2010 Mid-season Report: Atlantic Division
By Kalab Washburn, RealGM
February 1, 2010 - The conclusion of January concludes the first half of the 2009-10 NBA season, and it has been a great one. In this six-part feature, I will provide an overview of all thirty teams' performance thus far, along with their current rotations. I will start with the Atlantic Division, home of both the best and worst the NBA has to offer, with three mediocre teams in between. Enjoy.
Atlantic Division Standings:
1-Boston 37-11
5-New Jersey 24-24
7-Toronto 23-25
8-Philadelphia 22-24
New York 13-33 | GB: 9
37-11 - 1st Conference, 1st Division - On Pace for 63 Wins
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While the big three are the most prolific Celtics, Rajon Rondo is their best player. Averaging 15.3 PPG, 9.6 APG and 7.5 RPG, the young point guard has amassed a myriad of comparisons to prime Jason Kidd. However, the 23 year old isn't the only Celtic having a big season. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett have been excellent as usual, with the former having his best shooting season by far, with a clip of .503%. On pace for 63 wins, the C's are cruising to the top seed in the Leastern Conference. With the Lakers losing a bit of depth in the offseason, the Celtics are the clearcut favorites to win the 'chip, health pending.
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Starters: Rajon Rondo | Ray Allen | Paul Pierce | Kevin Garnett | Kendrick Perkins
Rotation: Ty Lawson, Glen Davis, Eddie House, Leon Powe, Tony Allen, Brian Scalabrine, Bill Walker
Team Leaders:
Points Per Game: Pierce (18.4); Allen (17.4); Garnett (16.7)
Rebounds Per Game: Garnett (9.4); Rondo (7.5); Perkins (6.6)
Assists Per Game: Rondo (9.6); Pierce (4.1); Garnett (3.8)
24-24 - 5th Conference, 2nd Division - On Pace for 41 Wins
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The Nets have been a surprising success this season, being tied with the Chicago Bulls with the fourth best record in the pitiful Eastern Conference. After a proposed trade that would send Vince Carter to the Magic fell through, the aging swingman has said that he would like to retire a Net. He and all-star Devin Harris join forces to make the most exciting guard duo in the NBA. Unfortunately, with the exception of prize offseason signing Anderson Varejao and underused rookie point guard Brandon Jennings, the team is extremely shallow. Additionally, their forwards remain the weak spots in the starting five, and that should stay that way unless Yi Jianlian lives up to his hype and/or they acquire a solid 3 in free agency. First round fodder methinks.
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Starters: Devin Harris | Vince Carter | Jarvis Hayes | Yi Jianlian | Brook Lopez
Rotation: Anderson Varejao, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Keyon Dooling, Bobby Simmons, Sean Williams, Eduardo Najera, Brandon Jennings
Team Leaders
Points Per Game: Carter (22.4); Harris (21.0); Lopez (14.7)
Rebounds Per Game: Lopez (9.5); Varejao (7.8); Yi (4.8)
Assists Per Game: Harris (7.6); Carter (5.5); Jennings (3.7)
23-25 - 7th Conference, 3rd Division - On Pace For 39 Wins
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After making a head-scratcher of an offseason trade, dealing franchise player Chris Bosh to the Rockets for Tracy McGrady and Luis Scola, it was hard to tell what direction Bryan Colangelo was going with the team. The answer: nowhere. While Andrea Bargnani is flourishing into a star, he is still not a Center. T-Mac is having a solid year, but its hard to imagine him with a future on a young team; the game applying to Scola. The bright spot of the season is Jose Calderon's career season, posting his best stats to date across the board. Unfortunately, with several teams breathing down their neck, this may not equate to a playoff appearance. With the resurgence of the Wizards and everything coming together in Charlotte, I would have to bet against Canada's team making a postseason appearance. Time will tell if the Raptors are on the road to being a title contender, but unless Bargnani becomes the next Dirk, and stops playing the 5, it looks like another decade of mediocrity for the Raps.
