Category / Articles

NBA, mid season tournament, Adam Silver, Atlantic Files
by Alex Fischbein

Adam Silver & The NBA propose a mid-season tournament, keep it or leave it?

In case anyone hasn’t heard, Adam Silver and the NBA put together a proposal to introduce a mid-season tournament to the NBA schedule. This tournament is supposed to only add one more game to the schedule which would only be for the championship. Is this actually needed and would it even make fans want to watch?

Let’s just get one thing straight, the die-hard basketball and NBA fans are going to be watching no matter what. Those aren’t the fans in question when it comes to all of these changes that Adam Silver is proposing.

The NBA is worried because their Finals games are getting fewer viewers than an NFL pre-season game. Viewership golden standard comes from the NFL and the millions upon millions of viewers they get for every game, especially the Super Bowl.

So, Adam Silver and company’s response is always trying something new to boost viewership. In reality, a lot of the casual basketball fans have cited the evolution of the game, the off-court campaigns, and the players resting during games that they either paid their hard-earned money for or set aside valuable time.

This could mean either something needs to change in those departments, or the league has to wait for the younger generation of fans to continue growing up and then have kids who become fans as well. Older generations are used to the Michael Jordan days and those aren’t coming back any time soon.

Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons, LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets, Atlantic Files
by Alex Fischbein

LaMelo Ball or Cade Cunningham, who’s a better centerpiece of a team?

Take some time right now and live out a dream that a lot of basketball fans have. Become a fake General Manager for a startup NBA franchise. There’s one single condition: you have to choose between either Cade Cunningham or LaMelo Ball to lead your team.

LaMelo Ball has been a dynamic point guard even since his high school days, so it was no shock when he came into Charlotte and brought the same flair. In just his second season in the NBA, he already made an All-Star game after he put up 20.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 7.6 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. He also made players around him look even better like Miles Bridges, PJ Washington, and Jalen McDaniels.

On the other side of things, Cade Cunningham was no scrub in his first season in the league. He essentially was thrown into the fire and expected to lead a terrible team right away. The Detroit Pistons haven’t been a good team in what feels like ages. 17.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.2 steals per game is nothing to make fun of. He had a little rough start to the season, and then put up a great 21/6/5 stat line post-all-star break!

Age wise, the two of them are actually only about a month apart. LaMelo Ball just turned 21 and Cunningham is turning 21 at the end of September. So, that brings the question, who are YOU taking to lead your new team?

Collin Sexton, RJ Barrett, Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, Atlantic Files
by Alex Fischbein

New York Knicks or Cleveland Cavaliers, which trade package was better?

Rumors came out about the type of trade packages that the New York Knicks offered to Danny Ainge and the Utah Jazz. Some of them seemed so good that Ainge was insane NOT to accept them. So was Cleveland’s trade package actually better?

Ultimately, the Cleveland Cavaliers gave the deal that Ainge liked the most. They gave more unprotected picks than the Knicks, and one can argue that Collin Sexton is better than RJ Barrett. What about the rest of the trade package though?

There’s Obi Toppin vs Lauri Markkanen, which currently favors Markkanen. Then, there were different combinations of Immanuel Quickley, Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier, and Mitchell Robinson offered by the Knicks.

It shouldn’t take a statistical analysis to know that all of those younger and more talented players favor the Knicks trade package. On top of Quickley and Barrett, Leon Rose even offered a couple unprotected picks and some pick swaps. That seems like a trade that would interest any rebuilding team.

Let’s take the main piece of each trade first. RJ Barrett is already the younger of the two compared to Collin Sexton. Barrett is also 6’6, more versatile, and is just as good of a playmaker as Sexton. Sexton, however does have the shooting efficiency nod and is a much better three-point shooter right now. They essentially play the same position at shooting guard, which is where the 6’1 player usually doesn’t have as high of a ceiling as the 6’6 player.

We’ll let you listen to the part of our podcast where we talked about all of this. Then let us know what you think!

Donovan Mitchell, cleveland cavaliers, jarrett allen, darius garland, evan mobley, atlantic files
by Alex Fischbein

Does Donovan Mitchell make the Cleveland Cavaliers a top-three team?

The Cleveland Cavaliers have obviously improved their team after the Donovan Mitchell trade. This team is getting the full hype train treatment now. Not that the hype is undeserved, but should we all pump the brakes a little?

Cleveland did not give up all that much to go and get a top talent shooting guard like Mitchell. They gave up a couple players that were non-factors last season and a player that has seemingly reached his ceiling in Lauri Markkanen. They did, however, give up a bigger amount of unprotected picks and pick swaps.

If we’re talking about starting five, the Cavaliers have one that can go toe-to-toe with a lot of teams. Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Caris LeVert, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen is a very good, all-around lineup.

