Tag / cade cunningham

by Alex Fischbein

NBA Christmas Reactions, Jalen Brunson The 1A | TAF299

On episode 299 of The Atlantic Files, we react to the NBA Christmas day games, give our thoughts on Becky Hammon saying Jalen Brunson is too small to be a 1A, Kevin Durant expressing frustration with the Phoenix Suns health and role players, and the Detroit Pistons losing streak.

Becky Hammon was on ESPN as their panel talked about the New York Knicks and whether or not they can seriously compete for the NBA Finals. She said they didn’t have that 1A player and explained that Jalen Brunson is a great player but he’s too small to be a 1A. Does she make any good points there or is Brunson a lot better than she gives credit?

The 2023 NBA Christmas Day games gave a mixed bag of entertainment while some superstars didn’t even play and others gave us the performance of a lifetime. Dennis and Alex give their thoughts on the outcomes of each game and whether or not these are signs of things to come for the rest of the season.

Speaking of Christmas games, Kevin Durant is apparently now getting frustrated with the health of his new big three and the talent of the supporting cast. No one is really sure what else he expected when the team went out and got Bradley Beal and traded all of their assets to get him and Beal in the first place. Does anyone actually feel bad for him as well?

Finally, the Detroit Pistons made history for the wrong reasons. They’re now the owners of the longest losing streak in a single NBA season and they could potentially add on to that streak. Is this team actually that bad or are they just hitting some really bad luck?

Timecodes:
00:00:00 Intro and Christmas movies
00:18:43 The Detroit Pistons historic losing streak
00:43:25 Becky Hammon’s comments about Jalen Brunson
01:00:22 2023 NBA Christmas game reactions
01:15:28 Kevin Durant upset in Phoenix
01:32:13 Outro

Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans, Atlantic Files, Podcast
by Alex Fischbein

Are Zion Williamson and The New Orleans Pelicans Contenders | TAF255

On this week’s episode of the Atlantic Files Podcast, are Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans for real, Cade Cunningham is likely out for the season, the NBA awards received some new names, Jakob Poeltl is potentially on the trade block, who is returning to form more the Brooklyn Nets or the Philadelphia 76ers, Kyle Kuzma wants out and wants a lot of money, and who should trade for Bojan Bogdanovic.

Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans have been the talk of the league as they take over the first seed in the Western Conference. Both parties have been great this season and have defied many expectations. The Pelicans have had tons of injuries yet have stayed afloat to be a half-game ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies. Williamson has slowly been returning to his dominant self as he continues to score with the best of them. The real question is whether or not they are true NBA Finals contenders.

In unfortunate news, Cade Cunnigham has been ruled out for the rest of the season due to receiving shin surgery. The Detroit Pistons weren’t competing for much other than a shot at Victor Wembanyama, but it’s still a big blow to the excitement surrounding the team. Hopefully, it’s only a one-season occurrence.

The NBA decided to change the names of all of their season awards to commemorate some of the best players to come through the league. On top of that, they changed the look of all of them. We went through and decided if each one was a good or bad idea.

A couple of names have appeared on the trade block, Jakob Poeltl and Bojan Bogdanovic. Naturally, that means it’s time to predict who will trade for each one and which team should be trading for each one.

It’s time for another Brooklyn Nets vs Philadelphia 76ers debate. Both teams are returning to the form that many expected so which team is MORE back? Sure, that might not make sense, but you knew what we meant.

Finally, Kyle Kuzma is apparently making contract demands and team requests. He wants a lot of money from either a big market team or a competing team. Two scenarios that do not favor his wishes whatsoever. This should be interesting.

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Timecodes:
00:00 Intro
04:52 Cade Cunningham out for the year
10:20 Are Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans true contenders?
29:38 Brooklyn Nets or Philadelphia 76ers, who’s more back
38:04 New NBA Award names, good or bad idea
44:24 Jakob Poeltl and Bojan Bogdanovic, who should trade for them
51:48 Kyle Kuzma’s outrageous demands
55:00 Outro

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?

Donovan Mitchell, trade, cleveland cavaliers, Atlantic files, podcast
by Alex Fischbein

Donovan Mitchell is finally traded to Cleveland | TAF242

This week on the Atlantic Files Podcast, Donovan Mitchell was finally traded and the New York Knicks saga is over. Should the Cleveland Cavaliers be considered a championship team now, Montrezl Harrell heads to the Philadelphia 76ers, Shaq says Kevin Durant is a failure outside of Golden State years, who will the next target be for the New York Knicks, Giannis, Jokic, and Luka all breaking records in EuroBasket, Rudy Gobert flashing improved post game during EuroBasket as well, and our weekly “Whatchu Got” segment!

