Tag / kyrie irving

Boston Celtics, NBA Playoffs 2022, Atlantic Files
by Alex Fischbein

Boston Celtics NBA Finals bound? | The Atlantic Files Ep228

This week on the Atlantic Files Podcast, we talk about the absolute embarrassment of a Game Seven that the Phoenix Suns endured, the Boston Celtics taking down the reigning NBA Champs and looking like a surefire championship team, Ja Morant’s injury issues, previews of both Conference Finals, what the Philadelphia 76ers should do with James Harden, whether Doc Rivers or Daryl Morey are at fault for what happened to the Sixers, if Sean Marks was justified in calling out Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons, and more!

First of all, the Boston Celtics are the only remaining Atlantic Division team in the NBA Playoffs. They were the ones who started the season in the most disappointing fashion and after turning it completely around, they now look like they can really win a championship. Will they be able to pull off a win over the Miami Heat and then eventually an NBA Finals win?

In the West, the Dallas Mavericks are fresh off of a complete drubbing of the Phoenix Suns. Devin Booker talked his way right out of the playoffs as Luka Doncic laughed them right off the court. Now, he has to go up against the dynasty that is the Golden State Warriors. Are the Warriors a lock to make the Finals with their experience?

Ja Morant, after suffering a few injuries during the season, also was injured a couple of times in the playoffs. Is he beginning to be too injury-prone for Memphis to be considered a legit contender?

Since we have both Conference Finals series set in stone, it’s time to preview each one. We give our thoughts on the X-Factors for each series as well as our predictions for who wins in how many games.

Finally, we have a sort of grabbag of a handful of topics. The Philadelphia 76ers have a huge decision to make with James Harden and his contract, Doc Rivers and Daryl Morey are fighting to see who takes the most blame for this season, how would Mike D’Antoni fit in LaMelo Ball and Charlotte’s offense, Sean Marks comments about the Brooklyn Nets and Kyrie Irving, and whether the Celtics used a dirty tactic with Robert Williams III injury status.

Timecodes:
0:00 – Intro
2:48 – Phoenix Suns get embarrassed by Luka Doncic and Dallas Mavericks
17:36 – Boston Celtics took down Milwaukee, are they NBA Finals bound?
27:14 – Celtics acted shady with Robert Williams III injury status
30:34 – Would the Phoenix Suns trade Deandre Ayton
34:03 – Is Mike D’Antoni a good fit for Charlotte and LaMelo Ball
40:13 – Doc Rivers or Daryl Morey, who’s more at fault in Philadelphia
59:24 – NBA Eastern Conference Finals preview
1:09:09 – NBA Western Conference Finals preview

Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons, Brooklyn Nets
by Alex Fischbein

Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets get first laugh | The Atlantic Files Ep219

This week on the Atlantic Files Podcast, Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets get the first laugh as they destroy the Philadelphia 76ers, Kyrie Irving is on an absolute scoring tear, the James Harden honeymoon phase seems to be over, the New York Knicks are expected to keep Tom Thibodeau, and March Madness is set to begin!

Last week, one of the biggest regular-season games took place. Especially for this podcast, it was must-see TV! Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Ben Simmons all ended up getting the FIRST laugh by dragging the Philadelphia 76ers through the mud all game long. Durant even took some shots at Sixers fans after the game and the entire crowd couldn’t do anything other than leave with their heads down.

Kyrie Irving has had two 50+ point games in one week. One of those games was a 60-point outburst against the Orlando Magic. Once he’s able to finally play home games, the entire league could be in a lot of trouble when facing the Nets in the playoffs.

After an amazing start, the Sixers and James Harden seem to be ending their honeymoon phase. They’ve had some rough games and narrow victories over the worst teams in the league. The chemistry doesn’t seem to be clicking as much as it was in the beginning. The smiles aren’t going around, the excitement isn’t there, and every game looks like hard labor.

The New York Knicks are always going to be crazy and make questionable moves. This is pretty much guaranteed. Now the reports are saying that Tom Thibodeau is going to stay with the team through next season. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that’s probably the wrong move.

Finally, it’s that time of year again! March Madness is here and we give all of our predictions in our brackets and talk about our favorite dark horses as well.

