2) Cleveland Cavalries—LeBron James and company need to get back to the Eastern Conference finals. They acquired J.J. Hickson and Darnell Jackson in the NBA Draft, which could help find their replacement for Ben Wallace a man of no offense.

3) Chicago Bulls—The baby Bulls look like they will be outsiders sneaking into the playoffs this year. The only thing that will hurt the Bulls once again is inexperience. They have the talent but is it too soon?

4) Indiana Pacers—I truly believe the Central Conference is the toughest division in the Eastern Conference. If the Pacers played in the Atlantic Conference they would have been the second best team in the conference. Instead the Pacers will see Detroit, Cleveland and Chicago ahead of them.

But that isn’t a bad thing, they have the talent to be something in the future. I really think high of TJ Ford and with Brandon Rush on the team they could make a real nice combo in the coming years.

5) Milwaukee Bucks—Well we know that they have enough small forwards but what else do they have? They still have Michael Redd and a potential NBA bust in Andrew Bogut. One player I do like on their team is Charlie Villanueva who I think is on the brisk of breaking out.

If the Bucks want to do something this year they will have to look for Villanueva to have a good season. Either that or they will be drafting in the top 10 once again next season.

Southeast

1) Orlando Magic—The Orlando Magic team will be the third best team in the Eastern Conference thanks to the Southeast division. I expect this division to play a game of musical chairs when it comes to rankings but Orlando will keep their spot on top of the division and can raise some eyebrows in the playoffs.

2) Atlanta Hawks—Did everyone forget that the Hawks took the Celtics to Game Seven in the first round of the playoffs? Then again everyone will remember how badly they were defeated by the Celtics in Game Seven.

But I think it was only the beginning for the Atlanta Hawks they should make the Southeast Conference very interesting to watch this season. They will have to prove that last year was not a fluke.

3) Miami Heat—The trio of Dwayne Wade, Shawn Marion and Michael Beasley will have to play well right away if they want to have a good season next year. They should struggle as they have nobody else besides the two on their roster and I repeat they have nobody else on their team including Alonzo Mourning and Jason Williams. Although with the addition of Mario Williams I might end up eating my own words by the end of the season.

4) Washington Wizards—The Wizards are on the verge of offering Gilbert Arenas a six-year contract worth more than $100 million. Why? The guy is coming off two knee surgeries within the past year. Obviously he is the face of the Wizards but a $100 million is a little too much. The free agent period starts this week and the Wizards do not want to see neither Arenas nor Antwan Jamison playing for a different team next year; for example the Philadelphia 76ers.

5) Charlotte Bobcats—Well at least last year they didn’t finish in last place. With the addition of Larry Brown to their coaching staff they could fight with Washington for the second to last spot in the division.

Western Conference

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