Month / October 2022

Ben Simmons, Brooklyn Nets, Jayson Tatum, Boston celtics, Atlantic Files
by Alex Fischbein

Jayson Tatum for MVP, Ben Simmons keeps fouling | TAF249

This week on The Atlantic Files, we have regular season basketball to talk about! With that being said, we dove into each Atlantic division team to see how they’re doing three-to-four games into the season. Then, we gave our biggest takeaways from the rest of the league so far into this first week or so.

First, we have to bring up the Philadelphia 76ers due to how much hype they were receiving coming into the season. So far, they’ve delivered the exact opposite of the expectations that were bestowed upon them. Joel Embiid has looked pretty awful, James Harden has actually looked phenomenal, and the rest of the team can’t play defense.

The Boston Celtics, on the other hand, are looking like the team that made the NBA Finals last season. Jayson Tatum is looking like an MVP candidate while the rest of the team is seemingly coming together with some great chemistry. Once their schedule ramps up, we’ll find out a lot about this team.

Then, we get to Brooklyn where the Nets are also underachieving just like the Sixers. Ben Simmons has fouled out twice already, Kyrie has already yelled at him to shoot the ball, and they also have only won one game so far.

Let’s look up to the north at the Toronto Raptors next. Their defense is looking as good as ever and Nick Nurse has them playing well together yet again. This team is going to make some big noise when it comes to playoff time.

Finally, even the New York Knicks are looking more scrappy and energetic than the Sixers and Nets. What world are we living in right now?!

Timecodes:
00:00 Intro
02:54 Sixers look like butt, James Harden has done well though
17:05 Jayson Tatum is looking like an MVP
23:23 Brooklyn Nets still figuring things out with Ben Simmons
31:33 Toronto Raptors are looking good to start the season
35:12 New York Knicks are getting somewhere!
47:11 Observations around the NBA
55:37 Thanks for watching!

Paolo Banchero, Bennedict Mathurin, Keegan Murray, Rookie of the Year, Atlantic Files
by Alex Fischbein

Bennedict Mathurin over Paolo Banchero for NBA Rookie of the Year?!

At the start of every new NBA season, predictions, previews, and outlandish statements are common. During our latest episode, a viewer picked Bennedict Mathurin as the future Rookie of the Year over the likes of Paolo Banchero, Keegan Murray, and Jaden Ivey. Is that statement as crazy as everyone thinks?

While Mathurin is a great player in his own right, this pick for Rookie of the Year was still a bold statement. Especially after getting to see the debuts of Banchero and Ivey on Wednesday night.

Mathurin had himself a good game against the Washington Wizards with 19 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two blocks on 7-for-15 shooting from the floor and 3-for-7 from deep. On the other side of the debate, Banchero had 27 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and two blocks on 11-for-18 shooting. Plus, Ivey registered 19 points, three rebounds, four assists, and three steals while shooting 8-for-15 overall and 2-for-4 from three.

Those stat lines are all close and they’re all equally impressive for each player. The one standing out would be Banchero as he performed a statistical feat that hasn’t been done since LeBron James was a rookie. On top of that, he had the most points scored in a number-one pick debut since Allen Iverson in 1996!

With all of that being said, who do you have for Rookie of the Year this season?

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2022-23 NBA Season, Joel Embiid, Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Atlantic Files
by Alex Fischbein

2022-23 NBA Season Predictions, Previews, and More | TAF248

This week on the Atlantic Files Podcast, we give our 2022-23 NBA season and award predictions, finish off our divisional preview series with none other than the Atlantic Division, Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole get extensions, Russell Westbrook is coming off of the bench, Ben Simmons admits that he and Joel Embiid aren’t friends, plus we debut our new fantasy basketball segment!

As we record this episode we are on the cusp of a new NBA season! We finally made it to the 2022-23 season and we couldn’t more excited! So, you know that that means, predictions and previews galore.

We finished our divisional preview series with the Atlantic Division and then gave all of our predictions for the new season. Awards, playoffs, the eventual winners, we’re giving our thoughts on everything.

In case you haven’t heard yet, Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole both got big-time paid! They inked extensions with the Golden State Warriors despite all of the drama surrounding Poole and Draymond Green. That should set up some very interesting drama with what the Warriors will end up doing with Green.

