NBA Eastern Conference Preview

[Shame94]

Tell me what yall think . . . .

While the Western Conference typically features teams with better overall records than those in the East, it is the East that has won 2 out of the last 3 titles. However, as always, there are questions about the teams and the contenders and pretenders. Let’s get it started . . . . . .

1. MIAMI HEAT
Who would’ a thunk it? South Beach is now known for something other then the fabulous nightlife and scantily clad dressed women . . . . . it’s the home of the NBA Champs. In 2006, the Miami Heat had an incredible postseason run. They came together as a team in the playoffs and in the Finals were led by the brilliance of Dwayne Wade, Shaq’s experience, the intensity of Alonzo Mourning, and Pat Riley’s old skoo leadership. Dwayne Wade averaged over 34 a game in the Finals and showed the world why he is one the league’s top 5 players. As great as that championship run was though, the problem for the Heat, like that of the Spurs, is that some key guys are getting old. Shaq and Zo’ are both in their mid-30’s, Walker is around 30 himself, and Gary Payton is 3 days older then dirt. With Dwayne Wade at the helm, Riles at the sideline, and a superb (although aging) supporting cast, the Miami Heat could very well return to the NBA Finals this season.

2. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
In the 2005-06’ season, King James reigned supreme. With averages of 34 points, 7 rebounds, and over 6 assists a game, the man had a season that was comparable with only two men in NBA history . . . . . Jordan, and the Big O, Oscar Robertson. As good as James was, he will need a healthy Larry Hughes and a better supporting cast, to advance in the playoffs. With Larry Hughes out a number of games last year with a broken finger, the Cavs managed to stay afloat thanks to James’ overall play and the emergence of Ronald Murray (who has since jumped shipped to Detroit). The Cavs may have the best set of big men in the East. With Big Z, Drew Gooden, Donyell Marshall and fan favorite Anderson Varajeo, the Cavs look set up front. The problem is in the backcourt. The off injured Hughes has had finger problems back to his days in D.C. and his health is a top notch priority for the Cavs. As for Eric Snow, he has been on his last legs for 3 years now. He is no longer a starting PG in this league. Finally, Damon Jones should have had a Missing Persons Report filed for him after his disappearing act in the tail end of that Detroit series. While relatively unchanged from last season, the Cavs will be a very good team again this year, although I’m not sure they have enough to contend for a championship just yet.

3. NEW JERSEY NETS
The Big 3: Kidd, Carter, Jefferson. Perhaps the best big 3 in all the NBA. The problem with the Nets has been their inability to find a suitable PF since K-Mart left. With an ever improving Nenad Kristic, the Nets are pretty much set at 4 out of 5 positions. The main question with the Nets is how their bench will perform. Out of all the playoff teams last year, the Nets bench might have been the worst of all of them. This season, vagabonds Scott Padgett, Lamond Murray, and John Thomas are out, and heralded rookie Marcus Williams, big man Josh Boone, Hassan Adams, and prospect Mile Ilic are in. Plus the addition of Eddie House certainly helps with the outside shooting. The Nets finally have a backup for J-Kidd in Marcus Williams and an athletic big in Josh Boone. Marcus could contribute immediately while Boone will probably be out till December as he recovers from shoulder surgery. The Nets will once again rely heavily on the big three, especially Carter who had a good season last year, but has yet to get passed the second round in the playoffs in his career. The Nets could win the East this year with their blend of youth and veterans, for they better do it soon as J-Kidd is already 33 and is fast exiting his prime.

4. DETROIT PISTONS
So it was the money. In the summer of 2006 Big Ben Wallace would end up taking a 4 year $60 million deal from the Chicago Bulls. The Pistons were rumored to be offering around $48 million, but Big Ben wasn’t taking that. So there he went and in came Nazr Muhammad. While not nearly the accomplished defensive player that Ben is, Nazr, is a better offensive player if just by his post game . . . . . and a better free throw shooter. The Pistons meanwhile still have one of the best starting 4’s in the game with Billups, Hamilton, Prince, and Sheed. The problem is Flip Saunders definitely played these guys too many minutes last season and it showed against Cleveland and later in their demise in Miami. Also what’s worse is the fact that Sheed is already in his mid 30’s and Billups could set sail on the Pistons after this season via free agency. With these predicaments the Pistons may only have this season to rally the troops for one more run at the title because after this season, things could look very different for this franchise come 07-08’.

