The Atlantic Files #215: Ben Simmons vs James Harden Conferences

This week on The Atlantic Files:

On this week’s episode of the Atlantic Files, both Ben Simmons and James Harden had their introductory press conferences, Derrick White is a great fit in Boston, Victor Oladipo is on his way back to the Miami Heat, and Zion Williamson might need another surgery on his foot.

As everyone has probably seen by now, both James Harden and Ben Simmons had their respective introductory press conferences. Simmons was the first one to go and kept everything very professional. There were no digs at the Philadelphia 76ers and there seemed to be no hard feelings. The surprising part was when he said that the fans, coaches, players, and front office had nothing to do with his mental well-being nor had nothing to do with asking for the trade. Not sure why they were always brought up every step of the way until then.

James Harden, on the other hand, seemed to take some subtle shots at Kyrie Irving and genuinely seemed very excited to finally land with the Sixers. He revealed things like how the Sixers were his number one choice when he was leaving Houston in the first place. He had nothing but great things to say about Philly’s fans and the young players on the team as well as Joel Embiid. So which one of these guys is a liar and who is really telling the truth?

Derrick White has fit seamlessly into the Boston Celtics lineup. He’s been a great addition to the bench squad and now he’s already starting with Marcus Smart suffering an ankle injury. The team was red-hot until running into the Detroit Pistons, but either way, they’re back into the bulk of the playoff race and the rest of their schedule is in their favor.

In good injury news, Victor Oladipo is working his way back to playing again. He was assigned to the Miami Heat’s G-League affiliate team. Could he be the final piece to really push this team over the top and back to the NBA Finals?

Finally, there’s the bad injury news in Zion Williamson. He reportedly may need another surgery on his foot. This rehab process has been lengthy and difficult and now it doesn’t look like the end is in sight. Hopefully he can get himself healthy and back on the floor!

Timecodes:
0:00 – Intro
3:25 – James Harden vs Ben Simmons intro press conferences
30:15 – Seth Curry and Andre Drummond looking good for Brooklyn
40:10 – How much does Victor Oladipo help the Miami Heat
43:15 – Derrick White and Boston Celtics are on a hot-streak
59:09 – Zion Williamson might need another surgery

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