On episode 283 of The Atlantic Files, James Harden gets fined for his comments about Daryl Morey, we continue our divisional previews with the Northwest Division, France gets ousted in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Evan Turner hints at the refs being biased in the NBA Playoffs, and we go through the second half of Dennis’ fantasy basketball rankings.
Rudy Gobert and Team France get eliminated after just two pool play games. They lost to both Canada and Latvia without Kristaps Porzingis in back to back games and they’ll head home after being one of the top teams in the tournament. Sad day for France fans.
Evan Turner made an appearance on Gilbert Arenas’ podcast and talked about their 2012 Playoff matchup against the Boston Celtics. He said that Elton Brand told him they would have to win by 15 just to win by one which meant they needed to make sure the refs had no say in who won. Confirming a lot of beliefs that people had about the officiating.
Finally, we previewed the Northwest Division with the reigning NBA Champs. Do you think they’ll repeat? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!
timecodes: 00:00:00 Intro 00:11:35 James Harden fined 100k 00:20:39 France eliminated from 2023 FIBA World Cup 00:31:25 Evan Turner on Gilbert Arenas’ podcast 00:44:30 NBA Northwest Division preview 00:58:54 outro
The NBA Playoffs and Play-In Games are in full swing, and fans across the world are excited to see their favorite teams compete for the championship. Two of the teams in the spotlight this year are the Atlanta Hawks and the Los Angeles Lakers. In this episode, we’ll take a look at the past and present of the Atlanta Hawks, recap the NBA Playoffs and Play-In Games, provide predictions for the postseason, and discuss some of the off-court drama involving NBA players.
I. Atlanta Hawks: Past and Present
The Atlanta Hawks franchise has a rich history that dates back to the 1940s, but they have yet to win an NBA championship. Despite this, the Hawks have made several playoff appearances in recent years, including this year’s Playoffs. The Hawks are led by Trae Young, who is widely regarded as one of the best young players in the league. Young has been instrumental in the Hawks’ success this season, averaging 25.3 points and 9.4 assists per game.
II. NBA Playoffs and Play-In Games: Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Lakers
The Play-In Games were introduced to the NBA this year, and they have already provided some thrilling matchups. In the Eastern Conference, the Atlanta Hawks faced off against the Miami Heat in a tense battle. The Hawks emerged victorious, thanks in part to Trae Young’s 25-point performance. The Hawks will now face the Boston Celtics in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
The Los Angeles Lakers have also had an eventful season, with several injuries and lineup changes. Despite this, the Lakers managed to secure the seventh seed in the Western Conference and earned a spot in the Playoffs. In their recent game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Lakers came out on top, with LeBron James leading the charge with 30 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists.
LeBron James has been a force to be reckoned with in the NBA Playoffs throughout his career, with four championships to his name. James has won a total of 172 playoff games, which is the most in NBA history. The Lakers will face the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the Playoffs, and fans are eagerly anticipating another dominant performance from James and the Lakers.
As for predictions, it’s anyone’s guess who will come out on top this year. The Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, and Milwaukee Bucks are all strong contenders, but the playoffs are known for producing unexpected upsets and breakout performances. One player to keep an eye on is Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies, who has been making waves with his electrifying play.
III. Off-Court Drama: Kyle Kuzma and Spencer Dinwiddie
In addition to the on-court action, there has been some drama brewing off the court involving NBA players Kyle Kuzma and Spencer Dinwiddie. The two players have been engaged in a feud on social media, with Dinwiddie calling out Kuzma for his lackluster performance on the court. It’s unclear what sparked the feud, but some speculate that it may have to do with Kuzma’s recent breakup with model Winnie Harlow.
IV. Coaching Changes in the NBA
This year has also seen several coaching changes in the NBA. The most high-profile of these changes was the firing of Nate McMillan from the Atlanta Hawks. Other coaches who were let go include Dwane Casey of the Detroit Pistons and Stephen Silas of the Houston Rockets.
