Tag / brooklyn nets

James Harden, Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, trade
by Alex Fischbein

James Harden for Ben Simmons happened | The Atlantic Files Ep214

On this week’s episode of the Atlantic Files, we talk about the trade deadline deals for all teams, but especially the huge trade that sent James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and picks. The NBA trade deadline was a whirlwind for sure! As a side note, we live streamed this episode to YouTube for anyone who prefers their podcasts in the video realm.

Everyone knows the big news that we had to address right off the bat. James Harden, as well as Paul Millsap, are on the way to Philadelphia to give Joel Embiid and company the help that they so desperately needed to become true title contenders. Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and two first-round picks are on the way to Brooklyn in return. This deal seems to work out very well for both sides as it addresses weaknesses on both sides.

The big debate now is whether or not James Harden can return to true Harden form and help co-lead a team on a deep playoff run. He’s bounced around a lot lately and has shown some big signs of regression. Can he turn it back on?

On the other side, Ben Simmons now has to show how mentally tough he truly can be. If he can’t get over the mental hump, then Brooklyn might have done all of this for nothing. If he does return to his best form though, the Nets could be a very scary team for years to come.

Moving past the big trade, there were a lot of smaller trades that did change the face and future of a lot of teams. Domas Sabonis went to Sacramento in return for Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield. The Pacers rebuild is in full effect and they got themselves an amazing starting piece in Haliburton. Could this push the Kings to the playoffs though? A duo of De’Aaron Fox and Sabonis looks quite great on paper.

The Boston Celtics also made a series of little moves to eventually make the move that brings Derrick White to Boston. They cleared some money, they brought back Daniel Theis, but White is the big name for them this time around. Finally, a guy that can both score and plays defense as a third option and can also be a nice sixth man if need be.

We talk about these trades and much more on the latest episode!

Timecodes:
0:00 – Intro
0:49 – James Harden for Ben Simmons trade reactions
33:59 – Domantas Sabonis traded to Sacramento for Tyrese Haliburton
43:29 – Milwaukee Bucks land Serge Ibaka
48:59 – Boston Celtics trade for Derrick White
50:38 – Goran Dragic traded for Thad Young
51:39 – New Orleans Pelicans trade for CJ McCollum
56:34 – Montrezzl Harrell heads to Charlotte
57:24 – Dallas Mavericks trade Kristaps Porzingis for Spencer Dinwiddie

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

Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn Nets
by Alex Fischbein

Kyrie Irving returns then leaves | The Atlantic Files Ep208

On this week’s episode of the Atlantic Files, Kyrie Irving finally returns and then leaves on the Covid list, Covid makes its rounds in the NBA with more postponements, teams are signing ten-day hardship contracts, and John Wall is still waiting to be moved somewhere other than Houston.

By now, it’s not a secret that the Brooklyn Nets have finally decided to bring back Kyrie Irving for everything other than home games. He can still practice and can play games anywhere but Brooklyn. Just as he was coming back, however, he landed on the Covid list with what seems like over half of the NBA. So, just as fast as he was announced to return, it was announced that he’ll have to wait longer.

The other question regarding the return of Kyrie Irving is whether or not it’s that ethical of the team to do so. He continued to decide not to get the vaccine even though the city required it for him to play. Now, they bring him back and decide it’s ok that he’s only available for half of the games even though his teammates could really use the help at all of the games. Plus, they are still in first place in the East anyway.

This brings us to the fact that Covid’s latest mutation is making its rounds through the league yet again. Games are being postponed, Christmas Day games could look like a shell of what they were expected to be, and people are talking about putting a pause on the league. Would a pause on the league even help? Adam Silver and other executives don’t seem to think so.

Vaccines, boosters, quarantines, and health and safety protocols continue to be the biggest buzzwords. These have been quite an exhausting couple of years.

On a different note, we still have a player in Houston that’s not-so-patiently waiting to get out of there. John Wall requested out a while ago now, but the Rockets haven’t seemed too eager to make any kind of move. There are plenty of teams that could use a point guard, but obviously, the contract is the hardest part of any deal. He is owed a very large chunk of money. Which team should even go for him?

