|FULL POD| Atlantic Division Preview: 76ers, Raptors, Celtics, Nets, and Knicks

but we are going to give our first stop. I know it's a lot in the Atlantic Division where most of the Eastern best teams are located. Let's start with are they though I don't actually know if that's true. I just know that it's like a pretty loaded division in general. There's no like besides Toronto. There's no bottom feeders here. Let's start with the Philadelphia seventy six ers

that finished fifty four and twenty eight last year, which is good for third place. Key additions, Pat Beverley, that's really a key addition. I don't know, Kelly Oubrace Tsunami Poppy, and of course Nick Nurse Key, we'll call it subtractions, key losses. George Nang he goes to Cleveland. I always think his name is Georgie Yang because there's another Georgi.

Gorgi Jang is too. It's too confusing. And then Doc Rivers, of course, the players coach that nobody actually liked playing for, and ever since he's left, and now Nick Nurse is there, everybody's starting to like spill the tea about how Iso heavy dog Rivers style was like, oh yeah, I'm Joel and Beads being like, oh yeah, I never really wanted to be an ISO player. I never really wanted to just be in the block. I like ball movement. Anyway,

we move on. The Sixers begin the off season by firing that guy, Doc Rivers, and shit has been a little haywire since then. I don't know if anyone has had a worse off season in the NBA than the Sixers, probably the Toronto Raptors because they're getting sued by another team in their own division. The next maybe the Miami Heat who lost out on Dave. There's a few down bad teams, let's be honest. But short of those, the Sixers are in rough shape at the start of the season.

Once again, of course, it's about disgruntled former All Star James Harden, who would rather sink his own damn career and play in China than never be seen in the Sixers uniform. Again, very stubborn man, James Harden, extremely stubborn man. Of course, this has been the story that's been looming the entire summer. He hijacked my entire offseason, wondering is it gonna happen, When is it gonna happen, what's he gonna say next? But the long story short is he

ain't coming home. He ain't coming home. There's no there's no way to cajole or finesse or tell him, hey, if you play eight games like he did for the Rockets, you're gonna get traded soon, It'll happily promise. No, he knows he's dealing with Daryl Morey and Daryl Moorey is gonna do whatever he can to extract the greatest set of assets for him as he can, and that's just

not gonna be working for James. James is not going to play for anyone else but the Clippers, and the Clippers apparently don't want to get rid of now new starting I don't even know what position Terrence Man plays for the Clippers because they don't fucking know, but anyway, he's in the starting lineup now. Finally, Terrence Man. As I mentioned last week, Terrence Man apparently is the second coming of Michael Jordan as it relates to the LA Clippers,

and he's holding up the entire trade. Lawrence Frank believes Terrence Man is untouchable. Let's be real, though, the lackluster years for Terrence Man, I think that the Clippers fault. Honestly, they played him twenty three minutes a game. They moved him in and out of the rotation. You're here, you're there. Is he getting minutes? Is he not getting minutes? Where's he at in the playoffs? So it's been a little

like touch and go with Terrence Man's development. He averaged nine points last season, but remember he had this incredible game in the playoffs where he put up almost forty. It's just very weird. The whole thing is very weird. Back to the Sixers, here's what they gained. Patrick Beverly, who's an absolute past great culture guy, gonna fit on this team absolutely. Tsunami Poppy, who is reckless, plays with a level of I don't give a fuck that only a man beloved and lusted at if they're by other

men that claim to be heterosexual, could have. Right, Like when you know you can turn I hate to say this, when you're a guy who knows that you can turn any anyone in your favor despite their proclivities, I guess that's confidence right there. That's the type of confidence that Kelly Ubre plays with. I will shoot this ball whenever I want, despite whether I'm open or not. And that's

the way it goes. So Kelly Uber. He's in addition, he's going to be the three point shooting that they lost from Nang, which I think he's probably a little better than George Nang. You have Nick Nurse with a new system from Toronto. He's going to implement this new system with this without a point guard. I think that's going to be Tyresse MAXI that will be very interesting

to see how it works. But the truth of the matter is that the Sixers are going to, like always trust the process, fail or succeed this season based on Joel Embiid's health. The team with the healthy Embiid is a problem, especially when you have PJ Tucker, Tobias Harris, Tyrese Maxey, Kelly Oubray, and yes, even Pat Beverley. And by the way, if you haven't seen Joel Embiid at media Day or during his press availability, he looks fucking ripped.

This is the most in shape I think I've ever seen Joel Embiid, So we can say things are looking up.

They always have Daniel House the Anthony Mountain. I think the upside for the Sixers is actually pretty good, but they haven't really solved their biggest issue yet, which is a roster that is constructed not to win in the playoffs, constructed this way where teams can throw high quality defenders at Joel Embiid, who may or may not be healthy at that point because his uses radued through the roof and he's been injured every playoffs for the last four years.