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Starters: Jose Calderon | Tracy McGrady | Trevor Ariza | Luis Scola | Andrea Bargnani
Rotation: Joey Graham, Marcus Banks, Wayne Ellington, Chris Mihm, Nathan Lawai, Kris Humphries, Wayne Ellington
Team Leaders
Points Per Game: McGrady (20.7); Bargnani (16.6); Calderon (14.2)
Rebounds Per Game: Scola (8.1); Bargnani (6.2); Ariza (5.0)
Assists Per Game: Calderon (9.4); McGrady (4.2); Banks (2.6)
22-24 - 8th Conference, 4th Division - On Pace For 39 Wins
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Another team doomed to mediocrity for the foreseeable future. Looking at their third straight season as a low playoff seed, and their two best players playing the same position, trade rumors involving franchise player Andre Iguodala have been circulation. Iguodala, 26, has been putting up solid numbers ever since the departure of Allen Iverson, but has yet to make an all-star game, or lead his team past the second round. With sixth man of the year candidate Thaddeus Young looking like a budding superstar and posting superior stats per 36 minutes, it may be a necessary step for the team's improvement. However, it may not be enough as the team may be too encumbered by disappointing signing Elton Brand's large contract. If they opt to keep AI2, they should hang on to the eighth seed; and should be a mid-lottery squad if they deal him.
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Starters: Andre Miller | Willie Green | Andre Iguodala | Elton Brand | Samuel Dalembert
Rotation: Thaddeus Young, Louis Williams, Marreese Speights, Jason Kapono, Theo Ratliff, Jason Smith, Jerel McNeal
Team Leaders
Points Per Game: Iguodala (18.7); Young (16.8); Brand (14.0)
Rebounds Per Game: Brand (8.5); Dalembert (7.9); Iguodala (5.9)
Assists Per Game: Miller (7.8); Iguodala (5.8); Williams (4.2)
13-33 - 15th Conference, 5th Division - On Page For 23 Wins
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Yet another lost season for the Knicks, who share the league's longest playoff drought with the equally woeful Minnesota Timberwolves. When your starting backcourt of Chris Duhon and Larry Hughes, you are bound to be awful. Being the frontrunners for the top draft pick and having an abundance of expiring contracts, the Knicks have potential to make major improvements in this upcoming offseason. However, Knicks fans will need to suffer at least three more months of awfulness.
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Starters: Chris Duhon | Larry Hughes | Wilson Chandler | Al Harrington | David Lee
Rotation: Danilo Gallinari, Quentin Richardson, Eddy Curry, Michael Doleac, Jared Jeffries, Gerald Henderson, Nando De Colo
Team Leaders
Points Per Game: Harrington (17.2); Chandler (14.9); Hughes (14.7)
Rebounds Per Game: Lee (11.4); Harrington (7.7); Chandler (6.1)
Assists Per Game: Duhon (7.3); Hughes (3.6); Gallinari (2.5)
Sit wrote:You better use my sig boy. X and Valor approve.
El Pollo Diablo wrote:I can't believe I visited Lamrock's thread because of his sig.
El Pollo Diablo wrote:I can't believe I visited Lamrock's thread because of his sig.
2010 Mid-season Report: Central Division
By Kalab Washburn, RealGM
February 2, 2010 - Part two of the midseason report series shifts focus to the Central division. With the exception of the mess that is the Detroit Pistons, this division is full of exciting young squads. However, with the top two teams' best players both upcoming free agents, the Central could be the bottom of the barrel this time next year. Note: All statistics and standings in this series are as of the end of January 31st, 2010.
Atlantic Division Standings:
3-Cleveland 30-18
4-Chicago 24-24
Milwaukee 21-24 | GB: .5
Detroit 21-30 | GB: 3.5
Indiana 18-27 | GB: 3.5
30-18 - 3rd Conference, 1st Division - On pace for 51 wins
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First the proposed Shaq trade fell through, then the Michael Redd deal and now Antawn Jamison appears to be off limits. With the Cavs looking at a 50 win season, its obvious that Cleveland is a strong team, but they certainly don't seem like the team that the best basketball player in the world - maybe ever would want to be on. The Cavs are all LeBron. Leading the team in every single category, the young superstar has been unstoppable, and has carried the underpowered squad to a comfortable lead in the Central Division. With the Bulls acquiring Amare, that lead may start to decay if they aren't capable. With the Nets looking like a promising young team and the Knicks hording cap, this is likely the Cavaliers' last chance at a title.
