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Nikola Jokic, Dirk Nowitzki, Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, Atlantic files
by Alex Fischbein

What does Nikola Jokic need to be better than Dirk Nowitzki all time?

The age-old debate of which player should be considered than the other despite playing in different eras continues! This time around, we’re talking about the best European to play in the NBA. Nikola Jokic is quickly making his case, but the one to pass is still Dirk Nowitzki.

During the latest episode of our podcast, Mike’s ‘Whatchu Got’ topic was based on Nikola Jokic. He asked what Jokic had to do to become the best European of all-time to play in the NBA. 

Usually, this is an absurd question because of how great Dirk Nowitzki’s legacy is, but in terms of Jokic and even Luka Doncic, it’s a fair question. Nowitzki’s 20 seasons with the Dallas Mavericks and plethora of accomplishments is a hard resume to beat.

Jokic now has two MVPs under his belt, some historical stat lines, and a few playoff runs. He’s one of the best big men in the last decade or so already and is constantly in the conversation among the top seven players in the league.

Yes, we know it’s still quite early in his career to make a judgment right now. What we can do is go off of his body of work and try to predict if he can keep that pace up.

What do you think, will Nikola Jokic ever pass Dirk Nowitzki as the best European player of all time? Plus, could Luka Doncic pass both of them?

Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn Nets, Atlantic Files
by Alex Fischbein

Kyrie Irving is holding the Brooklyn Nets back

The Brooklyn Nets added Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant a few years ago, and they quickly became championship favorites. As everyone knows, they never saw these championship dreams come true, and now Kevin Durant wants out as the Nets also try to trade Kyrie Irving.

A constant question surrounding this team every year is, “What went wrong?!”

Technically, there are a lot of answers to give in response. Players got injured, coaching wasn’t exactly up to par, and specific players continuously didn’t show up for the team.

One of those players is Kyrie Irving. The same one who decided to give up over half of a season just because he wasn’t going to get a vaccine in the midst of a pandemic. While there were plenty of others who also didn’t want to get vaccinated, they did it for the better of their team. Irving, on the other hand, made a stance and left his team out to dry.

Outside of that, we’ve seen him just decide not to play many more times. Also, he’s been quite injury-prone. The last time he played 70 or more games in a season was back in 2016 with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Irving has always been held in high regard by other top-tier players. His ball-handling skills are some of the best of all time, and he has absolutely lethal scoring ability. Yet here we are waiting for him to actually help carry a team that doesn’t have someone named LeBron James on the roster.

Will Kyrie ever win another ring without LeBron? All signs are pointing to no at the moment. Our own host, Dennis Clausen, seems to think Brooklyn needs a big change if they actually want to compete as well.

Julius Randle, John Collins, Pro-Am, Drew League, New York Knicks, Atlantic Files
by Alex Fischbein

Julius Randle needs to do more than lose pro-am games

Here we are again, talking about Julius Randle and the fact that New York Knicks fans are ready to part ways with him in any way possible. The rollercoaster ride continues as Julius Randle got booed and lost a Pro-Am game on the Knicks home turf.

Randle, Jalen Brunson, and Obi Toppin all played together in a New York City Pro-Am game a couple weeks back. They all put up around 20 points each, but gave up 40 points to two separate players of the other team. While Randle was putting up bricks from three, their team also took a big ol’ L in the process.

Once upon a time, Julius Randle was leading a Knicks team that was the talk of the league. They all of a sudden made the playoffs and even grabbed a win against a better Atlanta Hawks team. People in New York were rioting, calling Trae Young all sorts of names, and had hopes and dreams of a parade much sooner than previously expected.

Ever since then, it’s all been downhill and the Knicks regressed. Randle, himself, also regressed and has heard about it from every Knicks fan around the world.

Now with talks of a Donovan Mitchell trade, the cries to trade Randle have gotten louder and louder. We can’t say that we blame those fans because Mitchell is a much more dynamic star, but Randle needs to help himself at the same time.

Playing in Pro-Am games can be a lose-lose situation, but at least go out there and beat the lesser competition!

Jaylen Brown, Devin Booker, Atlantic Files, Podcast
by Alex Fischbein

Jaylen Brown over Devin Booker for a championship team

How much of a talent gap truly exists between Jaylen Brown and Devin Booker? Amidst the rumors of Kevin Durant being traded for Jaylen Brown, there has been a lot of debate about how good Brown is and what he brings to a championship team.

Are we saying that Jaylen Brown is more of an offensive superstar right now over Devin Booker? No, of course not. Brown has never had the chance to be a number one option, and we’ve seen Booker deliver some amazing games on offense.

The big question is which one of them makes a more complete piece on a championship roster. If pure scoring is what you’re looking for, then Booker is your man. However, almost everything else leans the way of Brown. Even in terms of a teammate, IQ, and heart/grit seems to go the way of Brown in this debate.

If stats are what you desire to compare the two, here are their career stats in comparison, and here are their stats from last season alone.

Most of the defensive stats go the way of Brown while the scoring stats lean towards Booker. However, the efficiency of the two and even some advanced stats such as VORP or win shares are either very close or leaning a little towards Brown. Especially in the most recent post season, Jaylen Brown actually comes out on top in a lot of the advanced stats.

So, now it’s time for you to choose, which player are you taking to build a championship team?

Paolo Banchero, Dejounte Murray, Beef, NBA, Atlantic Files
by Alex Fischbein

Dejounte Murray vs Paolo Banchero shows a new level of confidence

By now, everyone who follows the NBA probably has seen the video of Dejounte Murray throwing the ball at Paolo Banchero after hitting him with a spicy fake and self-alley-oop. A lot of people took away the thought that Murray isn’t humble or that he isn’t ready to lead any sort of team in the NBA. Here at The Atlantic Files, we took this a different way!

Murray has constantly been an underrated force at point guard. The San Antonio Spurs teams he’s been on have constantly scrapped just to try and make a play-in game due to the lack of talent that was surrounding him. Their next best players after Murray were the likes of Derrick White, Keldon Johnson, and Jakob Poeltl. In as deep of a conference as the West is, a team like that is not going very far.

Fast forward to today. Murray is now on his way to Atlanta to team with Trae Young. This summer he looks like he’s been unleashed. He’s been extremely confident, he’s having fun with all sorts of things he’s doing like bouncing a ball off of a defender’s head, and people seem to have an issue with that.

Dejounte Murray is no head case, he’s showing everyone what he’s bringing to Atlanta and how this team is going to be a legit contender.

Paolo Banchero, on the other hand, got his welcome to the NBA moment early. The background of this whole beef makes Banchero seem a little shady in the friendship department, but that’s something for them to figure out.

Banchero will undoubtedly be in the Rookie of the Year race, but Orlando Magic vs Atlanta Hawks games just got that much more entertaining!