5. CHICAGO BULLS
The Chicago Bulls grabbed arguably the biggest free agent on a relatively weak free agent market. Big Ben comes to Chi-town an inherits a team with youthful exuberance with Kirk Heinrich and Ben Gordon on the wings, Luol Deng and Andre Nocioni at the forward spots, and first round draft picks Tyrus Thomas and defensive ace Thabo Sefolosha. Then there are veterans Adrian Griffin and P.J Brown. This is a team that was number 1 last year in opponent’s field goal percentage and adding Wallace can only help that number. However, this is still a very perimeter oriented team. Heinrich and Gordon will do the majority of the scoring, with Deng and Nocioni doing the cleanup job, but after that it gets a little dicey. P.J. Brown is 37 and can’t be counted on to score in the post, Thomas is a rookie and it will take him time to find his way, which leaves only one man. Ben Wallace has never been known for offense, but if the Bulls are going to be successful, they’re going to need something out of him. He can’t score, doesn’t shoot jumpers, and worst of all, can’t be counted on to make free throws during a game, let alone in the clutch. So for $60 million he sure is one hell of a liability on the offensive end, and with the League implementing new rules last season limiting the amount of contact on offensive players by defenders, the Bulls might be rethinking giving Ben that big contract a few months from now.

6. WASHINGTON WIZARDS
Within days of losing to Lebron James in the playoffs, Gilbert Arenas could be found shooting in a barren gym at odd hours of the morning, wondering what in the world happened. The Wizards lost to the Cavs in 6 games with three of the losses coming by a single point. What was evident in that series was the fact that Arenas (and his teammates for that matter) had no success at playing anything resembling defense. To get a sense of the Wizards’ team defense, check out this link and you’ll see everything you need to know: http://youtube.com/watch?v=KwFxHiuS6-M . The offense meanwhile was superb with Arenas, Jamison, and Caron Butler, all getting it done last season. The Wizards will need more from their big men Etan Thomas and Brendan Haywood, if they are to go far, but even with that, their no better then the middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference.

7. INDIANA PACERS
What used to be the biggest joke in criminal misfits: the Portland Trailblazers, have since moved East in recent years and taken on one of the classiest organizations in the last decade: the Indiana Pacers. This all got started with Ron Artest’s infamous fight at the palace. Then Artest wanted to promote his rap album the next season and was soon benched and traded to Sac Town. Well Artest is gone, but where one problem child has been thrown out, another one is causing trouble: Stephen “Shoot-Em-Up” Jackson. Jackson was involved in the palace brawl, and was involved in a situation earlier this month in which he fired a gun outside a strip club reportedly. The man could actually go to jail for his actions that night. Whether he does or not, only time will tell. Meanwhile Rick Carlise has essentially been rearranging the chairs on the Titanic the last 3 years with this team. This is a franchise that is clearly sinking, but neither Carlise, nor Larry Bird or Donny Walsh has been able to do anything about it. The re-acquired Al Harrington, but right now he’s just a stopgap that can’t really do that much to save this team. Talent wise this is a playoff team, with Jermaine O’Neal, Jamal Tinsley, Stephen Jackson, and Al Harrington. However on and off the court, it’s been a long time that this franchise has been in this much trouble.