Then, when the conversation moves to depth, that’s where this team might start to lack some talent. Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio are serviceable players, but do they match up well to the benches of the top teams that made the playoffs last season?

Teams like the Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, and Milwaukee Bucks are all going to be competing for the top spots. Garland, Mitchell, and Mobley are going to be compared to big threes that include the likes of Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler, Jayson Tatum, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. That’s not just a big task, but to face these star-studded lineups after just forming this trio without the chemistry is a whole different story.

Don’t get this twisted, Donovan Mitchell can score with the best of them. His talent level is not in question. Garland and Mobley are still growing as players, Allen is still reaching his defensive potential, and the team chemistry is going to have to improve quickly. Once all of this comes together and the Cavaliers can sign some more supporting pieces, this team can be a force for years to come.

Right now, though, do you think they’re top three in the Eastern Conference?

Rudy Gobert, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlantic Files
by Alex Fischbein

Is Rudy Gobert the missing piece for the Minnesota Timberwolves?

The Minnesota Timberwolves shocked many people by trading a boatload of assets for Rudy Gobert. Whether that was a smart move or not is still up in the air. One of the other pressing questions is whether or not Rudy Gobert was even worth all of those assets as a player.

The Timberwolves finally made the playoffs last season by the skin of their teeth via the play-in games. They took two games off of the Memphis Grizzlies but fell short in the first round. So, the person to take them from losing in the first round to a championship is Rudy Gobert?

Parting ways with the leader and heart of their team in Patrick Beverley, the young talent in Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt, the new draft pick in Walker Kessler, and FOUR unprotected picks with an added pick swap is a helluva lot of assets. This means that Minnesota thinks this team is winning a championship within the next couple of seasons.

One question is, who takes the role of leader and dirty work guy? Beverley played that role perfectly for this team. Karl-Anthony Towns is not that kind of player along with D’Angelo Russell and Rudy Gobert. So, does that mean Anthony Edwards has to grow into it?

As we all know, defense is one of the biggest needs in Minnesota. Gobert does satisfy that need, but does he make their defense good enough to limit high-powered offenses all while being able to outscore the other team?

Maybe a four-out, one-in type of offensive scheme works well with Gobert inside. This would force Towns to play primarily from the perimeter, which wouldn’t be a problem until you realize that 58.8% of his field goal attempts come from 0-10 feet from the rim.

Clogging the lane as a defensive scheme starts to sound quite successful.

That being said, we aren’t too confident in Gobert being the missing piece for this Timberwolves team. What do you think, let us know in the comments on the video below!

Gilbert Arenas, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks, Atlantic Files
by Alex Fischbein

Gilbert Arenas isn’t entirely wrong about Giannis Antetokounmpo

So Gilbert Arenas, on his podcast, had some things to say about Giannis Antetokounmpo. He mentioned how Giannis doesn’t know how to train his body and that he doesn’t understand basketball nor how to get better at the game. These are some very big words against a player who has won MVPs, a ring, a Finals MVP, and Defensive Player of the Year.

Are all of Arenas’ thoughts incorrect though?

If one would go through and dissect each one of Arenas’ statements, some actually turn up quite true. One of the easiest truths to point out is that Giannis has not improved his three-point shooting.

Time and time again, every media outlet, podcast, and fan alike has said something along the lines of “If Giannis could shoot threes, he’d be unstoppable.” Now, heading into his tenth season, we’re all saying the same exact thing!

I know what a lot of you are going to say, “He’s still won multiple MVPs and a championship without having to add a three!” That’s great, honestly, that’s a feat in and of itself to be this good without having much of a shot at all from outside of three feet. My question to everyone saying that is, wouldn’t you still want him to improve and be even better?!

Giannis only has two seasons in his career where he shot over 40% from between three and ten feet from the hoop. While it hasn’t exactly slowed him down from tons of accolades, his weaknesses are starting to get exploited more and more come playoff time. Over his career, he’s shooting 36.1%, 36.9%, 36.2%, and 28.8% from three to ten feet, ten to sixteen feet, sixteen feet to the arc, and behind the arc respectively. Imagine if those percentages were above 40% from midrange and then 35% or better from three! A lot more space on the floor would be unlocked for him and his teammates.

Now, Arenas also talked about having to train your body just to play 37 to 40 minutes per game. This is quite irrelevant. We’ve seen Giannis play games in the playoffs where he was on the court for over 40 minutes and he held up just fine. Averaging a specific amount of minutes per game doesn’t make anyone great.

What do you think about Giannis’ game, does he have room to improve?

Tyrese Haliburton, Scottie Barnes, Desmond Bane, NBA, Atlantic Files
by Alex Fischbein

Who will have the biggest breakout season in the NBA this year?

One of the most exciting things to watch as an NBA fan is seeing a younger player break out into a star. Especially if that player happens to play for your favorite team. That’s what sparked the question of which player is going to have the biggest breakout season in the NBA for the 2022-23 season!

