1.) Boston
2.) Cleveland
3.) Orlando
4.) Washington
5.) Chicago
6.) Atlanta
7.) Philadelphia
8.) Indiana
9.) Toronto
10.) Miami
11.) Charlotte
12.) Detroit
13.) New York
14.) Milwaukee
15.) New Jersey
Atlantic Division:
Boston – We know what to expect from the Celtics at this point…as long as Kevin Garnett is healthy. If The Big Ticket can stave off the recurring knee problems that plagued him last season, Boston has as good a chance as anyone of contending for the Eastern Conference championship. Though Ray Allen and Paul Pierce are no longer at their respective peaks offensively, they provide enough of a scoring punch to be dangerous at any time. Rajon Rondo took his game to another level in last year’s postseason and will look to keep that momentum going. From all accounts in the preseason, he looks ready to continue his improvement. Guard depth, however, will be an issue. The offseason acquisition of Marquis Daniels will help out the Celtics on the wing, but ballhandling and creating when Rondo heads to the bench is still a problem. Eddie House is a shooter, not a point guard, and Daniels is not the distributor that Boston needs off the bench. Another concern is the age of the interior players. Newly-signed Rasheed Wallace is no longer a young’n, and Garnett’s knees are wearing out faster than Balloon Boy jokes (his name really was Falcon, though, that’s not a joke; it’s just funny). Glen Davis proved last postseason that he can be a regular contributor for a good team, but let’s be honest, if Wallace and Garnett don’t play well, the Celtics have no chance of attaining their ultimate goal: another Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Philadelphia – First things first, huge props to the Sixers for going back to their old school logo and color scheme. The Iverson-era jerseys were kinda cool, but not as legit as their throwbacks-turned-current uniforms. Nice touch, Philly. On paper, I kinda like this team. Lou Williams seems ready to take the place of Andre Miller, Elton Brand should be back to full health after rehabbing his shoulder injury, and Andre Iguodala does a lot of good things for this team. Bringing in coach Eddie Jordan, formerly of Washington and one of my favorite coaches in the league, is also a huge plus. However, when I think back to how this team played last year, I am hesitant to put two feet on the bandwagon. Even with a steady point guard such as Miller running the team, they looked disoriented at times, and were about as inconsistent as a playoff team could be. Even their semi-riveting playoff series against Orlando showed the good and bad of the Sixers at once. Jordan’s offensive philosophy should make this a fun team to watch, but I’m not sure who is going to defend. Thaddeus Young is a tremendous athlete, but he seems to use his talents mostly on the offensive end of the floor. Elton Brand is a good rebounder and interior defender, but pairing him with the disappointing Sam Dalembert limits his opportunities to lock down opposing big men. I see no way that this team doesn’t make the playoffs (I think that was only a double negative, but it may have been a triple), but I can’t see them cracking the top four in the East unless everything falls into place (and they run a lineup of Williams, Iguodala, Young, Marreese Speights, and Brand just to see what happens).
Toronto – The Raps are probably going to be my third-favorite team in the league this year (which is really like my favorite in a way since San Antonio and Indiana have occupied the top two spots, in that order, for the past two decades). GM Bryan Colangelo stopped doing what others thought he should do (cough…Jermaine O’Neal…cough…Shawn Marion…cough), and decided to put together a team that he likes. The result? A bunch of shooters and ballhandlers surrounding Chris Bosh. No, seriously, that’s the team. Andrea Bargnani is the starting center and even he likes to fill it up from the outside. The Hedo Turkoglu signing gives them another perimeter threat, and the trade for Marco Belinelli gives them a bench guy who…will come in to dribble and shoot. This is going to be fun to watch. Will it be productive? I have no idea. Bosh will rebound, but who else will? Rasho Nesterovic, Amir Johnson, and Reggie Evans are there to do just that, but it remains to be seen how the rotation will play out. Point guard Jose Calderon remains one of the more efficient players in the league (as well as its best free throw shooter) and two guard DeMar DeRozan should have an immediate impact. There are a lot of questions surrounding the Raptors at this point, but one question has already been answered with a resounding ‘yes’: If Toronto is playing in my city, should I go watch them?
