| Evaluating the "Leastern" Conference |
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| Written by Phil Partington | |
| Friday, 01 August 2008 | |
 Here’s an early look at how the Eastern Conference playoff race stacks up in July 2008. Power Rankings 1. Boston Celtics – As long as the big three are together, this team is going to be scary. Paul Pierce proclaiming himself the best player in basketball might have been a stretch, though. 2. Detroit Pistons – Joe Dumars seems to want to dismantle this team, which makes little sense. Sure, they need another piece or two, but the Pistons are still the second best team in the East. What they could really use is a new coach who’s not such a “player’s coach.” 3. Orlando Magic – The Magic still have some areas that could use upgrading, but they’re in a great spot at the moment. Rashard Lewis may not have been worth the money they gave him, but he opened things up more for Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu. As a result, both had career offensive years last season. 4. Philadelphia 76ers – It might be too soon to put them this high, but adding Elton Brand is a huge deal for them. They’re a consistent perimeter shooter and some added experience away from competing with the Pistons for the second spot on this power ranking. 5. Washington Wizards – Some suggest this team might be better without Gilbert Arenas. While “Agent Zero” has a lot to learn about playing within a team system, he’s still an incredible talent and is fantastic in the clutch. In addition to Arenas returning for a full season, the Wizards expect Nick Young to continue to improve. 6. Toronto Raptors – Expect Jose Calderon to have a career year without having to split time at the point guard spot with T.J. Ford. Moreover, there are many skeptics who don’t think Jermaine O’Neal can contribute much given his proneness to injury over the past few seasons. Keep in mind he was playing in a bad situation for a losing team. Others wonder if he was simply not putting forth his best effort to get back onto the court. With Bosh at his side, O’Neal will best serve this team as a defensive rebounder anyway, which will take significant pressure off of him. Expect 14-15 ppg and 9-10 rbpg. If he can provide that, the Raptors will be in great shape. 7. Cleveland Cavaliers – As long as the Cavs hold onto LeBron James, they’ll always be a team to fear. However, the supporting cast doesn’t bring much to the table, and James may be contemplating leaving after his contract expires. 8. Chicago Bulls – Chicago was a mess last season, but certainly has the talent to be a playoff team again. Don’t forget that Luol Deng was hurt all last year. The biggest questions with Chicago will be whether or not Derrick Rose can step up as a top-flight leader/point guard right away, and whether or not Joakim Noah can hold down the fort as the starting center. 9. Atlanta Hawks – Despite the loss of Josh Childress to Europe, the Hawks should do much of the same as what they did last season. Marvin Williams is a great talent, but assuming Josh Smith gets re-signed, the Hawks should consider shopping him for a legitimate center. Adding a veteran like Mike Bibby last season will help the Hawks get some continuity at the point guard position. 10. Milwaukee Bucks – The Bucks’ future will be mostly dependant on the continued development of Andrew Bogut, whom Milwaukee just signed to a lucrative deal this summer. The additions of Richard Jefferson and Joe Alexander should help their defense. Jefferson should also provide a versatile second option to Michael Redd. Yi Jianlian is a terrific talent, but lacks great defensive ability. The point guard battle between Mo Williams and Ramon Sessions will be intriguing. Sessions finished the last five games of the season with 10-plus assists per game, including a game against Chicago where he scored 20 points, had 24 assist and 8 rebounds. Of course, the team did lose its final eight games. 11. New Jersey Nets – The Nets claim they’re not looking to trade Vince Carter, but that’s probably only because they’re not getting very good offers for him. The Nets have padded the small forward position, which will make it interesting to see how they end up using newly acquired Yi Jianlian. 12. Miami Heat – A healthy Dwayne Wade, having Shawn Marion for an entire season and adding Michael Beasley (this writer’s pick for Rookie of the Year) will get the Heat a few more wins. They could still use some help in the middle, as well as an upgrade at point guard. 13. Charlotte Bobcats – The Bobcats have inked Emeka Okafor, but they need to figure out what the plan is. Does adding D.J. Augustin make Raymond Felton obsolete? Larry Brown is a genius coach, but it sometimes takes him some time to get things off the ground, because he believes in breaking things down a bit before building it back up. 14. New York Knicks – D’Antoni’s style might get the Knicks a few more wins, but don’t be fooled – this team is still bad. They likely won’t be able to dump Zach Randolph’s contract, and if they’re able to trade Eddy Curry, it’ll be for a song. The Knicks need to continue to clear cap space and are unwilling to part with Stephon Marbury without getting something in return. In some cases, nothing is something. 15. Indiana Pacers – The Pacers are stuck in a rut and hope Danny Granger can bail them out. T.J. Ford is an upgrade over Jamaal Tinsley, but he’s just as injury prone. Brandon Rush will make a nice addition, but this team is still betting on a lot of potential.         Set as favorite Bookmark Comments
(4)
Why..
written by jeremy , August 08, 2008
Are the Pacers last? We are way better than the Nets, Bobcats, Bucks, Knicks, and the Hawks atleast.
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written by Phil P , August 08, 2008
They may surprise me, but remember, the Nets got deeper (even though they lost a lot of experience), the Bobcats and Bucks have faced tons of injuries in the last few seasons that have slowed them down, the Knicks should be better during the season with D'Antoni (even though he's an overrated coach), and you think the Pacers are better than the Hawks??? Really???
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written by Caelan B , August 28, 2008
it was good article up until the 4th spot honeislty do you rly think the 76ers have improved that much? i mean ya 7th place last year but that was the eastren confrence last year this year much more improved includeing the brand signing i dont think they are better than the raps but are better the wizards sixers have a very good front court but dont the raps do to? they are pretty much equal in the frontcourt but raptors are bit better in scoreing because of jermaine oneal is better than samuel dalebert at scoreing bosh has been working on his shot because the coach of the usa team who focuses on the outside shot. he will be even more dangerous with his imrpoved shot what the sixers need are outside shooters which the raptors have which makes them better than the sixers also a improved bench would be nice to for the sixers which raptors have. bargnani,kapono,delfino also these are my picks
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1:celtics 2:detroit 3:magic 4:cavs 5:raptors 6:76ers 7:wizards 8:miami report abuse
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written by eddiebaby , August 29, 2008
Totally agree with Caelan. I also marvel at how surprised everyone seemed to be by the fact that Bosh had maybe the second best Olympic tournament behind Wade.
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I hope the Raps get more national US coverage so that people can see what a great team we have. Its just like Gasol. After he moved to LA everyone was like "WOW, he can play!" report abuse
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