Tag / georges niang

2022 NBA All Star, Stephen Curry, Cole Anthony, Dunk Contest, Atlantic Files
by Alex Fischbein

2022 NBA All-Star wrap up | The Atlantic Files Ep216

The 2022 NBA All-Star weekend has come and gone! The dunk contest got very ugly, the 75th NBA Anniversary dedication at halftime was great and the actual All-Star game itself was even better. It’s time to wrap everything up in a bow and get ready for the last half of the NBA season!

This week on the Atlantic Files, we welcome friend of the pod, BJ Boyer, to the show and we talk about what should get taken out and what should stay for future All-Star Weekends, who was snubbed from the NBA’s top 75 list, Georges Niang’s comments on the Ben Simmons saga, Goran Dragic heading to the Brooklyn Nets, and all of these rumors surrounding LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.

The NBA All-Star Weekend is always a mixed bag of events and entertainment. Some years we get the greatest dunk contest ever and other years we get dunk contests that make us wonder why we even have it anymore at all. The good parts of the All-Star weekend experience included the 75th Anniversary event, the new format of the rising stars portion, and the All-Star game itself with the Elam ending.

Speaking of the NBA’s 75th anniversary, the NBA made a top 75 players of all-time list to go with it. There were plenty of snubs from this list and even some people that didn’t deserve to be on it. So it’s debate time to see who did and did not deserve to be out there with all of the legends.

Then, due to some questions and comments due to the live stream, we get into whether or not Kobe Bryant is overrated, if Joel Embiid and James Harden are now the best duo in the NBA, and even our NBA Finals predictions!

Following all of the craziness, we get into more crazy arguing when it comes to Georges Niang’s comments about Ben Simmons, James Harden, and the trade when he was on Duncan Robinson’s podcast. His comments were spicier than anything that came out of the introductory press conferences.

Finally, we ask BJ about the Los Angeles Lakers. The rumors swirling around LeBron James being mad at Rob Pelinka and the Lakers and his comments about going anywhere to play with his son.

Timecodes:
0:00 – Intro
2:10 – 2022 NBA All-Star weekend pros and cons
15:07 – Is Kobe Bryant overrated?
25:50 – Is Karl-Anthony Towns the best shooting big man ever
30:07 – James Harden and Joel Embiid the best duo in the league now
34:13 – Are the strip clubs in Philly good for James Harden
36:47 – Snubs from the NBA’s Top 75 list
40:48 – Can you trust Ben Simmons in crunch time
47:35 – Georges Niang’s comments on Ben Simmons and the James Harden trade
1:00:51 – Does the Goran Dragic signing really mean much
1:02:15 – Who should the Sixers target in the buyout market
1:05:53 – 2022 NBA Finals predictions
1:09:10 – The state of LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers

Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers, Sixers
by Alex Fischbein

Last night in the Atlantic (11/9/21)

Yes, we know we’re a little with the LNITA today, today has been a rough one. The short-handed Sixers came very close to dispatching the reigning champs last night. Doc Rivers did say he was expanding to a 10-man rotation for this game but all of a sudden only played 7 plus barely Charles Bassey…

Standings:
Philadelphia 76ers 8-4
Brooklyn Nets 7-4
New York Knicks 7-4
Toronto Raptors 6-5
Boston Celtics 4-6

Let’s talk about last night!

Tyrese Maxey

Tyrese Maxey was outstanding last night! Pull-up threes, side-step threes, step-back jumpers, and of course his usual drives and floaters were all working! On top of that, it was against a VERY good defender in Jrue Holiday. When it’s all said and done, these minutes with half the team out could prove to be vital for Maxey’s growth. His confidence is pretty much forced to stay high because he’s had to be the main scorer and facilitator. When you think about it, he has a ton of pressure on his shoulders in only his second year in the NBA. He has to replace Ben Simmons before that situation is resolved, he’s now the biggest offensive contributor with everyone hurt, and the fans are expecting him to help carry this team further in the playoffs than last season. Hopefully, people don’t get too rowdy if he has some growing pains. He’s just incredibly fun to watch when he can get anywhere on the court in the blink of an eye.

Georges Niang

Who would have known that in a few short weeks of this season, we all would find out that Georges Niang is a better scorer and a quicker fan favorite than Ben Simmons has ever been. Niang was egging the crowd on as he scored near the end of the game and they LOVED it. He’s been hitting all sorts of shots and all of his teammates have nothing but praise for him. Watching him in Philly has been a lot of fun!

OG Anunoby, Toronto Raptors
by Alex Fischbein

Last night in the Atlantic! (11/1/21)

Honestly, all three Atlantic games ended with quite surprising results! Didn’t really see the Raptors pulling out a tough win over the Knicks and swore the Sixers had no chance without Joel Embiid nor Tobias Harris. Let’s talk about last night!

Standings:
New York Knicks 5-2
Philadelphia 76ers 5-2
Toronto Raptors 5-3
Brooklyn Nets 4-3
Boston Celtics 2-5

OG Anunoby

OG Anunoby cashed in a big-time night! In a game where the Raptors especially weren’t supposed to win without Scottie Barnes over a good New York Knicks team, Anunoby took control. This is the exact kind of performance that the Raptors were hoping to see more of and what will move him up the MIP ladder. The fact he was able to score like he did, in all of the various ways that he did, against a defense like the Knicks bodes well for the Raptors future. His slow start is starting to turn into a scorching hot streak that could even last a whole season if he starts to turn into what we predicted him to be this season.

Georges Niang

Georges Niang was that guy last night! He was the one to step up outside of the normal starters for the Sixers. His offensive production and timely buckets were needed ten-fold as the team didn’t even have Joel Embiid nor Tobias Harris for a tough matchup against the Blazers. As the fans chanted for Lillard, who shot 7-20, Niang was going to work to the tune of 21p, 5r, 5a on 43.8% from the field. The funny thing is that he does look slow a lot of the time, but his anticipation and his shooting prowess allow him to counterbalance that a lot of the time.

Al Horford

Boston drops yet another game, but Al Horford definitely gave it his all to keep the lead they built up until the end of the third quarter. Once it hit the final quarter, all bets were off as Chicago outscored Boston 39-11. Horford, however, was trying to be the steadying force outside of Brown/Tatum as he put up 20p, 10, 3a. It got so bad with this game that even Marcus Smart called out Tatum and Brown for not involving the rest of the team on offense enough. Usually, that’s the kind of thing a team hopes that Horford would do since he’s supposed to be the veteran leader, but I guess that’s Marcus Smart’s thing instead.