8. ORLANDO MAGIC
The Magic have an emerging point guard, a motivated former pick of the 2003 draft class, and the best big man in the East period. Jameer Nelson, Darko, and Dwight Howard are all primed for breakout seasons. Dwight even said the Magic could not only make the finals, but win it all. While Dwight may have been smoking something that morning, there is reason for optimism in the land of the oversized rodent that hasn’t been seen since the Penny and Shaq days. The Magic should be improved with the shooting of J.J. Reddick, although the man’s defense is so bad I question whether he could guard a lawn chair on the beach. Also the reemergence of Darko Milic cannot be understated. What many people have called a bust, Darko is essentially playing for his life this season. If he performs well he could be financially set for a long, long time. If not, he may be reduced to the role of NBA vagabond, a role played all to well by the likes of Jimmy Jackson and Rick Brunson. The magic should be a rising force in the East for years to come.



Teams on the Bubble . . . .



9. Philadelphia 76ers
The Sixers have two players who 5 years ago might have had them in contention for a championship, but instead have them languishing in the bottom half of the Eastern Conference. Chris Webber averaged nearly 20 and 10 last season, but his defense has deteriorated so much that it’s like watching a painful rendition of the electric slide as he lumbers his way around the court. As for Iverson, he continues to put up points in a hurry, but is going nowhere fast. He’s just spinning the wheels on his shortening career with no championship in site. He seems destined for the fate of the some of the all time greats like Barkley, Ewing, Stockton & Malone, and more recently Kevin Garnett, as guys who had all the talent in the world but never the help or skilled players around him to get over the hump. All A.I. and Webber are doing now are helping to retard the development of Andre Igudola, whose progress is stunted by the number of times Iverson and Webber must have the ball. It looks to be another long season in Philli.

10. New York Knicks
Wizards forward Antwan Jamison might have said it best last season to describe the Knicks, “They might be the best worst team ever.” The Knicks certainly had talent, but the chemistry of a nuclear bomb just waiting to explode. So many things went wrong last season that you’d be better off just asking what actually went right. Well, since they finished with a measly 23 wins (only Portland did worse) with a payroll of over $100 million (easily the highest in the NBA last season), the Knicks got the # 2 pick in the draft only to have it taken by Chicago in the Eddy Curry trade. Damn. Even when the Knicks were terrible, they couldn’t bring in help. They drafted Renaldo Balkman, a man so unknown to the fans and media that the Knicks might as well of put his face on the side of a milk carton and claimed him as a lost child. The backcourt is still overcrowded with Starbury and Stevie Wonders starting, with Jamal Crawford coming off the bench. Jared Jefferies is out for awhile and that means Q-Rich will probably start. Channing Frye and David Lee are keepers, but things get interesting at the center position. Eddy Curry was a huge disappointment in his first season, but should improve. As for Jerome James, if I were con man I would teach my children to look up to James as he somehow managed to coax the Knicks out of 30 million for one good playoff series while in Seattle. The Knicks are a mess and Isaiah will most likely be given the boot after this season.

[Indy]

I hate when people who don't know what their talking about try to give an analysis on the Pacers.

[cyanide]

No Toronto Raptors? Imo, they're better than the Knicks or Philly.

[hipn]

Typical Americans leaving out Canada. Sigh.

[BOSS]

No Toronto Raptors? Imo, they're better than the Knicks or Philly.

Word.
Leaving out Toronto.

[Shame94]

Face it man, the Pacers have been on the decline since the 03'-04' season. I'm just being honest about what I've seen and heard.

[Indy]

Face it man, the Pacers have been on the decline since the 03'-04' season. I'm just being honest about what I've seen and heard.

Well, you do have your facts wrong first of all, Ron asking to take time off to promote his CD happened before the brawl.

Second of all people see the headlines about the Club Rio incident and automatically assume that it is going to be a distraction, more problem children on the Pacers blah blah blah.

People talk about the Pacers and talking about the current team is only a sidenote! The fact that Jack got in to a fight should be a sidenote, if even mentioned, when you're doing a preview of a team talk about them basketball wise. If they have a distraction large enough to cause problems on the basketball court that's one thing, but this Pacers team is as close to each other as any Pacer team has been since 1998. We have an exciting new offense, after the AJ for Josh Powell, Rawle Marshall and Darrel Armstrong trade we have some very exciting new players and a veteran that is basically an assistant coach and most importantly, TINSLEY IS HAPPY. Watch Tinsley's missed games go way down this year because he is happy in Indiana for the first time.

