Tag / toronto raptors

Boston Celtics, Jayson Tatum
by Alex Fischbein

Last night in the Atlantic (12/13/21)

Both Boston and Toronto had very solid nights last night. The Sixers on the other hand… Not so much.

Standings:
Brooklyn Nets(1) 19-8
Philadelphia 76ers(6) 15-13
Boston Celtics(9) 14-14
Toronto Raptors(10) 13-14
New York Knicks 12-15

Let’s talk about last night!

Jayson Tatum

Let’s just start off with the guy who put up over 40 points last night en route to a win over the defending champs! The team did a great job defensively to limit the threes from Milwaukee and then led by Tatum, they were on fire from the offensive end. Boston as a whole shot 50% from the field and 42.6% from three! Jayson Tatum ended up with 42 points on 64% shooting from the field overall and 53.8% from three!

Charles Bassey

Since the Sixers got blown out again with both of their first and second scoring options ruled out of the game about five minutes before tipoff, we’re highlighting a rookie that finally got some playing time! Yes, we called Seth Curry the second scoring option. Charles Bassey, however, stepped in and got himself a double-double! Bassey has been able to deliver some productive minutes when given the chance and seems like he could be a decent backup center option for the Sixers if they didn’t keep Drummond around after this season. They need to worry about some other things right now though.

Justin Champagnie

Time to highlight another rookie, but on the Toronto Raptors! This time it isn’t Scottie Barnes. Justin Champagnie cashed in a productive game during his 25 minutes of play! The Pitt grad finished with 10p, 4r, 2s, and 1b. He was one of nine Raptors players to finish with double digits in points and he helped the team coast to a 124-101 victory! Champagnie is quite the underrated forward that deserves some more minutes especially for a team that’s still looking for future pieces too!

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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Pascal Siakam, Toronto Raptors
by Alex Fischbein

Last night in the Atlantic (12/5/21)

Only a one-game Atlantic slate last night as football season continues to dominate Sundays in the common household. Toronto gave us a good one though!

Standings:
Brooklyn Nets 16-7
Boston Celtics 13-11
Philadelphia 76ers 12-11
New York Knicks 11-12
Toronto Raptors 11-13

Let’s talk about last night!

Pascal Siakam

Pascal Siakam was showing a lot of vintage Siakam vibes last night. Mid-range P was in the building and he was putting this team on his back whether the Wizards liked it or not. While he didn’t add much more outside of scoring, he was the only Raptor with more than 14 points. Siakam and Scottie Barnes were also the only starters in the positives for plus/minus in this game. This also now marks three straight games with at least 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists for Siakam!

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!

marcus smart, boston celtics
by Alex Fischbein

Last night in the Atlantic (11/28/21)

Only a one-game slate of some Atlantic division action with two of the bottom three teams going at it!

Standings:
Brooklyn Nets 14-6
New York Knicks 11-9
Boston Celtics 11-10
Philadelphia 76ers 10-10
Toronto Raptors 9-12

Let’s talk about last night!

Marcus Smart

As I sat down to write this, I realized that we haven’t really highlighted Marcus Smart much at all this year. Sure, we might have mentioned his name on here and on the podcast, but not as the highlight guy. Well, this is his time to shine! Last night he guided the Boston Celtics to a nice win over a division opponent. He finished his well-rounded game with 21p, 8r, & 6a on 43.8% FG and 40% 3P. That guiding force is exactly what the Celtics need out of him more often, especially if Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are going to combine for only 24 points! It was that veteran leadership on both ends combined with the same leadership of Al Horford that willed this team to a victory!

Fred VanVleet

On the other side of last night’s game, Fred VanVleet tried to do much of the same. He put up 27p, 6r, 3a, & 2s, on 8-16 FG and 5-10 3P! So, his shooting stats were much better compared to Smart, but the end result didn’t follow the trend. There’s only so much he can do when the rest of the team shot 33.8% from the floor combined…

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?

Tobias Harris, Philadelphia 76ers
by Alex Fischbein

Last night in the Atlantic (11/13/21)

The Atlantic suffered a rough go of it last night. Out of the three teams that played, not one of them pulled out a win.

Standings:
Brooklyn Nets 9-4
Philadelphia 76ers 8-6
New York Knicks 7-6
Toronto Raptors 7-7
Boston Celtics 6-7

So let’s get to it and talk about last night.

Tobias Harris

Tobias Harris is getting himself right back into the flow now. He’s getting back to his three-level scoring, but just a little inefficient at the moment. The bout of Covid he dealt with sounded like it was going to keep him out for much longer. So, we’re glad he’s just back in general! The biggest issue is that the team is on a four-game skid now and they’re going to have to figure something out since Joel Embiid is still out. Harris finished up this one with 32p, 11r, & 3a.

Pascal Siakam

Pascal Siakam is back baby! I know this was his second game back, but he was reeeeally back in this game. The experiment of him at the five in the starting squad hasn’t been too shabby. His offensive versatility as a five is only matched by very few players, but the defense and rebounding against true fives is the real question. Either way, it was nice seeing him get into the thick of the action and get scrappy with his buckets. He ended the game with 25p, 12r, 7a.

Robert Williams III

Robert Williams continues to play some very good basketball for Boston. Sometimes I scratch my head wondering why they don’t run some more things through him. Yes, his offensive game is a little limited, but expanding the inside game would only help take some heat off of Jayson Tatum and company. His rebounding and defense have been a major key for this team. DJ Khaled would even agree! His stat line for the night was 13p, 16r, 3a, & 3b.

Fred VanVleet, Toronto Raptors
by Alex Fischbein

Last night in the Atlantic (11/11/21)

Only a one-game with two teams slate for the Atlantic last night. Always love the Atlantic matchups since the division is much closer than expected!

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

Anyway, let’s talk about last night!

Fred VanVleet

There’s something poetic about an undrafted Fred VanVleet leading and running this young team full of promising young players and even a new top pick rookie. The poise, the leadership, the scoring ability, and the passion that VanVleet brings to this team are unmatched. He can to nuclear on the court at any point as we saw last night. In the first quarter alone he already had 15p, 3r, 3a and set the Raptors up with an energy that wasn’t going away. So far, he definitely deserves an All-Star selection! In this game, he finished with 32p, 6r, & 7a.

Tyrese Maxey

It’s just necessary to highlight Tyrese Maxey for the second game in a row. In these last two games, his averages are as follows: 32p, 4.5r, 4.5a, 1s, 1.5b, 1to on 55.8% FG, and 41.7% 3P! Those are some big-time stats for a second-year player that was thrust into the spotlight due to the Ben Simmons circumstances! As a team though, the Sixers were obviously going to take a hit with all of the drama, injuries, and Covid going around. Last season they were one of the best teams at home in the NBA, they only lost seven games at home all year. So far this year, they’re 4-4 at home compared to 4-1 on the road. That’s going to be an interesting tidbit to keep an eye on.

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.