There has been some discussion about whether there is discrimination among NBA coaches based on their race. In the 2020-21 season, only seven out of 30 NBA head coaches were Black. This has led to some criticism of the NBA and calls for more diversity and inclusion in coaching positions. Now, head coaches seem to be trending toward fewer white candidates as more and more coaches get their first shot with teams at all different points of competition level.
The NBA Playoffs and Play-In Games have provided fans with plenty of excitement and drama this year. The Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Lakers are both in the mix, with the Hawks looking to make a deep playoff run and the Lakers hoping to defend their championship title. Off the court, there have been some interesting developments, including the feud between Kyle Kuzma and Spencer Dinwiddie and the coaching changes across the league. Regardless of what happens, fans can look forward to a thrilling postseason full of surprises and standout performances.
Timecodes: 00:00:00 Intro 00:06:44 Atlanta Hawks vs Miami Heat play-in game 00:29:49 Los Angeles Lakers vs Minnesota Timberwolves play-in game 00:42:28 Toronto Raptor vs Chicago Bulls Play-In game preview 00:49:43 Oklahoma City Thunder vs New Orleans Pelicans play-in game preview 00:50:18 Spencer Dinwiddie and Kyle Kuzma beef 01:07:14 Dwane Casey and Stephen Silas no longer head coaches 01:09:08 Are NBA coaches getting fired due to race? 01:28:14 Lakers or Hawks, who is more likely to pull off an upset 01:30:01 Remember this guy? 01:36:03 Outro
This week on the Atlantic Files podcast, Ben Simmons returned to Philadelphia to take on the 76ers, injuries are mounting for the Sixers with Tyrese Maxey also out, RJ Barrett has been struggling mightily this season, Giannis Antetokounmpo got in a fight with Montrezl Harrell and a ladder, Paul Reed has been balling, Kemba Walker is headed to the Dallas Mavericks, Karl Anthony Towns is hurt, and more!
We’re back after the Thanksgiving break so of course, we had to talk about the Philadelphia 76ers taking on the Brooklyn Nets and Ben Simmons‘ first regular season game back in Philly. The game should have been a blowout as the Sixers had their big three on the sidelines, but the sixers won easily. Simmons had a good game, but Paul Reed had an even better one.
Speaking of Paul Reed, he’s now on his victory tour again. Doc Rivers is finally listening to the hype as Reed gets more playing time and proves why he’s worthy of it. He’s had some great games with Joel Embiid out and even continued the defensive energy as a backup.
RJ Barrett has been struggling mightily lately. His issues are indicative of the whole team’s issues, however, a lot of this starts with one of their main three offensive options. Barrett hasn’t been able to shoot well at all and has new lows in a lot of categories across the board. Is this just a rut or will he continue to struggle in this system and lose more games for the Knicks?
Another older topic that we didn’t get a chance to comment on was laddergate with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Montrezl Harrell after the Milwaukee Bucks dropped a game in Philly. This has to be one of the dumbest and funniest bits of drama in the NBA. Everyone involved in this should have just gone home and called it a night, but instead, we had everyone talking bout who’s morally right or wrong.
Then, in around the league news, Karl Anthony Towns is out for 4-to-6 weeks with a lower leg injury. Also, Kemba Walker is coming back to the league as he’s joining the Dallas Mavericks. What are the impacts of both of these events?
Finally, we have our weekly fantasy basketball and whatchu got segments!
Timecodes: 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:46 Thanksgiving, favorite holidays, and more 00:10:17 Giannis Antetokounmpo, Montrezl Harrell, and Laddergate 00:24:38 RJ Barrett’s slump and the New York Knicks 00:37:00 Ben Simmons returns to Philadelphia to play the Sixers 00:58:43 Paul Reed shows Doc Rivers he should play more 01:03:22 Karl Anthony Towns injured for 6-8 weeks 01:07:13 Kemba Walker headed to the Dallas Mavericks 01:08:33 Big Sexy’s Fantasy Basketball segment 01:13:39 Top 5 favorite Thanksgiving foods 01:22:58 RJ Barrett’s interesting stat feats 01:27:20 Outro
On this week’s episode of The Atlantic Files, Joel Embiid does something that no other NBA player has ever done, Kevin Durant is chasing Michael Jordan, both the Sixers and the Nets are starting to wake up, the Boston Celtics are on a 7-game winning streak, What should the Knicks do with Thibodeau and RJ Barrett, who’s the bigger disappointment so far between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors, and we gave some fantasy basketball advice along the way.