Jermaine O'Neal is injury prone is another common argument. He's had two serious, fluke injuries in the last 2 years, and missed less games then the average player in his situation would have missed.

Not to mention Danny Granger who is a great young talent, along with Marquis Daniels, another great young talent and David Harrison who may or may not break out, but will be a good starting center for years to come.

Then we come away with a trade for Al Harrington in which we trade nothing for him and get a very reasonable deal too, only about 8 million a year for a guy who gets 18 and 7.

But of course, your main point is a silly little incident at a strip club that nobody on the team cares about.

[Fitzy]

he mentions nothing about jason collins either

[maes]

Wow Cavs have the best frontcourt in the Eastern conference? Maybe if you exclude Miami, Chicago, Indiana.

Regarding Ben Wallace, the handcheck rules were not implemented last year. I believe they were implemented in 1999. As such they haven't really effected Wallace's DPOY playing level.

In any case, most of the rules don't come into effect below the free throw line or in the paint, where Wallace hangs out. They're mainly there to make perimeter defense illegal, not paint defense.

[maes]

he mentions nothing about jason collins either

How could you have joined at the same time as me and have 3000 more posts? That's a lot of Ron Mercer lovin'.

[Shame94]

You say my main point is a silly little incident nobody cares about. Tell that to Donnie Walsh or Larry Bird. This clearly hurts the team image (again) and doesn't help the number of problems the Pacers have had over the years. Like I said, they are turning into the Portland Jail Blazers of the East. By the way your man Stephen "Shoot-Em-Up" Jackson is on probation and COULD BE SENT TO PRISON FOR HIS ACTIONS THAT NIGHT. You still think it's a silly little incident?

[Indy]

You say my main point is a silly little incident nobody cares about. Tell that to Donnie Walsh or Larry Bird. This clearly hurts the team image (again) and doesn't help the number of problems the Pacers have had over the years. Like I said, they are turning into the Portland Jail Blazers of the East.

OK, you're missing the point. Obviously Larry and Donnie do feel that it is a small incident and that is only a big deal because of the media circus that surrounds "the pacers problems". It was a mistake that Jack made, but if Larry and Donnie felt that it was a huge deal that was going to sacrifice this team for the season they would be working on a way to get rid of Jack, they are not.

By the way your man Stephen "Shoot-Em-Up" Jackson is on probation and COULD BE SENT TO PRISON FOR HIS ACTIONS THAT NIGHT. You still think it's a silly little incident?

No he isn't on probabtion. His probation ended September 23rd.

He won't get sent to jail.

I still think its a silly little incident, but I do think Jack was at fault, and I do think its a problem, but I care more about the basketball team, and I want to win. Jack is a good player, and will be able to perform despite the "distractions".

[Klayface]

That was horrible lmao the Cavs front line is softer than the Pillsbury doughboy. Gooden does his thing when he doesn't have to but then dissappears when you really need him (he was there both times the Pistons came back from being eliminated), Z has finally overcome his foot problems (or at least it seems it), the guy that looks like Sideshow Bob probably has my respect the most.

The entire Pacers thing was BS, all it was was a focus on the club incident. Who cares? Its the media just trying to make things look worse than they are. Dude got punched in the face and almost run over. If that was me I would have done the same thing. The main reason the Pacers have been "sinking" is injuries. Give them a healthy JO and Tinsley and you got yourself the number 3 seed in the East.

And last but not least, do you really expect Philly to just give up on AI and C Webb, actually I take that back they probly already gave up on Webber. Name 2 players that you can honestly say helped Iverson get to the Finals in 2000, other than Mutumbo. You see when you have a player like Iverson, it isn't a text book game and you never know what could happen. And btw the 6ers would have won the ship in 2000 if Larry Brown didn't bench Mutumbo in game 2.

[ThaLiveKing]

I hate when people who don't know what their talking about try to give an analysis on the Pacers.

