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NBA basketball is finally back! The first regular season episode of The Atlantic Files is also here! Mike and Alex are here to break down what happened in the opening week and to give some serious thoughts on the Toronto Raptors.
The Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics started us off with a game that felt much like the playoffs from last season. Ben Simmons put up an impressive stat line as expected, but the Celtics were ultimately way too much for the Sixers to handle. This opening game pretty much confirmed what the guys were predicting before the season.
The Brooklyn Nets had a pretty impressive showing against the Detroit Pistons. Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert both looked much improved while D’Angelo Russell was benched. There’s plenty of season left to see if these trends go the other way, but right now this is about where the Nets were expected to be as well.
The #Nets fall in a tough one at the end 103-100
LeVert: 27p, 4r, 4a
J. Allen: 17p, 10r, 4b
Harris: 13p, 6r, 5a
Dinwiddie: 23p, 4r, 6a#WeGoHard— #TAFPod (@AtlanticFiles) October 18, 2018
One of the surprises was the New York Knicks. Allonzo Trier, Tim Hardaway Jr., and company took care of business in blowout fashion against the Atlanta Hawks. The surprise is not that they won, but more so how exciting the team looked. They still don’t even have their unicorn back!
The #Knicks win in an easy one, 126-107!
Kanter: 16p, 11r
Hardaway Jr.: 31p, 6r, 5a
Burke: 15p, 4a
Trier&Hezonja: 15p each
Knox: 10p
Vonleh: 12p, 10rNext game: @ BKN#NewYorkForever
— #TAFPod (@AtlanticFiles) October 18, 2018
Finally, the Raptors showed a lot of promise in a twelve-point win against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Kawhi Leonard looked like he’s getting back to his old ways, and the rest of the team seemed to not skip a beat despite the roster shakeup and a new coach. They’ll be tested when they play the Celtics, but that didn’t stop Mike and Alex from thinking they could handle Boston and potentially win the division.
Kawhi and the #Raptors get an opening win 116-104 over Cleveland
Leonard: 24p, 13r
Siakam: 13p
Lowry: 27p, 8a
D. Green: 11p, 5r
Van Vleet: 14p, 5aNext game: vs BOS#WeTheNorth
— #TAFPod (@AtlanticFiles) October 18, 2018