New Jersey – If I were on a polygraph right now, I’d have to admit that I have no interest in summing up the Nets’ chances this year. I’d rather type something along the lines of “22-60” and keep right on moving. However, diligence compels me to tell you a few things. First, the N(y)ets are going to be bad. Second, they were recently bought by a Russian guy who is, apparently, 6’9” (hence the New Jersey Nyets joke you’ll hear all season long). Third, there is some potential here. The red tape surrounding this franchise is quite ridiculous; between the pending sale to Mikhail Prokhorov, the attempted move to Brooklyn, and them trying to get out of the Meadowlands to go play in Newark, the Nets have some serious issues to address. However, should the fans be able to focus on the on-court happenings, they’ll see that Devin Harris is good, Brook Lopez is on his way to becoming a franchise center, and Courtney Lee is a valuable piece that could be helpful now but most certainly will be down the road. I didn’t like them drafting Terrence Williams because I thought they had more pressing needs in the front court, but if he pans out, you can never have enough good players. Yi Jianlian still isn’t good, Sean Williams will probably be off the team by February, and Josh Boone is their backup center. Still, patience is key in New Jersey…although by the time this team gets good, it will most likely be in Brooklyn already. Whoops.
New York – I love Mike D’Antoni. He seems to be a great guy in every interview he gives, and the depiction of him in Jack McCallum’s wonderful book, Seven Seconds or Less made me like him even more. However, he doesn’t have much to work with in Manhattan. Chris Duhon is still his starting point guard, Nate Robinson is back to give him more headaches, Jared Jeffries still hasn’t been traded (though Donnie Walsh is feverishly trying to remedy that), and Al Harrington is liable to hoist more shots than Ray Allen this year. Still, D’Antoni’s frenetic pace lends itself to winning games that his teams otherwise shouldn’t and losing games that they should otherwise win. It’s a give-take system, and he’ll need tremendous efforts out of Danilo Gallinari, David Lee, and Wilson Chandler for this team to reach its potential. If Larry Hughes and Jordan Hill give them anything this year, it’ll be an added bonus, but I just don’t see any way the Knicks make the playoffs. They’re hoping to land a big fish in the summer of 2010, but with their depleted roster, lack of draft picks, and limited trade options, things don’t seem as promising as they did 18 months ago in Gotham. The best-case scenario for this team is somehow getting to 39 or 40 wins and hoping the rest of the East is bad enough to let them in the playoff race. It’s hard to say that’ll happen, but with New Jersey, Detroit, Indiana, Charlotte, and Milwaukee as your competition, it’s not out of the realm of possibility.
Southeast Division:
Orlando – I like the new-look Magic a lot. Ok, so it’s hard to classify them as “new-look” when really they just got rid of Hedo Turkoglu for Vince Carter, but this a different team than you saw in the Finals. In addition to Carter, they added Brandon Bass and Matt Barnes; two guys who will give them tons of energy and production off the bench, and Ryan Anderson, a sweet-shooting big who can still stretch defenses when Rashard Lewis is on the bench. Speaking of Lewis, he’ll miss the first ten games due to a PED-related suspension, but the Magic should be fine. Now, let’s clear up one thing real quick: Vince Carter is better at basketball than Hedo Turkoglu. He always has been, too. Hedo is my boy; he was clutch for Orlando and made play after play after play when they needed him to, but he’s not as good as Vince Carter. Yes, Vinsanity will turn 33 midseason, but he’s got enough gas in the tank for this season, especially with the added bonus of coming back to play for the hometown team (Carter is from Daytona). Oh, and did I mention that All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson is back from his shoulder injury? And that Dwight Howard should be better than ever? Think about it, I just went a few sentences before I even mentioned the best center in basketball; that’s how interesting Orlando is to me this year. A fourth quarter quintet of Nelson, Carter, Pietrus, Lewis, and Howard? I think they’re going to be great, and I think they’re going to the Finals again. There, it’s in writing.