Stay safe everyone!

Timecodes:
0:00 – Intro
1:48 – Kyrie Irving is returning to the Brooklyn Nets
16:58 – Should the NBA pause the league
22:10 – 10-day hardship contracts are giving guys a shot
28:00 – Which team should go for John Wall
37:23 – Domino’s pizza makes some good food

Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors, NBA Record
by Alex Fischbein

Last night in the Atlantic (12/14/21)

History was made on Atlantic Division soil last night, so this week it’s not only Atlantic players that we’re highlighting!

Standings:
Brooklyn Nets(1) 20-8
Philadelphia 76ers(6) 15-13
Boston Celtics(9) 14-14
Toronto Raptors 13-15
New York Knicks 12-16

Let’s talk about last night!

Stephen Curry

We have to start this thing off with the historic moment from Stephen Curry. This man is the greatest shooter to ever hit the NBA. There is no debate. I don’t care about any kind of argument about players from the old days, I don’t care about any Ray Allen stans, Stephen Curry is the best shooter to ever grace the league. It was only fitting that the record was broken at Madison Square Garden. Sorry Knicks fans.

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Julius Randle

Now, let’s get back to the Atlantic! Julius Randle, at least, gave a valiant effort to win this game. I can’t help but notice that there are some confidence and effort changes from last season. Shots that he’d normally take and some hustle plays that he’d normally make aren’t really happening anymore. This game was still a good line for him with 31p & 7r, but the outcome has been a loss more often than not this season. When the only differences in this team compared to last year are some additions, you have to start looking at effort, mentality, and confidence.

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Scottie Barnes

We’re back again to highlight Scottie Barnes! This man is just out here competing against the best and not backing down to anyone! He was taking Kevin Durant head-on and he made some very gutsy shots that he might not normally take. While I’m aware the Brooklyn Nets were not at full strength, it was still impressive to see Barnes cash in a very nice all-around game. He ended up with 23p, 12r, & 5a.

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Kessler Edwards

Kevin Durant and Patty Mills had 34 and 30 points respectively. We’ve highlighted those two plenty, however, so let’s talk about a rookie. Kessler Edwards received his moment to shine with a very short-handed Nets team. He even doubled the minutes of Cam Thomas, which could be surprising given how much hype has been surrounding him. Edwards delivered a very nice game in support of the offense. He finished the game with 17p, 10r, 2a, & 2s. He showed a willingness to shoot with a quick trigger, filled lanes correctly, and hustled in the paint relentlessly. If he can play at or close to this level consistently, that just gives the Nets a ton more depth than they currently have.

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Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers, Sixers, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks
by Alex Fischbein

Oh boy, more Ben Simmons rumors | The Atlantic Files Ep207

This week, on the Atlantic Files, we talk about the teams that were rumored to be new additions in the Ben Simmons sweepstakes! On top of that, Kyrie Irving finally wore some basketball shoes, Alperen Sengun is looking very good, Ray Allen thinks there’s still a discussion for the best shooter, Chicago all caught Covid, and Memphis is all of a sudden the hottest team around without Ja Morant.

Look, we know that we’ve talked about Ben Simmons like crazy this season and even off-season. These rumors are non-stop and now more teams have been added to the so-called sweepstakes. Both the Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Knicks are now kicking around the idea of adding Simmons to their teams. Will either one of them have the assets needed to actually satisfy Daryl Morey? That’s still to be determined.

Then, the other player we’ve talked plenty about, Kyrie Irving. He took a picture of him in some basketball shoes and posted it on social media. Hallelujah, he’s finally in some basketball shoes! Will he ever actually use them in an NBA game this year, find out next week on Dragonball!

Covid has been running rampant yet again. This isn’t too much of a surprise since we’re entering flu and sickness season as the weather gets cold in North America. The Chicago Bulls, however, have been hit especially hard. Did everyone just pass it around the moment one guy tested positive? Nine members of the team are all in the health and safety protocols which made the NBA resort to postponing more games. Hopefully, we don’t have to go through much more of this.