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Starters: Mo Williams | Delonte West | LeBron James | Drew Gooden | Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Rotation: Daniel Gibson, Matt Barnes, Sasha Pavlovic, Austin Daye, Ben Wallace, JJ Hickson, Scot Pollard
Team Leaders
Points Per Game: James (30.3); Williams (17.5); West (14.3)
Rebounds Per Game: James (8.4); Ilgauskas (7.1); Gooden (5.5)
Assists Per Game: James (7.1); Williams (5.9); West (5.1)
24-24 - 4th Conference, 2nd Division - On Pace for 41 wins
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At first, the return of Ron Artest to the Bulls did not make much sense to me, but this season he has topped outgoing shooting guard Ben Gordon's production. However, the Bulls remained mediocre, and something had to be done. Rather than sit around hoping that Derrick Rose and Luol Deng were going to become all-stars, Bulls management got proactive and traded athletic project forward Tyrus Thomas along with expiring contract center Brad Miller to the Suns for superstar Amare Stoudemire. While the team has gone 3-3 since the deal, the team has made evident strides and are now one of the most exciting teams in the NBA. With a explosive guard-big man combo in Rose and Amare, a scrappy Center in Noah, and solid swingman depth, some people are now calling Bulls contenders.
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Starters: Derrick Rose | John Salmons | Ron Artest | Amare Stoudemire | Joakim Noah
Reserves: Luol Deng, Rashad McCants, Francisco Garcia, Tim Thomas, Bobby Jackson, Taj Gibson, Alondo Tucker
Team Leaders
Points Per Game: Stoudemire (22.5); Artest (19.6); Rose (17.2)
Rebounds Per Game: Noah (9.6); Stoudemire (8.1); Artest (5.6)
Assists Per Game: Rose (8.1); Salmons (3.6); Jackson (3.2)
21-24 - 9th Conference, 3rd Division - On Pace for 38 wins
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The Milwaukee Bucks are a half game behind the Philadelphia 76ers for the final playoff spot in the East, but I really hope they make it. 30 year old shooting guard Michael Redd has stayed healthy and is having a surprising career season, posting career highs across the board. It would be a crime for the Olympian not to make the all-star squad this year. Additionally, Australian center Andrew Bogut is averaging a career high 15.2 PPG. Weak in talent but strong in heart, Scott Skiles has gotten the most out of this squad.
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Starters: Luke Ridnour | Michael Redd | Bruce Bowen | Brandon Bass | Andrew Bogut
Rotation: Charlie Bell, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Jonny Flynn, Kurt Thomas, Joe Alexander, Amir Johnson, Dan Gadzuric
Team Leaders
Points Per Game: Redd (27.3); Bogut (15.2); Bass (12.8)
Rebounds Per Game: Bogut (8.8); Bass (6.7); Redd (4.4)
Assists Per Game: Ridnour (6.7); Redd (4.3); Flynn (3.5)
21-30 - 13th Conference, 4th Division - On pace for 34 wins
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Detroit has nothing going for them right now. Led by the aging Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince, the only intriguing prospect the subpar Pistons have is raw swingman DeMar DeRozan, who is currently averaging under a point a game. Rodney Stuckey has proven that the decision to trade Chauncey Billups to let him start was a poor one, with the young player shooting 40% from the field, and having an assist-turnover rate of less than two. (6.2-3.3) The rest of the team has been pretty much dead weight. I don't know what Joe Dumars is doing, but its not working.
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Starters: Rodney Stuckey | Richard Hamilton | Tayshaun Prince | Jason Maxiell | Rasheed Wallace
Rotation: Antonio McDyess, Will Bynum, Walter Herrmann, Anthony Tolliver, Aaron Afflalo, Demar DeRozan, Fabricio Oberto
Team Leaders
Points Per Game: Hamilton (20.3); Prince (15.4); Stuckey (14.6)
Rebounds Per Game: Maxiell (7.4); Wallace (5.6); McDyess (4.3)
Assists Per Game: Stuckey (6.2); Hamilton (4.5); Prince (3.2)
18-27 - 14th Conference, 5th Division - On pace for 33 wins
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T.J. Ford is enjoying a surprise career season, but as good of a package they received from the Blazers for Danny Granger, the Pacers are sorely missing a franchise player. While Greg Oden has been efficient, been a defensive stalwart and crashing the boards, his 8.2 PPG leaves something to be desired. Perhaps the departure of disappointing offseason signing Paul Millsap will help his scoring, but he will most likely stay a non-factor on offense. While they are only 3.5 games out of eighth place, this season is probably a lost cause for the Pacers. The team appears to have a solid future, but it hinges on two things: Oden's development and how they use their next draft pick.