For Real!! We are better than Cleveland, and the Chicago Bulls right now IMO. People arre already giving Chicago the East, although I think Miami will take the East this year. We are better than 7!! And why is Cleveland finishing 2nd? Funniest shit I've ever seen, they couldn't even hold Raptors' bench. I bet you if Indiana played Cleveland or Miami in the 1st round, we can knock them out!! That's just how dangerous this team is

I still see some people sleepin on the Raptors

Orlando is good, but come on now, everyone thinks they will be playing the same way they were playing for the last 15 games of the season, I think the 8th seed is up for grabs, Toronto, and Milwawkee have a chance to make the playoffs, Milwawkee especially

To Say Philadelphia is making the playoffs this year is a joke

I still think Charlotte Bobcats are gonna sneak up, And NYK will have a WAY better season, because they are no longer restricted in that awful Larry Brown system

[ThaLiveKing]

Oh another thing that is funny, In this CBS magazine thay have us out of the playoffs with a record of 32-50 LOL!!

[Klayface]

The Bulls are good, but I'm starting to think they are paying off these so called "experts". Bens a big addition, but come on he was on a much better Pistons team last year, and even they couldn't beat the Heat. The Raptors have always been one of my favorite teams, don't know why but they just are. I can really see them making the playoffs this year, not saying they will make it past the 1st round if they do, but getting there is the first step.

[Zoom]

The Knicks and Raptors will both make the playoffs

[Ty-Land]

No love for the Bucks? We've got a better team than last year, in which that team was in the playoffs. I'm sensing a lack of logic. Perhaps I'm just biased, but I think the Bucks will be somewhere in the playoffs, hopefully around 6th or 7th seed.

[Shame94]

Well Indy, according to this cnnsi article published on October 12, they seem to incline that Jackson was still on probation at the time of the incident. Here's the line they use: "Authorities say Jackson, already on probation for his role in the brawl with Detroit Pistons fans two years ago, shot a gun in the air at least five times outside Club Rio on Oct. 6" Here's the article

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/b ... index.html

[Matt]

No love for the Bucks? We've got a better team than last year, in which that team was in the playoffs. I'm sensing a lack of logic. Perhaps I'm just biased, but I think the Bucks will be somewhere in the playoffs, hopefully around 6th or 7th seed.

given that the Buckas have lost Bogut & Simmons to open with, people are expecting a slow start.

[nets4life]

pretty good analysis although you coulda picked better teams on the bubble

[Ty-Land]

No love for the Bucks? We've got a better team than last year, in which that team was in the playoffs. I'm sensing a lack of logic. Perhaps I'm just biased, but I think the Bucks will be somewhere in the playoffs, hopefully around 6th or 7th seed.

given that the Buckas have lost Bogut & Simmons to open with, people are expecting a slow start.

A slow start doesn't mean they will miss the playoffs overall though, does it?

Plus, it looks like Bogut may be back for the opener against detroit. He has been cleared for full practice after his astonishingly quick recovery.

[Indy]

Well Indy, according to this cnnsi article published on October 12, they seem to incline that Jackson was still on probation at the time of the incident. Here's the line they use: "Authorities say Jackson, already on probation for his role in the brawl with Detroit Pistons fans two years ago, shot a gun in the air at least five times outside Club Rio on Oct. 6" Here's the article

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/b ... index.html

I'm not going to look for the article right now, but I'll find it tomorrow. Jackson's lawyer said that no official papers were ever filed to extend his probation. His probation was officially over on Sept. 23rd. There was a claim that he was still on probation, but that was never said by anyone on the prosecution side. Jack's lawyer said it was bullshit, and as of now I'm inclined to believe him.

[ixcuincle]

The last 3 teams look good , but I disagree with Detroit being ranked 4. Detroit should be at least 3 (Miami / NJ / Detroit / Cav). I don't think Detroit losing Wallace is going to be that much of a deal since they replace the 'Fro with another center who can score more.

And the second I read the Pacers analysis I was pretty surprised. 2 isolated incidents don't make the Pacers the Portland Trailblazers of the East.

[Jeffx]

He's right about the Knicks.