So the sixers are in flux. And the funny thing is, no matter if James Harden's playing for this team or not, and also Terrence Man, if he plays on this team or not, not gonna save him. We move on, though,

to the worst team in the Atlantic. Just an abysmal, bismal team. How the culture has changed for the Toronto Raptors since twenty nineteen. They were forty one and forty one last year, ninth place. They end up drafting a guy that I love, Grady Dick. They end up acquiring Dennis Shooter through free agency. They get Darko Rajakovic, who's currently the guy that's being sued by the New York Knicks. Great higher. They lose, They lose Nick Nurse, they lose

Fred van Fleet. But there's some other guys that are kind of like in flux, you know, like they're in the we'll call it, they're in roster purgatory. That's O Chidanobi. That is Pascal Siakam. I think there's some other ones, but those are the main two. They were very disappointing last season, extremely disappointing five hundred team. They get bounced in the playoff play in they fire their coach right away. Nick Nurse won the only title in franchise history, did

not see eye to eye with Massai Eugerie. He got shown the door. It was shocking to some Our guy, Jake Fisher, friend the show was calling for that pretty much in the preseason last year, said that he was going to be on the hot seat because of some cultural issues between those two in terms of their philosophy for the how the squad's going to play. Also, the roster construction very strange and that leads to underperformance as well. They were in constant trade rumors over and over and

over again. They did absolutely nothing at the deadline. Shocker again, roster purgatory players that we didn't know if they were going to go or if they were going to stay. Masai Ujeri greatest cock t's in the NBA for spinning fire tonight at midnight. The Raptors then lose Fred van Fleet for nothing again because he was in the trade rumors that they didn't do it. He was supposed to be the heart and soul of the team aka the Kyle Lowry of the team, who they again lost for nothing.

They add Dennis Shuter, who I love actually feba God. He was a part of the World Cup run where I don't think Germany lost even one game. One of the most underrated players in the league. Right now they get Grady Dick, who people are just calling Dick now, which I love. Very wild card Dick is. You know, you know how Dick b is. Just never know what Dick's up to. You know, one second he's here, one second he's not. Could be really good, could be a

real mess, just like any Dick anyway. The biggest change is dark Over Jakovich, who comes over from Memphis. He's a very unknown commodity. He dropped into this team like a vampire, and he seems like already kind of causing a ruckus given the fact that I think the New York Knicks are accusing him of stealing some proprietary information

from their team. He is now tasked with coaching a team that has a bunch of veteran presence, a lot of defensive ability, a lot of length, a lot of athleticism, but not a lot of true bucket ketters, not a lot of guys who can shoot from beyond the art consistently. Besides, of course, the wildcard Dick. He will preside over players like Pascal Suakam, who is either going to sign an extension or is going to dipset O g Nanobi, who has been unhappy with his role since twenty nineteen twenty twenty.

It's been a while not happy in Toronto. I'm probably gonna walk in free agency if he doesn't get sent out by the deadline. But let's be honest, it's MASSI, so he'll probably keep him. Scottie Barnes, who was a big time sophomore slump last year, but I like a lot MASI wants to build the entire team around him. But the question really is, what is this team? What is this? What are they doing? I know they're probably good enough to be a five hundred team again, but like,

could it be better than that? I don't think so. I don't have really any real idea. I suspect this is a loser team. Honestly, I suspect this is not a good team. I do think they're gonna play freer. I do think they're gonna play looser with more joy. The Nick Nurse experiment, the Nick Nurse train is a little Thibodeau esque. He's not afraid to bury you in the media. We'll see what Darko does. I don't know how that's gonna be. They're probably gonna ditch this whole.

Like we play five to seven guys forty two to forty eight minutes a night. Thing the bench is not an existing thing. We don't even really even travel with the bench because we're not gonna use him. It's like Nick Tom Thibodeaux nurse, you know, kind of that kind of a vibe. Where will the Raptors end up? I have zero confidence in this team. I'm not gonna lie to you. In my notes it says they could be a six seed, but if I actually said that with any conviction, I'd be lying to you. I'm not gonna

do that. This is a very schizophrenic defensive oriented a lot of ninety eight to ninety six wins if they're gonna get them, and in a league where Jannis and Dame are gonna probably put up one fifty a night, it's gonna be tough sledded. They are very we'll call it a wild card. We'll see what they get at the deadline, if they get anything at all. But onto

the team that everyone thinks is going to be the real contender. The Boston Celtics. Who's Colie taken? Not Joe's. That's really the main question mark. There is Joe Key edition, Chris DAPs porzingis in free agency, and Drew Holliday via trade. They lose Marcus Smart, Grant Williams, Rob Williams, Malcolm Brogden. If you think that's a lot, well that is. Uh that's three starting players and six Man of the Year Malcolm Brogden. So they made a lot of money. Brad