Starters: TJ Ford | Mike Dunleavy Jr. | Jeff Green | Troy Murphy | Greg Oden
Rotation: Martell Webster, Marquis Daniels, Jarrett Jack, Nicolas Batum, Earl Watson, Roy Hibbert, Brandon Rush
Team Leaders
Points Per Game: Ford (17.1); Dunleavy (15.5); Green (11.9)
Rebounds Per Game: Oden (9.5); Murphy (7.1); Green (4.4)
Assists Per Game: Ford (7.7); Jack (3.1); Green (2.8)
Lamrock wrote:The X, Yeah, especially for teams like Toronto who blew their team up in the offseason.
Lamrock wrote:Valor, Thanks. sorry Cartar-gate put you on the outside looking in the prediction game for a 2010 NLSC draftee. You're in luck, since Central is up next.
Lamrock wrote: I don't understand in your avatar how Arenas relates to Megan Fox though...
2010 Mid-season Report: Southeast Division
By Kalab Washburn, RealGM
February 3, 2010 - Part three of the mid-season report series covers the Southeast Division. Like the other two eastern conference divisions, it is being led by a title contender, and the rest of the teams are mediocre or worse. This division is home to three of the most disappointing teams of the year in Miami, Washington and Atlanta.
Southeast Division Standings:
2-Orlando 30-17
6-Charlotte 23-24
Miami 21-25 | GB: 1
Washington 20-27 | GB: 2.5
Atlanta 19-26 | GB: 2.5
30-17 - 2nd Conference, 1st Division - On pace for 52 wins
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The #2 team in the Eastern Conference, the Magic made a Cinderella run to the NBA Finals last year, in which they were handily dispatched by the Lakers. With the Celtics looking unstoppable this season, many doubt that the Magic will repeat the feat. Failing to make any improvements in the offseason (in fact, they lost Marcin Gortat), the Magic have regressed slightly, despite the improvement of Courtney Lee. A trade for Vince Carter fell through, but with Mickael Pietrus disgruntled and on the trading block, and Hedo Turkoglu not living up to his huge 2007-08 season (putting up big numbers but doing so inefficiently), don't be surprised to see the Magic make a move at the deadline.
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Starters: Jameer Nelson | Courtney Lee | Hedo Turkoglu | Rashard Lewis | Dwight Howard
Rotation: Mickael Pietrus, Rafer Alston, JJ Redick, Stromile Swift, Anthony Johnson, Tyronn Lue, Ersan Ilyasova
Team Leaders
Points Per Game: Howard (22.9); Lewis (17.3); Turkoglu (15.8)
Rebounds Per Game: Howard (12.1); Lewis (5.6); Turkoglu (4.4)
Assists Per Game: Nelson (7.3); Turkoglu (5.1); Alston (3.8)
23-24 - 6th Conference, 2nd Division - On pace for 40 wins
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This year looks like the year the Charlotte Bobcats make the playoffs (and get swept in the first round)! With the big-time additions of James Harden, Shawn Marion and Nate Robinson, the 'Cats are truly hitting their stride. The much criticized Emeka Okafor-for-Tyson Chandler swap has turned out to be just what the doctor ordered, with Shawn Marion looking like his old self, averaging 17 and 11 following the deal. The team is led in scoring by Sixth Man of the Year favorite Nate Robinson, but Gerald Wallace remains the leader of the team. With the bottom of the Eastern Conference, much like the West, extremely close, playoffs are far from a certainty. However, its hard to bet against this stacked, well-coached squad.
