The Atlantic Files #217: Brooklyn Nets Becoming the Next What If

This week on The Atlantic Files:

On this week’s episode of the Atlantic Files, the Brooklyn Nets continue to lose some needed ground in the standings as they await Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and Ben Simmons to return, the James Harden experience is alive and well in Philadelphia, both the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics are making playoff pushes, and the New York Knicks are stuck trying to figure out what’s going on.

The latest news coming out of the Ben Simmons saga is that now he has back issues and is regarded as “week to week.” Rich Paul even told Brian Windhorst that Simmons most likely won’t even be ready to come back in the month of March. Kevin Durant is finally coming back on March 3 while we’re all still waiting for a decision from the New York City Mayor on whether or not Kyrie Irving is going to be able to play full time again.

Let’s also not forget that the Nets are currently in the play-in territory, so if everything doesn’t go their way, they could be the next biggest ‘what if’ story for the NBA.

James Harden’s honeymoon period with the Philadelphia 76ers is going as well as anyone could have imagined! They’re now 3-0 since he’s been playing and he’s almost put up triple-doubles in every one of them. Joel Embiid has talked about the fact that he’s never been this wide open in his career and Tyrese Maxey is putting up more than 20 points per game as well. Is this all sustainable?

Coming from the depths, the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics are both making playoff pushes. Which team can make it further come playoff time?

Finally, we have the New York Knicks, yet again, bringing up the rear. The team has been quite the dumpster fire this season. After such a successful season last year, it’s so disappointing to see it all just fall apart this year. What should they do for the rest of the year and into the off-season?

Timecodes:
0:00 – Intro
2:14 – Ben Simmons out until April, Kevin Durant coming back
15:47 – If the Brooklyn Nets don’t win a ring, are they a failure?
21:13 – James Harden in Philadelphia is off to a great start
32:17 – The better playoff team, Boston Celtics or Toronto Raptors
49:36 – What should the New York Knicks do now?

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Alex Fischbein

Being from the suburbs of Philadelphia, it was hard not to become a Sixers fan during Allen Iverson's prime. Other than just the Sixers, I enjoy watching all forms and levels of basketball, especially the WNBA. Outside of basketball, I've been playing and coaching volleyball for most of my life. Also, after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh, I became a Software Developer by day, while writing and hosting podcasts by night.