The Atlantic Files #197: 2021-22 Southeast Division Preview

This week on The Atlantic Files:

This week, on the Atlantic Files, the divisional preview series nears a close as the NBA Preseason begins! We previewed the Southeast division this week on top of talking about some preseason observations, Ben Simmons, and Kyrie Irving.

The preseason is always one of the most fun times to overreact to every little thing we see. Some undrafted player who had one good preseason game might be a hall of famer. One top player from last season may have underperformed and all of a sudden he’s over the hill. Either way, it’s all in good fun, but we all know the preseason doesn’t mean too much.

If you haven’t heard by now, Ben Simmons is still holding out from joining the Philadelphia 76ers. He’s waiting on his trade so that he never has to play in front of the Philly crowd ever again. He’s been getting fined now and his camp is just now going to the NBPA to talk about it because they’re finally feeling the heat from losing all this money. Who will finally bend first so we can get this all over with?!

Then, there’s the other drama-filled saga. Kyrie Irving is still not vaccinated and it doesn’t seem like he’s going to change his mind at all. That would be fine if they weren’t playing in New York City who will not allow him to practice nor play in any home games. Kevin Durant expressed some confidence that they’d have him come back this season, but at this point no one truly knows.

Finally, we get to the divisional preview portion of the episode. The Southeast division is home to some very bad teams and some exciting upstart teams. The Orlando Magic is a team that probably will endure the same misfortunes they’ve been experiencing for a long time. The Charlotte Hornets, on the other hand, look to be on the up-and-up and they have one of the most exciting young players in the league.

Then there are the teams who actually can compete for playoff spots and some play-in games. The Washington Wizards probably will take a step back, but have a fighter’s chance if Bradley Beal ends up staying in DC. Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks are easily in the driver’s seat of the division and have the Miami Heat in the passenger seat behind them. The Hawks surprised a lot of people in the playoffs last season and they essentially return the same team. Miami, however, made themselves a nice big three of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Kyle Lowry.

Listen to the episode to hear our thoughts on all of this and more!

Timestamps:
0:00 – Intro
3:00 – NBA Preseason observations
24:09 – Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons drama
47:27 – Orlando Magic preview
53:02 – Charlotte Hornets preview
1:00:38 – Washington Wizards preview
1:05:29 – Miami Heat preview
1:09:57 – Atlanta Hawks preview

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