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Starters: DJ Augustin | James Harden | Gerald Wallace | Shawn Marion | Tyson Chandler
Rotation: Nate Robinson, Boris Diaw, Raja Bell, Vladimir Radmanovic, Brevin Knight, Nazr Mohammed, Desagana Diop
Team Leaders
Points Per Game: Robinson (17.3); Wallace (16.2); Marion (14.4)
Rebounds Per Game: Chandler (8.9); Marion (7.9); Wallace (6.3)
Assists Per Game: Augustin (6.4); Robinson (3.8); Harden (3.7)
21-25 - 10th Conference, 3rd Division - On pace for 37 wins
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Here's a disappointing team. Superstar Dwyane Wade is excellent as usual, and Michael Beasley is starting to play like a #2 pick, but they are on the outside-looking-in of the playoff picture. Corey Maggette is putting points on the board, but not worth the large contract they inherited, while Jermaine O'Neal is terrible now. Wade has been brilliant as usual, albeit scoring slightly less, and many speculate the front office's failure to put together a halfway decent supporting cast will cause the superstar to leave. I personally don't think it will, but you never know. The Heat are only a game out of the eighth seed in the Leastern Conference, almost entirely due to Wade, but I would honestly expect to see the following team make the postseason before them.
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Starters: Mario Chalmers | Dwyane Wade | Corey Maggette | Michael Beasley | Jermaine O'Neal
Rotation: James Jones, Udonis Haslem, Marco Belinelli, Dorell Wright, Jeff Teague, Yakhouba Diawara, Dwyane Jones
Team Leaders
Points Per Game: Wade (25.2); Beasley (16.4); Maggette (14.9)
Rebounds Per Game: O'Neal (7.4); Beasley (6.6); Haslem (5.7)
Assists Per Game: Wade (7.7); Chalmers (5.6); Maggette (2.9)
20-27 - 11th Conference - 4th Division - On pace for 35 wins
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The Wizards used a winning January to put themselves back into the fold for a playoff spot. The Wizards looked doomed to another season at the bottom of the league, but the Wizards have finally adjusted to the new additions, and are one of the hotter teams in the league. If not for a couple of narrow losses, the high-scoring team would currently be in eighth place. As it stands, the Wizards are playing great right now, and I think this tremendously talented team is going to the playoffs. Hopefully the coaches disregard the team's record and send Gilbert Arenas to the all-star game, as he has been fantastic this year.
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Starters: Gilbert Arenas | Randy Foye | Caron Butler | Antawn Jamison | JaVale McGee
Rotation: Mike Miller, Andray Blatche, Nick Young, Brendan Haywood, Deshawn Stevenson, Mike James, Sean Marks
Team Leaders
Points Per Game: Arenas (24.7); Butler (17.4); Jamison (16.8)
Rebounds Per Game: Jamison (7.4); Butler (5.2); McGee (4.8)
Assists Per Game: Arenas (5.5); Foye (4.3); Butler (4.1)
19-26 - 12th Conference, 4th Division - On pace for 35 wins
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What happened? After looking like an up-and-coming power in the Eastern Conference, the Hawks have regressed to their old ways: sucking. Despite Allen Iverson not being a team cancer and finally accepting a sixth man role, Atlanta has fallen seven games below .500 and do not look like a playoff team. Al Horford has failed to improve on his rookie season, Josh Smith is an atrocious offensive player, Marvin Williams is a bust and outside of Iverson, their bench is fairly useless. Joe Johnson has been amazing, enjoying perhaps his best season to date, sporting career highs in rebounds and assists, but his team has let him down. Mike Bibby has been solid as well, but may be shopped to a PG-challenged contender if the team does not improve.
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Starters: Mike Bibby | Joe Johnson | Marvin Williams | Josh Smith | Al Horford
Rotation: Allen Iverson, Maurice Evans, ZaZa Pachulia, Acie Law, Earl Clark, Speedy Claxton, Randolph Morris
Team Leaders
Points Per Game: J. Johnson (21.8); Bibby (15.0); Iverson (14.1)
Rebounds Per Game: Al Horford (8.9); J. Smith (7.0); Johnson (5.3)
Assists Per Game: J. Johnson (7.1); Bibby (5.8); Iverson (4.2)
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