Washington – I’m high on these guys. The Wizards have been through injury hell the past couple of years, and it peaked (or valley-ed) last year with a terrible 19-63 finish. Ouch. Now, Gilbert Arenas is back, Brendan Haywood is back, and…Antawn Jamison is hurt already. Jamison’s strained shoulder means that Arenas, Jamison, and Caron Butler still have not played in a game together since April 1, 2007. Read that sentence again. With the additions of Mike Miller and Randy Foye from Minnesota, the Wizards have a deeper bench and more talent than ever. With an ideal rotation of Arenas, Miller, Foye, Jamison, Haywood, Butler, Nick Young, Andray Blatche, and JaVale McGee, Washington should be able to contend for the fourth spot in the East. Whether or not they get there obviously depends on health, but everyone around the Capital City seems to have a cautious optimism going on, and I like that. McGee was a young bronco last year who was wild yet amazing at times. If his game has become more refined over the summer, he will be a valuable addition down low. Fabricio Oberto was acquired to do the dirty work on the inside, which is something they haven’t had in the past. Honestly, though, Arenas needs to be the old Agent Zero if the Wizards are to reach their goals. Butler and Jamison will be their normal dependable selves, but Gilbert Arenas must produce at an All-Star clip again for the Wizards to be dangerous. I think he will, and I think they will be.
Atlanta – Pretty much the same Hawks of the past two years, look for Atlanta to once again be in the 4-5-6 range in the East and go out early in the playoffs. The addition of Jamal Crawford to the backcourt provides scoring depth, but there is still the matter of a backup point guard. Mike Bibby is still a steady NBA point guard, but if you think Jeff Teague is going to come in and help out the position immediately, I’d advise you to go back and watch the final 15 games of Wake Forest’s season last year. I respect Teague because he’s from Naptown, but he’s not yet ready to produce in the NBA. Along the frontline, Atlanta has the usual suspects – Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, and Al Horford. All are significant contributors in their own right, but if you think that frontline is winning you anything significant, you’re dreaming. This team often gets beat in the paint because they’re too busy looking for blocks instead of actually defending the players in front of them. When Joe Smith is supposedly the big piece that’s going to help out your interior defense, that’s all you need to know about the Hawks. Another solid year, another early playoff exit. Done and done.
Miami – How did Dwyane Wade not win MVP last year? I think LeBron James was certainly deserving of the award, but the more I look at Miami’s roster, the more I wonder how they finished in the top 5 in the East last year. Wow. Anyway, Wade’s health is the key to the season in Miami…as always. Mario Chalmers, Michael Beasley, Jermaine O’Neal, Udonis Haslem. That’s the other 4/5 of the Heat’s starting five. Seriously, how did this team make the playoffs again? Anyway, adding Carlos Arroyo should provide help in the backcourt, but that’s about it. Joel Anthony and Jamaal Magloire are being relied upon to rebound and defend? My goodness. I really wanted to put the Heat lower than 10th in the East, but Wade’s brilliance wouldn’t allow me to do so. He averaged 30.2/7.5/5.0 last season, and the fact that it doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibility this year shows you just how good he is. The problem is if he gets hurt or “only” gets, say, 26.2/5.8/3.7, Miami has zero chance of making the playoffs. Michael Beasley is the wild card here, a guy who could give Wade the running mate to improve the team; but with all of his off-the-court issues and a lack of confidence going into the season, I’m hesitant to consider him a reliable second banana. The Heat will take a step back this year, but with a free agent lured to South Beach this summer, things could be a lot better next year…as long as Wade doesn’t leave for Chicago first.