Alperen Sengun is one of the top names on Mike Bash’s list. For good reason too, this man is showing flashes of a lot of different centers that have come through the league. His footwork, passing ability, and offensive ability, in general, are all things that Houston Rockets fans should be excited about!

Ray Allen was asked about Stephen Curry being the greatest three-point shooter ever and he said there was still a debate to be had about it. Come on now Ray, just give up the crown to the guy who beat your record in almost half the amount of games that it took you!

Finally, there are the Memphis Grizzlies who are the hottest team in the NBA and they don’t even have their best player on the floor! They’ve been absolutely destroying teams at the same time with their NBA record win-margin over the Oklahoma City Thunder. What’s the secret to their success??

Timecodes:
0:00 – Intro
1:40 – Ben Simmons now being looked at by Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks
16:15 – Kyrie Irving posted a picture wearing basketball shoes
18:25 – The Chicago Bulls all caught Covid
23:15 – Alperen Sengun is looking pretty great
26:25 – Ray Allen thinks there’s still a debate between him and Stephen Curry
31:25 – Memphis Grizzlies blow teams out without Ja Morant

Seth Curry, Philadelphia 76ers
by Alex Fischbein

Last night in the Atlantic (12/8/21)

All five Atlantic teams played last night, and it turned out to be quite the bad night for all but one of them. Two Atlantic teams even lost to the two worst teams in the entire league… Yikes!

Standings:
Brooklyn Nets(1) 17-8
Philadelphia 76ers(6) 14-11
Boston Celtics(10) 13-13
New York Knicks 12-13
Toronto Raptors 11-14

Let’s talk about last night!

Seth Curry

If it seems like I’ve just hopped back and forth from Joel Embiid to Seth Curry in terms of highlighting Sixers players, you’re probably correct. These two have been the most consistent scorers for the Sixers so it only makes sense. Curry wasn’t only hitting threes and mid-range jumpers, he was also distributing in this game. To go with his 23 points he also chipped in 8 assists! The Sixers cap off a two-game Charlotte stand by going 2-0 and now they have some momentum heading back home to face some top Western teams.

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RJ Barrett

The Knicks got flat-out outplayed in every facet of their game against the Pacers. Especially when it came to the starting five. All five of Indiana’s scored 15 or more while two of the Knicks starters couldn’t even score more than seven. RJ Barrett, at least, has been stepping up his offensive play lately. He had 32 points against the Spurs two nights ago and put up 19 points on 5-12 shooting in this one. There isn’t much else to say about this game that’s very positive though especially when both Barrett and Julius Randle were an appalling -25 & -22 in plus/minus.

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Gary Trent Jr.

Ever since Gary Trent Jr has moved to Toronto, it seems like his true potential is showing more and more. He once was just thought of as a decent 3&D sort of option, but during a lot of games, he’s shown he can be more than just that. While he’s been a great shooter, his offensive bag is much deeper. His overall FG% is close to the best of his career, and his averages in points, assists, steals, and blocks are all at career-high levels too. In this game he finished with 24p, 4r, 3a, & 2s on 10-17 FG and 4-8 3P.

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Paul Millsap

So… We’ve got to the Brooklyn Nets portion of this who lost to Houston of all teams by double-digits! Look, I know they didn’t have Kevin Durant, but James Harden was still playing and this team should be much better than a rebuilding Rockets team. I’m highlighting Paul Millsap because he was almost the team’s savior in the fourth, but he also showed that he can contribute some impactful minutes if given the chance. All in all, there’s not much to say about this game though.

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Dennis Schroder

Dennis Schroder was one of the best starters for the Boston Celtics in this game against the Clippers. He seemed to always be in the game whenever the Celtics went on a run or when they were able to keep the game close. You would think that they wouldn’t have too much of an issue with the Clippers when both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard are both not playing. Instead, six Clippers scored in the double digits while Brandon Boston Jr. scored 27 points on 69.2% shooting! Schroder still had himself a quality game 19p, 4r, & 8a on 8-16 FG.