Trading Donovan Mitchell was an entire saga this off-season. Danny Ainge and the Utah Jazz were holding out for the most draft capital they could get. Finally, they decided to pull the trigger on a non-Knicks deal. The Cleveland Cavaliers swooped in with some more picks and pretty good young players to boot. Now, we might see Mitchell competing for an Eastern Conference Finals title.

Does this trade make the Cavaliers a surefire top-three seed though? Could they even realistically compete for a championship this season?

Now, the New York Knicks have to change their direction of which superstar to target. Which assets are they going to use now to find another disgruntled star? Shai Gilgeous-Alexander may be on the market if the Oklahoma City Thunder continue tanking like they are.

Speaking of players moving teams, Montrezl Harrell is now on his way to Philadelphia. The 76ers have been on the market for a backup big after Andre Drummond left. Especially since Doc Rivers never trusts Paul Reed, Harrell gives them another look behind Joel Embiid.

On Shaq’s podcast, he said that Kevin Durant is essentially a failure outside of his Golden State Warriors days. Is that even fair to say or is it way out of line?

EuroBasket has been moving full steam ahead and some of the NBA’s biggest stars have been showing out. Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo have all been dominating and setting records. Even Rudy Gobert has been flashing an improved post game.

Finally, during our “Whatchu Got” segment, Dennis gives a prepared statement to the commenters on YouTube about Giannis Antetokounmpo, we offer our NBA Finals predictions, and talk about whether we’d pick Cade Cunningham or LaMelo Ball to lead a new team.

Timecodes:
00:00:00 Intro
00:04:27 Donovan Mitchell traded to Cleveland Cavaliers, NOT the Knicks
00:19:19 Are the Cleveland Cavaliers a top 3 seed in the East
00:26:30 The New York Knicks depth would suffer in Donovan Mitchell trade
00:31:10 Who should the New York Knicks target now, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander?
00:36:54 Whose trade package was better, Knicks or Cavaliers?
00:43:28 Rudy Gobert improving post game
00:46:46 Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo dominating EuroBasket 2022
00:50:47 Philadelphia 76ers sign Montrezl Harrell to 2-year deal
00:56:34 Is Shaq correct about Kevin Durant being a failure?
01:04:14 Dennis’ prepared statement about Giannis Antetokounmpo
01:09:05 2023 NBA Finals Predictions
01:12:57 LaMelo Ball or Cade Cunningham to start a new team
01:18:23 Outro

LeBron James, Isaiah Stewart, Fight
by Alex Fischbein

LeBron James draws blood | The Atlantic File

On this week’s episode of the Atlantic Files, LeBron James draws blood from Isaiah Stewart, Luke Walton loses his job, Jayson Tatum is good again, plus Cade Cunningham is finally making his Rookie of the Year argument.

By now, everyone has probably seen the fight between LeBron James and Isaiah Stewart. Stewart had some serious blood coming from his eye and he was rightfully pissed off. All of these reports say that James didn’t mean any harm, but the video seems to say otherwise. Also, does anyone really buy that LeBron James, of all people, couldn’t “track down” Stewart’s phone number? 

Luke Walton, now former coach of the Sacramento Kings, is on the lookout for another job. If there’s anyone who knows chaos out of the NBA franchises, it’s definitely the Kings. Hopefully, they don’t think that this is going to fix their entire team and all of their problems. That would just somehow be very Kings-esque though.

A couple of episodes ago, we talked about how Jayson Tatum wasn’t pulling his own weight. Since then, both Tatum and the Boston Celtics have been much improved. Tatum’s percentages and all-around game have gone up and looked worlds better. Could a Jaylen Brown for Bradley Beal trade work out? 

On top of that, we discussed Cade Cunningham starting to show his true potential!

Timecodes:
0:00 – Intro
1:38 – Golden State Warriors are highly lethal
11:42 – LeBron James and Isaiah Stewart fight
22:10 – Cade Cunningham showing his true potential
29:28 – Jayson Tatum looking more like Jayson Tatum
39:10 – Luke Walton fired by the Sacramento Kings