Timecodes:
0:00 – Intro
1:51 – Brooklyn Nets destroy the Philadelphia 76ers in Ben Simmons return
9:45 – Kyrie Irving and Karl Anthony Towns go for 60 back-to-back
16:59 – New York Knicks are keeping Tom Thibodeau around
21:13 – James Harden and the Sixers honeymoon phase is over
28:05 – 2022 March Madness predictions, cinderella teams, and more

brooklyn nets, kevin durant, kyrie irving, seth curry, ben simmons
by Alex Fischbein

Brooklyn Nets becoming the next what if | The Atlantic Files Ep217

On this week’s episode of the Atlantic Files, the Brooklyn Nets continue to lose some needed ground in the standings as they await Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and Ben Simmons to return, the James Harden experience is alive and well in Philadelphia, both the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics are making playoff pushes, and the New York Knicks are stuck trying to figure out what’s going on.

The latest news coming out of the Ben Simmons saga is that now he has back issues and is regarded as “week to week.” Rich Paul even told Brian Windhorst that Simmons most likely won’t even be ready to come back in the month of March. Kevin Durant is finally coming back on March 3 while we’re all still waiting for a decision from the New York City Mayor on whether or not Kyrie Irving is going to be able to play full time again.

Let’s also not forget that the Nets are currently in the play-in territory, so if everything doesn’t go their way, they could be the next biggest ‘what if’ story for the NBA.

James Harden’s honeymoon period with the Philadelphia 76ers is going as well as anyone could have imagined! They’re now 3-0 since he’s been playing and he’s almost put up triple-doubles in every one of them. Joel Embiid has talked about the fact that he’s never been this wide open in his career and Tyrese Maxey is putting up more than 20 points per game as well. Is this all sustainable?

Coming from the depths, the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics are both making playoff pushes. Which team can make it further come playoff time?

Finally, we have the New York Knicks, yet again, bringing up the rear. The team has been quite the dumpster fire this season. After such a successful season last year, it’s so disappointing to see it all just fall apart this year. What should they do for the rest of the year and into the off-season?

Timecodes:
0:00 – Intro
2:14 – Ben Simmons out until April, Kevin Durant coming back
15:47 – If the Brooklyn Nets don’t win a ring, are they a failure?
21:13 – James Harden in Philadelphia is off to a great start
32:17 – The better playoff team, Boston Celtics or Toronto Raptors
49:36 – What should the New York Knicks do now?

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

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

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

by Alex Fischbein

The Atlantic Files Ep200: New York Knicks szn with Josh Hayes

This week on The Atlantic Files:

This week on the Atlantic Files we welcome special guest Josh Hayes! He is the on-air host of Rotoballer Radio on SiriusXM. He joined us to talk about Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Scottie Barnes, and a plethora of Atlantic and NBA topics!

The Brooklyn Nets are only 2-2 so far this season. Their offense has looked very lackluster without Kyrie Irving and it’s a little concerning that James Harden hasn’t looked so great either. His offense has taken a big hit and we’re not sure if the foul rule changes have anything to do with it or if he’s just not mentally into it just yet. It’s obviously not time to hit the panic button, but something to follow as the season goes on.

Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers are still in the midst of a big battle. Should Daryl Morey and the Sixers just cave already and ship him off for anything? Josh Hayes seems to think that Morey needs to clean his hands of the whole thing already. Not sure if a lot of Sixers fans would love getting pennies on the dollar though.

On top of that, Scottie Barnes has already looked like Rookie of the Year material. Yes, it’s very early this season, but Barnes has still shown some huge flashes of amazing potential. Dennis had this thing called from the beginning, but it’s going to be fun to watch his growth.

Timecodes:
0:00 – Intro
2:40 – Brooklyn Nets, Kyrie Irving, Patty Mills, and James Harden
15:50 – Philadelphia 76ers and Daryl Morey need to trade Ben Simmons for anything
19:50 – The New York Knicks look explosive
26:00 – LaMelo Ball for MVP?
29:00 – Lonzo Ball’s growth and the Chicago Bulls undefeated
33:10 – Boston Celtics don’t look great
44:03 – Minnesota Timberwolves a sneaky good team
50:12 – Scottie Barnes for Rookie of the Year and Toronto Raptors great youth
57:35 – Fantasy Basketball gems