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James Johnson, Brooklyn Nets
by Alex Fischbein

Last night in the Atlantic (12/3/21)

It was a bit of a busy night for the Atlantic and they come out of it with a 2-1 record. Philly and Brooklyn both with solid wins and Boston gave it a valiant effort at least.

Standings:
Brooklyn Nets 16-6
Philadelphia 76ers 12-11
Boston Celtics 12-11
New York Knicks 11-11
Toronto Raptors 10-13

Let’s talk about last night!

James Johnson

Let’s highlight an unsung hero type of guy for Brooklyn. James Johnson has stepped up and played his role in a big way for this Nets team. He gets the nitty-gritty points off of rebounds, he cuts at the right times, he fills the lane at the correct areas, and he’s just playing some fundamentally sound basketball. When you need some tough defense, rebounds, and a timely bucket, Johnson has been that guy. Especially with all of the injuries and rest days that the others have needed, it’s nice to have someone like Johnson coming in to fill that spot. He ended the game against Minnesota with 11p & 6r.

Joel Embiid

You already know we had to highlight Joel Embiid again after last night’s game. Going down to Atlanta without their second-best scorer and Embiid on a bit of a cold streak, he stepped it up and pulled this team to a win. Clint Capela looked straight up hopeless going against Embiid all night. It was one of those old-fashioned BBQ chicken type of nights for Joel Embiid! Even all of the guys around Embiid except for Shake Milton had some great shooting nights as everyone had to be concerned with helping Capela on defense. Embiid finished with 28p, 12r, 4a & 2b on the way to a much-needed win.

Al Horford

This was one of the best offensive games that the Boston Celtics cashed in so far this season. It’s just a shame that the defensive effort wasn’t the same and Utah just had an even better offensive game than they did. They shot a blistering 51% from the field, but Utah one-upped them with 55%! Al Horford also was quite close to a triple-double in this contest. Big Al really had to step up with Robert Williams only playing 15 minutes. So what he did was drop 21p, 6r, & 9a. In the end, however, Utah just kept on outdoing any kind of firepower they brought.

James Harden, Brooklyn Nets
by Alex Fischbein

Last night in the Atlantic (11/30/21)

Highlighted by a primetime game, the Atlantic was on full display. The battle of New York did not disappoint at all!

Standings:
Brooklyn Nets 15-6
New York Knicks 11-10
Philadelphia 76ers 11-10
Boston Celtics 11-10
Toronto Raptors 9-13

Let’s talk about last night!

James Harden

James Harden was looking like Houston James Harden before putting on the extra weight! He was out there hooping and not worrying about semantics. During an interview the other day, he talked about not knowing when to be aggressive, when to be a playmaker, etc. During our latest episode, we talked about how he doesn’t have to choose, he can do them all in the same game! This is one of those times where he did that and the outcome was a nice win over the Knicks. Harden finished 38p, 10r, 8a, & 3s on 55% shooting from the floor!

Julius Randle

Julius Randle was another player in this game that looked back to the ways that we became accustomed to! The Knicks especially needed his all-star level of play with RJ Barrett only playing eight minutes and Kemba Walker getting ousted from the rotation for the time being. He helped big time in the 4th quarter to keep the Knicks in the game, but a costly mistake from Mitchell Robinson ended up sealing their fate. Either way, this was a great game for Randle as he dropped 24p, 9r, 8a, & 2s!

Scottie Barnes

We are here again to talk about the fact that Scottie Barnes continues to cement his case for Rookie of the Year. While the Raptors did lose this game against Memphis, Barnes had a VERY nice all-around game. Hustle on both sides of the ball and confidence in every facet looked like it was extremely high. His stat line at the end of the night was 19p, 7r, 3a, 2s, & 4b on 8-16 FG and 3-6 3P!

