On this week's episode of the Atlantic Files, we welcome friend of the show, Tom Tran! Tom joined us to talk about Kemba Walker being benched, James Harden and the Brooklyn Nets' offensive struggles, Joel Embiid back from Covid, and a debate about who the next number one pick should be!

The biggest news, by far, is that Kemba Walker is officially out of the rotation right now for the New York Knicks. This was nowhere close to the piece of news any of us thought we'd hear today. Coach Thibodeau must have been tired of giving up tons of leads when Kemba was in. Stat-wise, Kemba did have the worst +/- on the team!

James Harden and the Brooklyn Nets both struggled again on offense against a good opponent. This hasn't been an uncommon theme so far this season. Harden has looked both out of shape and nothing close to what he was in Houston. When is it time to finally hit the panic button and send out the bat signal for Kyrie Irving?

Joel Embiid finally made his comeback debut from Covid. We're all thankful that he got over the sickness as he talked about how rough of a battle it was for him. During his first game back, he posted a monster stat line but the Philadelphia 76ers took a tough loss in double overtime against Minnesota. Will the Sixers get back to their original hot streak ways?

Then, around the league, Michael Porter Jr was reportedly undergoing back surgery. He's going to be out for the rest of the season and the Denver Nuggets are left to pick up the pieces without him and Jamal Murray. Also, are the Phoenix Suns contenders or pretenders?

Finally, we took a look at the upcoming NBA Draft and talked about who should be the next top pick. Who do you have between Chet Holmgren and Paolo Banchero?

Timecodes:

0:00 - Intro

2:13 - James Harden and the Brooklyn Nets struggles

18:05 - Phoenix Suns, contenders or pretenders?

25:45 - Michael Porter Jr. is out for the season

33:35 - Joel Embiid back from Covid but Sixers take a loss

51:20 - Kemba Walker is out of the New York Knicks rotation

54:45 - Chet Holmgren or Paolo Banchero, who should be the top pick?