Then, the Russell Westbrook and Los Angeles Lakers saga continues! Westbrook is shunning the team huddle these days. On top of that, coach Darvin Ham has been experimenting with bringing Westbrook off the bench for the first time in his career. There’s no possible way this could end badly, right?

In an interview, Ben Simmons talked about how he and Joel Embiid were never really friends. Finally, it confirms something that everyone suspected based on body language and on-court chemistry. They don’t have to fake since they’re not teammates anymore.

Finally, we have our weekly ‘Whatchu Got’ segment as well as a new fantasy basketball segment! Hopefully, we can help some of you out there with your fantasy basketball leagues!

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Timecodes:
00:00:00 Intro
00:13:17 2022-23 NBA Rookie of the Year predictions
00:26:09 2022-23 NBA Sixth Man of the Year predictions
00:34:34 2022-23 NBA Most Improved Player of the Year predictions
00:38:50 2022-23 NBA Coach of the Year predictions
00:43:55 2022-23 NBA MVP predictions
00:49:36 2022-23 NBA Champion predictions
00:58:06 2022-23 NBA Atlantic Division Preview
01:16:07 Ben Simmons admits he’s not friends with Joel Embiid
01:17:57 Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins sign extensions
01:22:25 Russell Westbrook not joining Lakers huddles
01:25:43 Who will rebuild better, Thunder vs Rockets vs Pacers
01:32:09 2022-23 fantasy basketball advice
01:40:32 Outro

Draymond Green, Jordan Poole, Fight, Victor Wembanyama, Atlantic Files
by Alex Fischbein

Draymond Green implodes, Victor Wembanyama explodes | TAF247

This week on The Atlantic Files podcast, Draymond Green swings at Jordan Poole during practice, Victor Wembanyama faces Scoot Henderson in an exhibition, Jamal Murray thinks that the level of basketball in the bubble was much better, the NBA divisional preview series rolls on with the Central Division, and debate the Dream Team vs the Redeem Team.

Of course, we had to start off with the hottest bit of drama that the NBA has to offer lately. Draymond Green punched his teammate Jordan Poole in practice and the video was leaked by none other than TMZ. I’m sure no one is surprised that it came from TMZ. So, we gave our thoughts and reactions on the matter.

A week ago, Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson had the exhibition game for the ages. Both players are considered the top two prospects in the upcoming NBA Draft. They did not disappoint one bit. All of the hype and advertisements are crazy for a reason.

Jamal Murray claimed that the level of basketball inside of the bubble a couple of years ago was the best basketball the NBA has seen in a while. Everyone’s focus was only on the game and there weren’t any fans to get inside anyone’s head. Do you agree with him?

We continue our divisional preview series with the second to last division left. The Central Division, which is home to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, is one that seems pretty cut and dry. So much so that we even had the same exact predictions for the standings!

Finally, in the spirit of the new redeem team documentary that came out, we debated the Dream Team vs the Redeem Team. Which one of the two legendary Olympic teams are you taking?

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Timecodes:
00:00:00 Intro
00:07:44 Reactions to the Draymond Green and Jordan Poole fight
00:33:39 Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson are insanely talented
00:50:21 Jamal Murray says basketball in the bubble was at its best
01:00:11 2022-23 NBA Central Division Preview
01:34:54 Dream team vs Redeem team
01:38:17 Outro

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks, NBA GM Survery, Atlantic Files
by Alex Fischbein

NBA General Managers predict that Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks will win the NBA Finals

It’s that time of year again when the NBA takes a poll from all of the General Managers across the league on a myriad of topics about this season, seasons in the future, and even more. One team, and player, that got a lot of love are the Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

One question they always answer is who they think is going to win the NBA Finals this year. Then, they take the votes and show where all the teams land based on these votes. The top four in the East go pretty much as expected whereas the West seemed to be wide open according to the GMs.

Last season, the GMs selected the Brooklyn Nets as the eventual champions with a whopping 72% of the vote. They weren’t going to fall for the same show as last year. This time, the Milwaukee Bucks took home 43% of the vote with the Golden State Warriors behind them with 25%.