Kemba Walker, New York Knicks
by Alex Fischbein

Kemba Walker gets benched | The Atlantic Files Ep205

On this week’s episode of the Atlantic Files, we welcome friend of the show, Tom Tran! Tom joined us to talk about Kemba Walker being benched, James Harden and the Brooklyn Nets’ offensive struggles, Joel Embiid back from Covid, and a debate about who the next number one pick should be!

The biggest news, by far, is that Kemba Walker is officially out of the rotation right now for the New York Knicks. This was nowhere close to the piece of news any of us thought we’d hear today. Coach Thibodeau must have been tired of giving up tons of leads when Kemba was in. Stat-wise, Kemba did have the worst +/- on the team!

James Harden and the Brooklyn Nets both struggled again on offense against a good opponent. This hasn’t been an uncommon theme so far this season. Harden has looked both out of shape and nothing close to what he was in Houston. When is it time to finally hit the panic button and send out the bat signal for Kyrie Irving?

Joel Embiid finally made his comeback debut from Covid. We’re all thankful that he got over the sickness as he talked about how rough of a battle it was for him. During his first game back, he posted a monster stat line but the Philadelphia 76ers took a tough loss in double overtime against Minnesota. Will the Sixers get back to their original hot streak ways?

Then, around the league, Michael Porter Jr was reportedly undergoing back surgery. He’s going to be out for the rest of the season and the Denver Nuggets are left to pick up the pieces without him and Jamal Murray. Also, are the Phoenix Suns contenders or pretenders?

Finally, we took a look at the upcoming NBA Draft and talked about who should be the next top pick. Who do you have between Chet Holmgren and Paolo Banchero?

Timecodes:
0:00 – Intro
2:13 – James Harden and the Brooklyn Nets struggles
18:05 – Phoenix Suns, contenders or pretenders?
25:45 – Michael Porter Jr. is out for the season
33:35 – Joel Embiid back from Covid but Sixers take a loss
51:20 – Kemba Walker is out of the New York Knicks rotation
54:45 – Chet Holmgren or Paolo Banchero, who should be the top pick?

Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers, Sixers
by Alex Fischbein

Last night in the Atlantic (11/27/21)

I’m back everyone! Finally done moving enough that I can sit down and watch some basketball and talk about it for any of those that care to read and listen!

Standings:
Brooklyn Nets 14-6
New York Knicks 11-9
Boston Celtics 10-10
Philadelphia 76ers 10-10
Toronto Raptors 9-11

So let’s talk about last night!

Joel Embiid

If you didn’t tune in to the Sixers vs Timberwolves game last night, I really feel bad for you. Being at the game was even better, but I digress. Joel Embiid, in his first game back from Covid, put on a show for the home fans! He looked almost unstoppable until the last play of the game. His final stat line was 42p, 14r, 3a, 2b on 52.2% shooting from the floor. The superstar level Embiid was back, but he did seem a little skinnier and even more out of breath than usual. Hopefully, Covid didn’t take too much out of him. The game itself started off terribly for Philly only for them to come roaring back and force overtime. Then the sequence from D’Angelo Russell and Andre Drummond to force double overtime was even crazier. When it’s all said and done though, the Sixers could not complete the comeback and ultimately fell as their other three scorers only shot 37% or worse.

Alec Burks

The Knicks grabbed the lone Atlantic win last night and it was due in large part to Alec Burks! Derrick Rose and Kemba Walker were out and Julius Randle put up another stinker of a game, but Alec Burks with some help from Evan Fournier and RJ Barrett willed the team to a win. Burks was especially hot from three and he started looking very comfortable on every type of shot imaginable. Having a guy that can heat up like a microwave coming off of your bench and able to make spot starts is always a great commodity.

DeAndre’ Bembry

Brooklyn dropped another one to a top team from the West. They really looked like they just lacked scoring and we all know someone that could help in that department. If James Harden is only contributing 12 points, then you know it’s a tough game. DeAndre’ Bembry chipped in with some great minutes though. He was the only positive player in the starting five! 18p, 9r, & 2s was the line he finished with.