This season, seemingly more than recent seasons, has a good list of younger players that could break out. Scottie Barnes, Desmond Bane, Tyrese Maxey, Jordan Poole, and RJ Barrett are just a few that could truly break out despite some great seasons last year.

Every championship team or contending team seems to have that one younger role player that explodes onto the scene like Jordan Poole. Even some of the teams that have a young star player sometimes have them kick it into another gear like Scottie Barnes or RJ Barrett.

We answered this question on the latest episode during the “Whatchu Got” segment.

Wouldn’t exactly recommend taking our suggestions and putting money on them, but you could take it as something to think about!

Either way, anyone can tell that we love Scottie Barnes on this podcast. Oh, Tyrese Maxey as well. I know, you’re probably not surprised by either name.

Joel Embiid, James Harden, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Atlantic Files
by Alex Fischbein

Brooklyn Nets vs Philadelphia 76ers, who has the better roster?

By now, everyone knows that Kevin Durant has decided to stay with the Brooklyn Nets. The dramatic, reality show type of situation is finally over and nothing even happened. That leaves three teams fighting for the top of the Atlantic Division the Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, and Toronto Raptors.

No offense to any Raptors fans, but Toronto is still one of the up-and-coming teams especially compared to the Sixers and Nets. So we’re going to revisit them another time.

This comes down to the Nets roster vs the Sixers roster. Which one is better from top to bottom?

In Philadelphia, the bench got better through their off-season additions this year. James Harden has been working twice as hard as he finally doesn’t have to rehab an injury and Tyrese Maxey is getting ready to show even more growth in his third season.

On the other side, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are both coming back to Brooklyn. Ben Simmons is looking like he’ll finally be ready to go and the supporting pieces are getting healthier as well. Joe Harris wasn’t a factor at all last season, and he’s been one of the most consistent three-point shooters in the league.

So, which team are you taking? Are you taking the duo of Joel Embiid and Harden or Durant and Irving? Then, are you going to take the Sixers supporting cast or the Nets? This conversation is closer than people think, and it’s also fun for non-Sixers and non-Nets fans.

Tracy mcgrady, top ten, atlantic files
by Alex Fischbein

Is Tracy McGrady in the NBA top ten all-time?

Two basketball debates are ongoing amongst every generation of players, coaches, and fans alike. The GOAT debate and the top ten debate. We’re not that bold to say Tracy McGrady is the GOAT, but we did talk about whether he is a top ten talent of all time.

Stemming from a ‘would you rather’ starring Tracy McGrady, we pondered whether or not McGrady belongs in the top ten. His talent and skill are undeniable. He’s easily one of the best offensive players that the game has ever seen.

What happens when you bring up players from every era though?

In his own era, McGrady had to go up against the likes of players such as Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Ray Allen, Vince Carter, and many others. Offensive abilities were abundant, but that doesn’t even include a couple of players in the GOAT debate like Michael Jordan and LeBron James.

All of a sudden, the top ten seems to get very crowded. Centers that were completely unstoppable enter the conversation like Shaquille O’Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon. Power Forwards like Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett show up to give their case. Current era players like Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Stephen Curry all make sure that you can’t forget about them.

None of these players’ resumes diminish what McGrady did during his tenure in the NBA. They just prove how hard it is to truly be on that top ten list at the end of the day.

Where would you rank Tracy McGrady on your all-time list?

Philadelphia 76ers, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Joel Embiid, Atlantic Files
by Alex Fischbein

The Philadelphia 76ers don’t need a Kevin Durant trade

Kevin Durant has been one of the hottest news topics of the NBA Off-season so far. After he requested a trade, rumors started popping up everywhere. Tons of teams want a top-five player on their team, that’s not rocket science. As of right now though, the two teams considered landing spots are the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers.

We believe the Sixers don’t need Kevin Durant, and it would actually set them back if they made the trade. Time and time again we’ve seen a team mortgage their whole future just for one player, but it hasn’t turned out well for them in the end.

Take the Brooklyn Nets, for example, they put together one of the best trios we’ve ever seen on paper. James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving should have been a surefire championship team. Any supporting cast would be able to help those three win a ring.

Obviously, that was quite far from the truth. The furthest they got was a second-round exit against the Milwaukee Bucks. Injury reports were always filled, Kyrie Irving was barely playing due to every excuse under the sun, and now it has all imploded.

That’s exactly what brings us to this topic in the first place. Brooklyn’s front office made every move they could to bring the roster together, and that wasn’t enough.

So, Daryl Morey and the Philadelphia 76ers think that trading their future and depth away for Kevin Durant is going to bring rings? Injury history with their current stars on top of Durant’s iffy injury status these days does not mix well. Neither does a big three with a terrible supporting cast and bench.