Charlotte – So long, ‘Mek; thanks for the memories. Emeka Okafor, one of the few original Bobcats remaining, was traded this offseason for Tyson Chandler. First of all, Charlotte should never trade with the Hornets. Ever. The wound is still too fresh. Second, if you’re going to trade with George Shinn’s team, at least make sure you fleece him, not give up arguably your best player for a limited offensive player with a history of injuries who might give you 60 games this year. Oh well, these are the types of things Bobcats fans (yes, they exist) have come to expect under the direction of Michael Jordan (quick question: how many current Bobcats could MJ name if you asked him right now and he didn’t have an iPhone or media guide available? I say seven. Is this high or low for a team president? I say low, but I could be wrong). Despite the fact that I’ll be in CrownTown October 30th to cheer on the Bobcats in their home opener, I’m not very high on this team (as you possibly could have inferred already). Raymond Felton and D.J. Augustin provide a solid point guard rotation, and Gerald Wallace and Boris Diaw will fill the stat sheets in Charlotte, but there’s not much else there. Raja Bell, once thought of as a “Kobe stopper” hasn’t done a whole lot since being traded from Phoenix, Vlad Radmanovic is going to shoot threes and not much else (side note: I saw Vlad Rad in a Charlotte mall this fall wearing his old Seattle SuperSonics warmup pants. He was carrying a ton of bags, so he’s clearly the baller we all think he is, but why was he wearing warmup pants for a team he played for three teams ago, that doesn’t even exist anymore, in the town in which he currently plays? I can’t figure this one out; someone smarter than me needs to intervene pronto), and there’s not much interior depth. DeSagana Diop and Nazr Mohammed are your backup centers, folks. Hopefully, Gerald Henderson will be an exciting addition and the Bobcats can claw their way to 40 or so wins. But that’s about all you can expect in the Queen City this year.
Central Division:
Cleveland – Let me go on record as saying the Shaq experiment isn’t going to work. They got Shaq to win the NBA Finals, right? And they’re not going to win the NBA Finals this year, so that makes it a failure, right? Does anyone think this team, in its current form, can beat Boston or Orlando in a seven-game series? Delonte West was caught strapped in Baltimore, so who knows when he’s coming back (though it should be soon), Anderson Varejao just got a big contract and played hard for Brazil in the FIBA Americas tournament this summer (and he’s gonna bring energy in April? Riiiight), and Shaq looks like he weights 350 lbs. at this point. I mean, have you seen him this preseason? My goodness. The ace card, as always, is LeBron James. The guy has a chance to be one of the top 10 players ever, and he’s only 24. Every season he does something we haven’t seen before, and there’s no reason to expect anything different this year. Let me ask you this, though: if the Cavaliers weren’t able to win the East last year despite LeBron being superhuman, how are they going to win this year? If your answer is “they added Shaq” then that tells me all I need to know. This isn’t 2002, people, just ask Phoenix. Anyway, Cleveland has two tasks this year: win a championship, and convince LeBron that the pieces are in place to win a whole bunch more so that he doesn’t leave in 2010. I think Cleveland will end up with a good regular season record, but I can’t see them getting past the conference semis. Mo Williams’ inability to make those around him better was evident in the Orlando series last year and there isn’t a single non-LeBron distributor on the team. Adding Anthony Parker was a good move because it gives the Cavs the outside shooter they’ve needed for some time now, but I don’t think it puts them over the top. Boston and Orlando remain better, and Cleveland is a clear third going into the season. We’ll talk in July and see what happened from now to then.
Chicago – I like this group. Their coach, Vinny Del Negro, is still a bit of an unknown, but their talent level is pretty good and all of the guys play hard. That usually bodes well for success. The big thing holding back the Bulls is that they don’t have an elite player who can win them a few games when they’re off or out of rhythm. Derrick Rose is well on his way to becoming such a player, but he’s not there yet. Losing Ben Gordon hurts their perimeter scoring, but if John Salmons can play like he did over the last month of the season last year, that void will shrink. I love the Kirk Hinrich/Jannero Pargo backup guard combination as you get solid play out of both no matter the situation. The frontcourt is a hodge podge of talent. Brad Miller is a good passer and shooter, Joakim Noah is a ferocious defender and rebounder, and Tyrus Thomas does the freaky athletic things that make you wonder how good he’d be if he were consistent. Rookie James Johnson showed flashes in the preseason of good ability, so expect him to contribute some as an energy guy type backup. The Bulls gave the Celtics all they wanted last year in the playoffs, but will need to continue progressing if they want to win a playoff series this year. I expect that they will.
