire towards new play-by-play announcer, Kate Scott. She tweeted about how she’s been getting nasty messages from all sorts of fans. Not just the ones that everyone would expect, but even younger crowds and fellow women have been sending her all sorts of hate in her DMs. Be better Sixers fans.

Kyrie Irving is finally back on the court as of the night this new episode was recorded. The Brooklyn Nets are in dire need of more scorers as they continue to struggle against the better teams throughout the league. Also, they could always use another person with everyone dropping like flies due to the health and safety protocols.

Kevin Porter Jr. and Christian Wood were both suspended for a game by the Rockets. They both had some serious attitude and either went home or refused to go into the game. This rebuild could be taking a toll on the team that wasn’t expected and it could force them to ship off two of their best young core.

Then, we get to the Los Angeles Lakers. My, how the mighty have fallen. This team had lofty expectations coming into the season and has not really met any of them at all. Anthony Davis is hurt again, and now Russell Westbrook is saying that it doesn’t matter if he turns the ball over a lot or not. On top of that, LeBron James feels the need to celebrate and talk trash to the worst teams in the league as they barely scrape by with a win.

That plus some more bonus conversation about RJ Barrett and the New York Knicks on the latest episode!

Timecodes:
0:00 – Intro
2:38 – Kyrie Irving returns for his first game of the season
8:33 – Tobias Harris gets booed then barks back at Philadelphia 76ers fans
20:43 – Kate Scott talks about getting nasty messages from Sixers fans
28:15 – Houston Rockets suspend Kevin Porter Jr. and Christian Wood
38:53 – Russell Westbrook says he can turn the ball over whenever he wants
48:52 – LeBron James hits some new lows
56:21 – New York Knicks fans turning on RJ Barrett