At the time of recording, Kevin Durant had started the season with 13 consecutive games of 25 or more points scored. That mark hasn’t been reached since Michael Jordan who did it in 16 games in a row at the start of the 1988-89 season. After recording, Durant collected another 25-point game to push his total to 14. He may just end up tying Jordan or even getting more than him.
Joel Embiid made some history himself as he put up a stat line that has never been done before in NBA history. He finished the game against the Utah Jazz with 59 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, and 7 blocks. No player has ever had a game with 50 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 blocks. To add to that, he scored a total of 101 points in one weekend as this historic game was the second half of a back-to-back and he scored 42 points in the game prior.
Led by their superstar players, both the Brooklyn Nets and the Philadelphia 76ers have been waking up in recent weeks. They’ve been winning more than losing and both teams are looking a lot more energetic than at the beginning of the season. Maybe we’ll finally start to see these two teams get back to the top of the East sooner rather than later.
Speaking about the top of the East, the Boston Celtics are in first place again. They’ve been firing on all cylinders and the early part of their schedule hasn’t exactly been too difficult. Can they keep this type of play up without their head coach or is this all just a tease before things come crashing down?
Then, there’s the opposite in the train wreck which is the New York Knicks. They aren’t as big of a train wreck as they once were, they’re now an average train wreck. So who should be to blame here, Tom Thibodeau, RJ Barrett, or someone else? Something has to give to actually push this team into real contention.
Finally, we debated which team has been a bigger disappointment thus far between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Golden State Warriors. The reigning champs have yet to win a single road game. On the other hand, the Timberwolves mortgaged their whole future for a defensive big that hasn’t exactly improved either side of the ball so far. So who do you think is more of a disappointment?
Timecodes: 00:00:00 Intro 00:10:22 Boston Celtics 7-game win streak and in First Place 00:24:34 Minnesota Timberwolves vs Golden State Warriors, who’s more disappointing? 00:39:10 Should the New York Knicks fire Tom Thibodeau or trade RJ Barrett? 00:50:59 Kevin Durant’s historic start to the season 01:00:46 Joel Embiid’s historic game and weekend 01:12:40 Which top team are you most confident in right now 01:15:38 Big Sexy’s Fantasy Basketball Segment 01:20:36 Outro
This week on the Atlantic Files podcast, we begin our yearly division previews! This time, for the 2022-23 NBA season, we start with the Northwest division. We also talk about the proposal for an in-season tournament, the 2022 Hall of Fame inductees that includes Manu Ginobili and Tim Hardaway Sr., Danny Ainge’s comments about the Utah Jazz, and our weekly “Whatchu Got” segment!
In case you’ve just started tuning into the Atlantic Files, every year leading up to the start of a new season, we preview a division each week until we get to the best division of them all. Yes, that division is still the Atlantic.
This week, we kick things off with the Northwest division. Minnesota, Denver, Portland, Oklahoma City, and Utah all are included in this division for those who may not know off the top of their head.
We give our thoughts on the final standings of the division, which players and teams might be surprisingly good, and the others that will probably be terrible. It’s probably not too hard to guess the ones that won’t make the playoffs. Could this even be the worst division in the NBA?
There’s been talk of an in-season tournament that was proposed by the NBA. Could this really help the ratings for the NBA or would it just be another gimmick that no one will care about because it’s not the playoffs nor a real NBA Championship?
Manu Ginobili and the other 2022 Class of the Basketball Hall of Fame were inducted! The list had a bunch of great names that brought up some great memories. Congratulations to all of those that are now in the Hall!
