Tag / new york knicks

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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Doc Rivers, Philadelphia 76ers
by Alex Fischbein

Doc Rivers is an issue | The Atlantic Files Ep206

This week, on the Atlantic Files, we welcome Troy of the Planet 76 Podcast to talk about Doc Rivers and the Philadelphia 76ers. We debated whether or not the Sixers needed to trade Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, or both. Also, we took a look at all of the latest Damian Lillard rumors and even the New York Knicks since they’ve benched Kemba Walker.

One of the biggest conversations going around Philly sports circles right now is the coaching from Doc Rivers. His after-timeout play calls, rotations, and playoff resume have been very sketchy. Now, with the team getting back to full strength except for Ben Simmons, his coaching is going to be scrutinized. Every ‘x and o’ matters now when the team isn’t as talented as the ones they’re going to play.

Whenever Ben Simmons is brought up, Tobias Harris’ name now gets thrown into the conversation as well in terms of trade talk. Some Sixers fans want to trade Harris and keep Simmons while others want the opposite. What if the Sixers actually need to trade both of them to truly compete for a title? Can they get anything out of Tobias Harris’ huge contract?

Then, in comes the added Damian Lillard rumors. These days there are new rumors about Lillard wanting to play with Ben Simmons in Portland. On top of that, apparently, Lillard is unhappy with the team and the coaching since it wasn’t the exact coach that he wanted. Also, to add more fuel to the fire, Portland fired their General Manager so nobody knows what that might bring in terms of roster makeup.

Finally, the Knicks aren’t exactly improving ever since their plan to bench Kemba Walker. The offense hasn’t done much more than it already was doing, and the defense doesn’t look improved either. So where do they go from here then? Are we going to see Kemba Walker inserted back into the lineup or are do they have to make some sort of deal?

Timestamps:
0:00 – Intro
1:18 – Can Doc Rivers coach the Sixers to a championship?
7:18 – Should the Sixers trade both Tobias Harris and Ben Simmons?
15:38 – Damian Lillard apparently wants to play with Ben Simmons
26:51 – Realistic landing spots for Damian Lillard
37:20 – Benching Kemba Walker hasn’t done much for the New York Knicks
41:00 – Troy from Planet 76 Podcast gives his Sixers predictions and talks about the Process

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.

James Harden, Brooklyn Nets
by Alex Fischbein

Last night in the Atlantic (11/17/21)

Brooklyn, at least, bounced back last night! Can’t really say the same about the Knicks or the Celtics though…

Standings:
Brooklyn Nets 11-5
New York Knicks 8-7
Philadelphia 76ers 8-7
Boston Celtics 7-8
Toronto Raptors 7-8

So let’s talk about last night!

James Harden

Sort of feels like a broken record to say that James Harden is finally looking more and more like himself. It’s been a process, a slow one at that, but he’s progressing! MVP level Harden is going to need to show up for the Nets to beat teams like the Warriors. Especially if Kyrie isn’t going to come back, everyone except KD has to step up. Harden finished this one with 27p, 10r, 7a.

Jayson Tatum

Jayson Tatum was getting back to business! His efficiency was back up, he was unstoppable again, and he was pouring in buckets! The rest of the team and the team’s defense was a completely different story. I just enjoyed watching Tatum again though after a stretch of some bad games that were just hard to watch all-around. Despite his 34p, 9r, 5a, the team slipped to below .500 again.

New York Knicks

I don’t even need a video to talk about the Knicks this time. The way this team went from looking legit to looking horrid so fast is crazy! Between October and November, it’s like we’ve seen two completely different Knicks teams. Evan Fournier, RJ Barrett, and Julius Randle have been in the forefront of this skid too…

Al Horford, Boston Celtics
by Alex Fischbein

Last night in the Atlantic (11/15/21)

Boston and New York grab themselves a win while Toronto continues their slide. Which makes it weirder that Toronto was also the one with the best offense in their respective games.

Standings:
Brooklyn Nets 10-4
Philadelphia 76ers 8-6
New York Knicks 8-6
Boston Celtics 7-7
Toronto Raptors 7-8

So let’s talk about last night!

