NBA Eastern Conference Preview: Part One

(Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

The NBA season tip off is in less than 14 days. I thought I would do my due diligence and provide you with a preview of the upcoming season and give you my predictions on how it will all play out. I am sure I won’t be wrong at all (need sarcasm font here).

Over the course of a number of blog posts, I will predict and give a snapshot of every team in the league and where I anticipate them finishing in their conference. Part One starts here with a look at the Eastern Conference and the teams that will finish between 15 through 12.

For years, the Eastern conference has been the Gerald Wilkins to the Western Conference’s Dominique. It has been joked as the minor leagues of the NBA, but no longer is that necessarily the case.

Yes, the Western Conference is more powerful 1-8, but looking at the entire conference, that is not true. Outside of the top four, the Eastern conference is fairly even and believe the remaining playoff spots will be determined by injuries, as is usually the case in the East.

Over the past few years, injuries to star players, whether it is Dwayne Wade, Gilbert Arenas, or KG,  have wreaked havoc in the conference and changed the landscape of the playoff picture. It will be no different this year and the teams that are hit by the injury bug will find themselves in a much different position than they envisioned in training camp earlier this month.

Without further ado, here is what we are looking at for the bottom teams of the Eastern conference:

15. New Jersey Nets

Key Additions: Rafer Alston, G (trade, Orlando), Tony Battie, C/F (trade, Orlando), Courtney Lee, G/F (trade, Orlando), Terrence Wiliams (R)

Key Losses: Vince Carter, G/F (trade, Orlando), Ryan Anderson, F (trade, Orlando)

The Nets were a surprise team last year winning 34 games and Devin Harris had a breakout year, making the Eastern Conference All-Star team.

This year, they have continued the rebuilding project but are still years away from cracking into the the playoff picture. In the offseason, Vince Carter was traded away to the Orlando Magic, which saw the Nets bring back some younger talent in Courtney Lee and a veteran point guard in Rafer Alston, though it remains to be seen how long Alston will be in "Dirty Jerz."

Although I am not a huge fan of Carter and his waning defensive attributes, the trade was lopsided in favor of the Magic in terms of talent. What it did bring the Nets, however, was chance to rid itself of a bad contract and get younger to add to the rebuilding project—and a rebuilding project it sure is.

To go along with Harris, the Nets have big man Brook Lopez in the middle who surprised many basketball writers and fans, not named Jaime as I said to draft him fifth in last year’s NBA draft. He is a legit man in the middle, standing 7' and has a nice touch around the basket with a knack for rebuilding. His defense is improving and he will only get better with more experience—he is only 21.

Besides Lopez and Harris, the Nets will sport Lee at the two who is a good defender and above-average shooter. He is not a go-to type of a guy, but Lee is a very nice complement to have on any team.

One of the big question marks is still Yi Jianlian. He came over in the Richard Jefferson trade last year and has still not lived up to his hype. He will be given the opportunity to hold down the power forward position, and it will be interesting to see how he develops.

I believe he is a nice complement to have on a good team but not a player to carry a team, especially a bad one. He needs to be surrounded by more scorers where he can be a good third or fourth option and hit the open jump shot consistently, which is not the case on this Nets roster. Like Lopez, he is still young (22) and has plenty of years ahead of him to get better.

The Nets are a team full of side dishes but no main entree. Next summer’s approximately $30M in cap space should open them up to get that prime steak. Only time will tell with this team, but not this year.

14. Milwaukee Bucks

Key Additions:Hakim Warrick, F (Memphis), Ersan Ilyasova, F (Turkey), Kurt Thomas, F (trade, San Antonio), Walter Sharpe, F (trade, Denver), Carlos Delfino, G (trade, Toronto), Roko Ukic, G (trade, Toronto), Brandon Jennings (R)

Key Losses: Charlie Villanueva, F (Detroit), Fabricio Oberto, C (Washington), Richard Jefferson, F (trade, San Antonio), Malik Allen, F (trade, Denver), Amir Johnson, F (trade, Toronto), Sonny Weems, G/F (trade, Toronto), Ramon Sessions, G (Minnesota)

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