Tag / scottie barnes

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!

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?

Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets
by Alex Fischbein

Last night in the Atlantic (11/10/21)

The entire Atlantic except for the Sixers got some action last night. They went an even 2-2, but that isn’t exactly fair since two went head-to-head. How about this November weather on the East Coast though, right? This stuff is weird!

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

Anyway, let’s talk about last night.

Kevin Durant

Look, I usually don’t like to mention the same player that often, but with Kevin Durant… How can I not continue to mention him?! He’s leading the league in scoring and only missed ONE shot last night. He took 12 total shots and ended with 30 points! The Brooklyn Nets really need to just make the NBA Finals already because it’s long overdue to see Durant playing in it again.

Immanuel Quickley

Immanuel Quickley popped off real quick in their game against the Bucks. While they did lose by 12, he still shot 50% from the floor and finished with 18p, 5r, & 4a. His minutes have been a little sporadic as Thibs just works some lineup magic all the time. Not sure if magic might be the correct word, but you catch my drift. Quickley is still one of the better offensive talents at his age and continues to grow. A lot of the time, I’d probably rather have him on the floor than Evan Fournier.

Robert Williams

Am I finally highlighting the Time Lord, Robert Williams, right now? Why yes, yes I am! He’s continued to be the steadying force in the middle for the Boston Celtics and that was on full display against the Toronto Raptors. 16p, 13r, 2s, & 1b was the stat line he produced. His offensive rebounds are always the best part because this team does jack a good amount of shots and he at least gives them some extra chances to jack some more.

Scottie Barnes

On the other side of the Celtics game, the rookie Scottie Barnes had himself another good night. I’d say he was the best of the bunch when it comes to the starters. His line was 21p, 7r, & 4a and shot 63.6% from the floor. His all-around game continues to shine and each game it improves a little more. With Pascal Siakam back on the floor, the next hurdle is how to figure out how to play well together since they’re running lineups with Siakam at center and Barnes at power forward.

Boston Celtics, Jayson Tatum
by Alex Fischbein

The Atlantic Files Ep201: Boston Celtics are crumbling

This week on the Atlantic Files, the Boston Celtics are crumbling as we speak, Scottie Barnes and the Toronto Raptors are on a hot streak, and all of a sudden the Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards, and Chicago Bulls are at the top of the East.

First of all, the Boston Celtics have plenty of time to not crumble and get themselves back together. Marcus Smart called out Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown for hogging the ball, especially at the end of games. He said it’s something that they’ll definitely learn from and they’ll get back on track. This sounded more like something he’s been trying to tell them behind closed doors for a long time and since they weren’t listening he finally said something to the press.

Then there’s James Harden and the Brooklyn Nets. Harden hasn’t looked like his usual self until just recently. He finally started attacking the rim, hitting his usual step-back jumpers, and wreaking havoc in the lane. A lot has been said about him being out of shape due to rehabbing during the off-season on top of the fact he’s getting used to the new foul rules. Does anything need to change on the Nets front to make sure they succeed without Kyrie Irving?

Another Atlantic team is surprising a lot of people at the moment. The Toronto Raptors have hit a little stride early on in the season. Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby, Fred VanVleet, and Gary Trent Jr. have all been improving and showing some great offensive flashes on top of a pretty fun defensive system to watch. This team is fun and they’re finally playing like it!

Finally, we have the Chicago Bulls at the top of the East along with two surprising teams. Both the Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards were not supposed to be this high in the standings at all. Which of these two teams are the most for real? LaMelo Ball might actually be a real MVP candidate which is a scary thought!

Timestamps:
0:00 – Intro
1:15 – James Harden doesn’t look right
8:20 – Scottie Barnes and the Toronto Raptors
19:00 – Chicago Bulls are top of the East
29:00 – The Boston Celtics are crumbling and Marcus Smart is calling people out
40:30 – Who is an actual playoff team, Charlotte Hornets or Washington Wizards?

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