Honestly, you can’t go wrong with having the Warriors or the Bucks at the top of the list because both teams either retained all of their good players or their young players got even better. Stephen Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo are two of the best players in the world as well.

The bigger debates come after those two. A lot of pundits are throwing the Los Angeles Clippers in the mix since everyone is finally getting healthy again. Then, there’s the Boston Celtics who represented the East last season. What about the Denver Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, and Phoenix Suns though?

Check out a clip from our latest episode to hear what we had to say.

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Atlanta Hawks, Dejounte Murray, Southeast Division, NBA, Atlantic Files
by Alex Fischbein

Will Dejounte Murray turn around the Atlanta Hawks | TAF246

This week on The Atlantic Files, we preview the Southeast Division where Dejounte Murray looks to help the Atlanta Hawks get back to deep playoff runs, Blake Griffin signs with the Boston Celtics, the NBA Preseason is underway, Oklahoma City and Houston traded a bunch of players, the Toronto Raptors are monitoring Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s situation, and we take a look at the annual GM survey from the NBA!

A lot of depressing rosters have made their home in the Southeast division over recent years. The only team that really was a championship threat was the Miami Heat. This time around, there are still a few depressing rosters, but both the Heat and the Atlanta Hawks look like they could make some noise! Dejounte Murray found himself move from a tanking situation to a contender, so can he help Atlanta get back to the Conference Finals?

Blake Griffin is officially staying in the Atlantic Division! After playing with the Brooklyn Nets last season and then not getting another offer, he found his home in Boston. The cleanup crew just got even better for the Celtics. Griffin is bringing his charge drawing abilities on top of his high effort in all of his bench minutes. Yet another sneaky good addition from Brad Stevens and company.

The NBA Preseason is officially underway! We’ve seen the Phoenix Suns lose to an NBL team, the Philadelphia 76ers blowout the Nets without most of their starters, and so much more. We gave our top observations and takeaways from the games that have been played so far.

In trade news, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets swapped a bunch of bench players so that the Thunder could get under the tax line. A couple pieces of the trade have already been waived, so this really has no effect on the day-to-day talent of each team.

Rumors are now swirling that the Toronto Raptors and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are starting to form a link. The Raptors are reportedly keeping tabs on the situation in Oklahoma City just in case Gilgeous-Alexander doesn’t want to wait for this tank job to finally end.

Finally, we take a look at the survey that’s done by all of the NBA’s General Managers. They answered a ton of questions about the current state of the league and even some predictions for how the season is going to turn out. We gave our thoughts to the best and worst answers.

Timecodes:
00:00:00 Intro & Dennis’s dungeon
00:07:09 2022-23 NBA Southeast Division Preview
00:39:03 Observations from the NBA Preseason
00:54:32 Blake Griffin signs with the Boston Celtics
00:56:08 Toronto Raptors are monitoring Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
01:03:23 Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets trade
01:04:58 Reactions and thoughts on annual NBA GM Survey
01:28:12 Outro

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Ben Simmons, JJ Redick, interview, reaction video, atlantic files
by Alex Fischbein

Atlantic Files reacts to the Ben Simmons interview with JJ Redick

The moment JJ Redick teased the Ben Simmons interview, it caught everyone’s attention, especially ours! Right off the bat, the first teaser was about Simmons’ time in Philadelphia. How is anyone supposed to watch that and not get curious?

In the Philadelphia area, Ben Simmons has turned into a dreaded conversation starter. Everyone has their own side to this argument, but it usually starts with either calling Simmons a quitter or the Philadelphia 76ers dumb. Every single Sixers fan has had the Simmons argument and it’s going to continue until either side wins a championship. Although, even after that, the debate will probably still go on.

Finally, we were all able to hear Ben Simmons give his side of the story in regard to what happened in Philadelphia and where it all went wrong. JJ Redick lobbed up some softball questions about the playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks and the contract hold-out during last season.

Simmons gave some insight into some of the situations with things that none of us have heard about before. After that, there was a lot of flip-flopping and mixed answers. That could be a bias coming out, or it could be reading between the lines. That’s for all of you to decide!

During our latest episode, we reacted to the interview and some of the quotes that stood out the most. Comment on the video to let us know what you thought about it!