Stevens is under the gun. I'm sure ownership is crawling up his ass to get a championship in while the J's are still in their prime. They're only nineteen. By the way, did you know Jason Tatum only nineteen? For like the seventh straight year tradered Brad has pushed all of his chips into the middle of this summer and now the Celtics are the odds on favorite to win

the title. So how did this happen? Well, they made the big trade earlier in the summer when they shipped out Marcus Smart, which we predicted should have been traded probably two years ago. Everyone murdered me in Boston for that. For that, I say thank you guy. Was right. Then they end up doing this deal with Memphis in a three way trade that landed them Porzingis in Kelly Green. They then signed them to an immediate extension, which I don't know, baby, I don't know about that huge move

brings an all star big man. I like the prospect of Kristaps porzingis a lot. I think him playing five is very interesting. If he's healthy. He can stretch the floor. He can shoot threes, he can dribble, he can literally bring the ball up and pull up from thirty feet right in your dome face. He can also get lobs. He can rebound. Not the greatest perimeter defender, pretty good at defending the rim. I think this is going to

take the team forward. It's certainly going to make them more unique, a little more athletic, a little bit more versatile. But they were not done. In the aftermath of the Dame Lollard trade, of course, Brad Stevens put his big balls on the table and when now he got Drew Holliday, one of the best perimeter defenders, if not the best perimeter defender on planet Earth, in exchange for time Lord Rob Williams and six Man of the Year Malcolm Bronkon.

You lose Grant Williams to free agency, he goes off to Dallas. That is a good portion of the defense, folks, that is now gone. Drew Holiday presumably helps set immensely. Now this team is a serious problem. This team is a when healthy, a massive problem. You have Derek my name is Kodak Black, but when you see me, I'm white and I like him a lot. We don't even mention him because he's a key piece of this rotation.

Swapping out Holiday for Smart, I think is a big improvement, really, especially since Holiday is a forty percent three point shooter, and we know that Marcus Smart a little on the iffy side from three, can be good, can be very ice cold. They are not gonna have to worry about who's going to handle the rock down and the crunch time and clutch time. It's not gonna be Jaylen Brown anymore. It's not gonna be Jason Tatum anymore. You now have a floor general who can also walk up on defense

but also make the right decisions. You don't want Marcus Smart taking the last shot of a crucial game seven. I'd be fine with Jew Holiday taking the last shot in a crucial Game seven. But the issues on this team are are threefold. One, Ken Christas porzingis stay healthy. That's key. If he can, this team's gonna be insane. History shows, though, let's be real, Christas Porzingiz has difficulty playing a full season. If he is out for any extended period of time, they have really nothing to back

him up. I'm not even sure who their backup center is. I really don't know. I would have to google it right this second. Not anyone good. They don't have time Lord there to back him up now, which was kind of a key piece. The second point, are they gonna have enough defense in the interior, specifically to stop Joel Embiid? And you're honest, I don't know. I don't think about that.

I don't know. Not to mention those other teams out West, like Jokic and Jamal Murray and a plethora of other teams that are gonna be coming for that ass, Drew's the lockdown defender. Jason Tatum can play defense, Jalen Brown can play defense, but I don't know. I'm suss on this also, of course, hur The third more obvious glaring question mark is Joe Missoula. He did not have a

stellar coaching performance in the playoffs. He does not have particularly great called bedside manner with the media, he doesn't really have great in game adjustments. But he has surrounded himself with more veteran assistant coaches. He gets another year of experience. Hopefully he's not watching the town anymore. That

did not work out. The question really, will he be able to more consistently manage rotations and the clock in the playoffs and not just be like, well, their jobs to figure it out, and my job is to watch. I'm watching just like y'all. That's not an acceptable answer, Joe. So the Celtics are going to be a very, very fun team to watch this year. Whether it ends up with them hoisting the Larry O'Brien, we'll see. Let's move

on to the Brooklyn Nets. Very fun team. Actually, they were forty five and thirty seven, sixth place. They of course, a lot of those wins came with Kevin Durant on the team. Key additions Noah Clowney in the draft, Derek Whitehead, and my guy Lonnie Walker, who I think is going to be a massive addition for them. Key subtractions you lose Seth Curry, you lose Joe Harris, you lose Patty Mills Brooklyn, ye're one of the rebuild has begun. This is It's like a post apocalyptic society living in a

silo like Common as the Sheriff. They have now fully embraced the rebuild. They have shed KD and Kyrie. They have brought in Mikhale Bridges and Cam Johnson as the cornerstones of this team. They swapped out the bright lights of the Big City for let's be real, a tunnel three thousand miles below the Earth's surface. Instead of this team being all glitz, glam and Kardashians, this is Ma and Pa Kettle. This is not a sexy, particularly sexy team.