Al Horford

Al Horford is the one getting highlighted right now, instead of Jayson Tatum, because he made the same amount shots that Tatum did in 10 fewer attempts. He also hit one more three but didn’t get the free throws to bolster his point total. Horford has been playing some very meaningful minutes lately as the Celtics have needed him dearly in every win of theirs. He’s provided the inside presence when Robert Williams isn’t on the floor and he’s also given them some floor spacing and defensive leadership. While it was a great move to bring him back this season, they’re still going to need a bit more than just Horford. He ended up with 17p, 9r, 3a, & 2b.

OG Anunoby

OG Anunoby cashed in another great offensive night for the Toronto Raptors. 29 points on 9-19 from the floor and 6-10 from three is not too shabby of a performance. Everyone in the starting five actually shot 42% or higher, but the bench minutes were the biggest minus in this game. That’s where Portland started pulling away, any time each time had their bench players in. Anunoby, on the other hand, added 6r, 2a, 3s to his 29 and did a great job keeping the Raptors in this game.

Derrick Rose

This New York Knicks game was quite ugly. Which has been the case the last handful of games if we’re being honest. Derrick Rose put together a nice stat line off the bench with 14p, 5r, & 7a. The main reason I decided to highlight him over the leading scorer, Kemba Walker, is because he also took the team on their best scoring runs. Rose was +21 compared to Walker’s -15 because he was affecting the game in more ways than just straight scoring. There have been legitimate arguments for Derrick Rose being moved to starting point guard, but it looks like there are more issues than just that in the month of November.

Ben Simmons

Ben Simmons is receiving fines yet again. This time for missing the team’s west coast road trip. If you listen to the latest episode of our podcast, we talked a bit about this saga and the role Rich Paul is playing in the whole thing. I wish both sides would just set the record straight without having to talk through agents, media, and other talking heads. Once this is resolved, both parties can finally breathe a sigh of relief and just move on with life.

Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker, Rich Paul, The Atlantic files
by Alex Fischbein

The Atlantic Files Ep203 – Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker, Rich Paul, who’s worse?

On this week’s episode of the Atlantic Files, Jayson Tatum’s percentages and stats are slipping, Rich Paul might not actually be a good agent, and Kemba Walker isn’t helping too much win-wise.

The Boston Celtics have very well-documented shortcomings. Ime Udoka has been a bit of a disaster as head coach, the supporting cast is bad, and now Jayson Tatum is starting to suffer a bit due to the rest of the team being that bad. As we all know, the offense is run everything through Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Now that Brown is out, Tatum has to score enough to beat teams by himself since no one else is. Looks like only a trade is going to save them now.

Speaking of players who aren’t exactly playing up to expectations, Kemba Walker hasn’t exactly done what the fans hoped he would so far. His offense has been quite limited, his minutes need to be limited so that he doesn’t get hurt, and he’s never exactly been a defensive force. On top of that, the primary guys like Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, and Evan Fournier have all seen a dip in production in the month of November. This month is a stark difference compared to October.

Rich Paul is yet another guy that we were told is supposed to be very good at what he does. He’s the agent for a lot of NBA players these days and it makes you think that he should be good. Is he really that good of an agent or is he another guy that’s just riding LeBron James’ coattails? His handling of the whole Ben Simmons situation hasn’t exactly made anything easier or closer to a resolution.

After those main topics, we also dive into Tyrese Maxey vs Ben Simmons, Talen Horton-Tucker vs Alex Caruso, Scottie Barnes vs Evan Mobley, and who we all have for MVP!

Timecodes:
0:00 – Intro
1:25 – Fantasy Basketball debate
7:00 – Scottie Barnes or Evan Mobley for Rookie of the Year
13:10 – What’s happening to Jayson Tatum?
25:30 – Should Kemba Walker be moved to a sixth-man role?
37:10 – Rich Paul really is not a great agent
45:20 – Tyrese Maxey or Ben Simmons, who would you take?
56:10 – Talen Horton-Tucker vs Alex Caruso, did the Los Angeles Lakers make a mistake?
1:00:22 – Who is the real MVP this year, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, or Nikola Jokic?