Indiana – Ah, the Pacers. Once an automatic insertion into the playoff discussion, they now scrap and claw to get their way into the 8th spot, something they haven’t been able to do since 2006. Oddly, I’m expecting Indiana to make the playoffs this season. I like the way Danny Granger has taken his game to another level and has become a star in the league. No, he won’t continue his streak of averaging 6 more ppg than the season before (7 to 13 to 19 to 25 last year), at least I don’t think so, but he single-handedly wins the Pacers a few games they shouldn’t. Troy Murphy became the first player in NBA history to finish in the Top 5 in rebounding and three-point shooting, and he returns this year with more emphasis on his low post game. Brandon Rush was very productive at the end of his rookie season last year when Mike Dunleavy was hampered by a knee injury. Dunleavy returning would be a huge boost to the Pacers, but no one seems to know when that will be (I say January). Roy Hibbert and Tyler Hansbrough were drafted to give the Pacers something inside, so their development will be key. Dahntay Jones was lured away from Denver at a steep price in order to shore up the defense, which let too many teams shoot way-too-high percentages. The Pacers are going to score, believe me. But if they can improve on defense, even marginally, they’ll find themselves in the playoffs. Despite all of the injuries and bad luck last year, they almost made it. Those things can’t happen to them two years in a row, can they? Don’t answer that.
Detroit – Their starting five is Rodney Stuckey, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Charlie Villanueva, and Kwame Brown. Their key backups are Ben Gordon, Ben Wallace, and Chris Wilcox. Maybe I’m missing something, but this team is going to be bad. Who’s rebounding on this team? Who is keeping the other team’s big men from going wild? Do they really think they can just roll out the ball and score more than everyone else? Why am I asking so many rhetorical questions? Their coach is a former Cleveland assistant I’ve never heard of. I read everything I can about the NBA and I’ve never heard of him; that can’t be good for the Pistons, right? Gordon and Villanueva, two offseason acquisitions, will provide a scoring boost for sure, but I just don’t see this team being able to stop anyone defensively (especially if those two are on the court together). After what’s happened with the Lions and Tigers this year, I’m advising all of my Detroit brethren to stay away from Auburn Hills for fear of further emotional damage. Just watch “Gran Torino” again and thank me later.
Milwaukee – I’m one of the few people not predicting doomsday in Milwaukee. Ok, so I predicted them 14th in the East, but I think it’ll be an encouraging 14th. Is that possible? Umm, I think so; just let me explain. Brandon Jennings is the Bucks’ starting point guard. That’s not going to work very well this year. However, he’ll flash plenty of potential and make some plays that we’re not used to seeing from Milwaukee. Maybe a no-look to Michael Redd for a three. Maybe a lob to Andrew Bogut for an awkward dunk. Maybe a crossover-turned-layup on a fast break. The kid has talent, but it’s not very refined. Coach Scott Skiles will earn his paycheck trying to corral Jennings without limiting him. I like that everyone on this team plays hard; that will result in a few extra wins this season. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute was a surprise at forward last year, and Kurt Thomas brings a steadying presence down low. There isn’t a lot of talent in place (has anyone actually seen Joe Alexander lately? If so, please let me know), but the Bucks will surprise by contending for the first couple of months, barring injury. However, as the season wears on, the daily grind will kick in, and simply outhustling teams won’t be enough anymore. But that’s still encouraging despite finishing in 14th, isn’t it? Hello?
Best Coach: Mike D’Antoni, New York
Worst Coach: Whomever The Pistons Hired This Year, Detroit
Best Rookie: DeMar DeRozan, Toronto
Worst Rookie: Austin Daye, Detroit
Best Uniforms: Orlando blues
Worst Uniforms: Milwaukee reds
Most Overrated Player: Shaquille O’Neal, Cleveland
Most Underrated Player: Danny Granger, Indiana
Best Crowd: Boston
Worst Crowd: Charlotte
Surprise Team: Indiana
Disappointing Team: Miami
~~ Lank
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