I'm not throwing shade at Dorianfinny Smith or Spencer Dinwoodie. I like this team, Okay, I like them. I like them. They're very cute, They're adorable, you know what I'm saying. They're not doing anything of note, but they're gonna be fucking fun. And the Big Three era, of course, is gonna be marred by what ifs. But it's time to forget about all that. All the stars, all the egos, all the trade capital that you gave up for James Harden. No more ifs and butts and candies and nuts. Okay,

now the eyes are on the future. Let's build a winning culture here. Let's build a winning team like we did the last time, where you had D'Angelo Russell and Jared Allen, all these young young up and comers, like gritty, scrappy players. They also lost Utah Wattonnabe, so that was a key piece lost as well. This is basically an overhaul. The most interesting thing that they have is a healthy Ben Simmons, very important piece and an aspect of this

team that could be very interesting. Who knows what it means. I don't fucking know, Like, is he healthy, is his mind right? Is he right handed? Is he left handed? I don't know, sir, I don't know. They have a pretty good defensive team because they have mickl Bridges, Cam Johnson, Ben Simmons, Spencer Dinwiddie and Nick Claxton. The only player on this team that really isn't strapping you is Dimwitty. That's a fun ass core. Then you add Lonnie Walker,

Doriannfinny Smith, Royce O'Neill. This is like a top six team in the East. Honestly, this is a team that could be better than the Knicks. Not gonna lie to you. I like this team, very pesky defensive team, got some bucket getters. If mckel bridges can do what he did last year, but for the entire season, I mean, give me thirty thirty five a game, which I'm not counting in, but I'm just saying he can be that. It's gonna be fun. It's gonna be very fun. Are they a

winning team? Probably not, But they're gonna score enough to beat a lot of good teams on a lot of good nights at a couple exciting young players in the draft next year. Who knows. This is a team that's on the up and up, on the straight come up. It's not smoking mirrors. The culture is being built. No more star hunting, no more chasing. Which brings us to

another team, the New York Knicks, fifth place team last year, forty seven and thirty five. They end up getting Dante DiVincenzo from the Warriors. They become Villanova New York Villanova team. Right, they got a few of them. They lose Derrick Rose and Obi Toppin. Ain't no stopping Obi toppin now that he's not with Tom Thibodeau. The Knicks, I don't know what to make of them. I really don't. I don't. I go back and forth. Sometimes I feel very optimistic.

Sometimes I feel like they can't shoot a lick. I'm not sure they got much better this year. I don't think so. Actually, do you swap out d Rose and Obi topp and for Dante DiVincenzo. It's gonna be a team that tries hard all the time. You signed Josh Hart to an extension. That's big. Jalen Brunson's obviously there as the connective tissue. They won forty seven games last year. They can win games. Mitchell Robinson one of the best rim protectors in the league. But this roster, bro if

you look at it, doesn't inspire much confidence. Can they improve on the fifth place finish? Probably not. The question really is can they do better than they did in the playoffs last year when they looked awful against the Heat. A lot of that I think comes from RJ. Barrett. We're gonna need to see him take that next step. He showed flashes, but he would also disappear. They're very tough. They're a defensive, scrappy, hardworking team, like all Tom Thibodeau

teams are. Jalen Brunson played in FEBA. How's that going to affect him? He was very meh and FEBA very me You add that to Julius Randall, who is an All Star but kind of plays like he's not an All star, kind of plays like he's still most improved player before he was most improved, went healthy. He's a real problem, but he also disappears in big moments. You add in Josh hart who's like a roller coaster from

the perimeter. Shot fifty percent from three as a Nick and I think it was like twenty percent from three as a Blazer. Quentin Grimes is nice. Mitchell Robinson I like, but can't make free throws. He's not really a bucket for I like Isaiah Hartenstein a lot. You add them in, this could be a forty five win team. What do I think of the Knicks. I'm, as you can see, like, very confused. It's a fun team. They could make some little baby noise. They need to swing for something. Let's

be honest. They need to try to figure out a way to get Donovan Mitchell or just wait for him to be a free agent. They're a piece away. There's now news that they could be going after Karl Anthony Towns. I don't know how much I love that As long as Tibodeau is coaching this team, they're not in the doul drums, but I don't see them really competing on any real level with the rest of the teams in the East. That's all the time that we have for this episode of the Heat Check. Come back later this

week for a new one. We'll be back Wednesday. Check out in the feed for past episodes and many episodes which drop unexpectedly like a island breeze, and follow us as we head into this new NBA season. Do not forget to download, subscribe and tell your friends every single one of them, and follow us on social at this heat Check and interest to Creek on TikTok, Instagram and Twitter. We'll see you next time.