Finally, we finished things off by talking about Danny Ainge’s comments on the Utah Jazz when he first got there and our weekly “Whatchu Got” segment. We brought up a Denver Nuggets discussion between current and past teams, as well as gave our thoughts on the new NBA 2K23 that came out.
Timecodes: 00:00:00 Intro 00:04:27 NBA in-season tournament proposal 00:27:31 Hall of Fame class of 2022 was inducted 00:37:49 2022-23 NBA Northwest division preview 00:51:33 Danny Ainge’s comments about the Utah Jazz 00:58:19 Thoughts on NBA 2K23 so far 01:01:17 Current Denver Nuggets vs Carmelo Anthony Denver Nuggets 01:08:05 Outro
The Minnesota Timberwolves shocked many people by trading a boatload of assets for Rudy Gobert. Whether that was a smart move or not is still up in the air. One of the other pressing questions is whether or not Rudy Gobert was even worth all of those assets as a player.
The Timberwolves finally made the playoffs last season by the skin of their teeth via the play-in games. They took two games off of the Memphis Grizzlies but fell short in the first round. So, the person to take them from losing in the first round to a championship is Rudy Gobert?
Parting ways with the leader and heart of their team in Patrick Beverley, the young talent in Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt, the new draft pick in Walker Kessler, and FOUR unprotected picks with an added pick swap is a helluva lot of assets. This means that Minnesota thinks this team is winning a championship within the next couple of seasons.
One question is, who takes the role of leader and dirty work guy? Beverley played that role perfectly for this team. Karl-Anthony Towns is not that kind of player along with D’Angelo Russell and Rudy Gobert. So, does that mean Anthony Edwards has to grow into it?
As we all know, defense is one of the biggest needs in Minnesota. Gobert does satisfy that need, but does he make their defense good enough to limit high-powered offenses all while being able to outscore the other team?
Maybe a four-out, one-in type of offensive scheme works well with Gobert inside. This would force Towns to play primarily from the perimeter, which wouldn’t be a problem until you realize that 58.8% of his field goal attempts come from 0-10 feet from the rim.
Clogging the lane as a defensive scheme starts to sound quite successful.
That being said, we aren’t too confident in Gobert being the missing piece for this Timberwolves team. What do you think, let us know in the comments on the video below!
This week on the Atlantic Files Podcast, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are officially eliminated from the playoffs and rumors of Doc Rivers taking over as head coach has already begun, Ben Simmons officially files a grievance against the Philadelphia 76ers, Chris Paul sets another win record for yet another team, and the play-in teams are finally decided!
As we’re sure you’ve heard by now from the numerous media outlets, the Los Angeles Lakers are officially out of the playoffs! The “good on paper, but old on the court” strategy did not go so well for them this year. Plenty of moves are in store for them in the off-season, and it’s bound to get crazy.
One of those moves seems to be for a new head coach. Doc Rivers, even though he’s still coaching for the Philadelphia 76ers and hasn’t been rumored to be fired, is near the top of the list to come coach in LA. Not exactly sure how that works since he still has a job elsewhere, but hey, it’s LeBron and the Lakers, rules don’t apply.
Almost all of the play-in tournament games are decided at this point. The only one waiting is the seventh seed out West between the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves. Either way, we give our predictions on who would be coming out of each play-in tournament in both conferences.
Another chapter to the Ben Simmons saga has officially been added. He officially filed the rumored grievance against the Sixers to recoup somewhere around $20M. This will surely take away all attention from the team only hovering around an eighth or ninth seed, right?
Finally, Chris Paul adds more to his impressive resume. He has now been a part of four separate teams’ records for most wins in a single season. He’s helped the Hornets, Clippers, Rockets, and now Suns all reach their best win total for a season. That’s insane!
Timecodes: 0:00 – Intro and Season Ticket debacle 3:35 – The NBA play-in tournament and who will win 17:52 – Los Angeles Lakers eliminated & Windhorst report 21:42 – Doc Rivers the next Lakers head coach? 26:41 – Chris Paul sets another single-season win record 28:26 – Ben Simmons files a grievance and out through play-in tourney 30:00 – Closing thoughts
