This article is also posted at hoops4life.com, an NBA fan site.
Congratulations to the Boston Celtics on winning an NBA championship in 2007-08. Will they be the team to beat again in '08-09?
We don't know yet, but I don't really think so.
They will obviously be a great team. They won a championship last year, and they have everyone returning except James Posey. (Personally, I think they should have picked up Maurice Evans to replace him.)
The Celtics will still be a fantastic team, but the Big Three are now one year older and slower—although I still think they have a few more competitive years in them yet.
Here's a list of teams that I think have a great shot at being the team to beat in the NBA this season, in order of who I think will be the best:
Eastern Conference
1. Boston Celtics
Despite losing Posey and the Big Three's hunger for that first championship, you know that they will still do well. I wouldn't have them ranked this high if they were in the Western Conference, but in the East they are still number one.
You can't expect them to drop far in the standings as long as they have Allen, Pierce—and most importantly, Garnett.
Garnett is one of the best players to ever play the game, and did not show any hint of slowing down last season. Pierce is a lifelong Celtic who can grind out clutch wins and is one of the best in the league in creating his own shot, And Allen, despite some inconsistency in the playoffs, still has one of the best shots in the game.
Another reason they are up here is young developing point guard Rajon Rondo. Rondo has shown many signs of improvement in his first two seasons in the league, especially in his mid-range jumper. It's still not great but it has gotten a lot better from year one to two.
This will be his third year in the league. He is already one of the premier defensive guards in the league, and he looks as if he will only get better.
2. Orlando Magic
Two words, one name: Dwight Howard.
Howard is a monster, and will lead this team to be one of the best in the league next season. Last year, Howard carried the Magic to the third seed in the East and Round Two of the playoffs.
The Magic gained some very useful playoff experience last season, and they look as if they will only get better in '08-'09.
They lost shooting guard Maurice Evans to free agency, but got a better replacement in Michael Pietrus. Pietrus is a great, young, high-flying guard who has some playoff experience with the Golden State Warriors. He should add some more firepower to this already explosive team.
Rashard Lewis looks to bounce back after a slightly under-achieving season, and Hedo Turkoglu looks as if he will keep on improving after his breakout year. Young guard Jameer Nelson also looks as though he will improve on his very good season with the Magic last year.
This will create a starting lineup of Nelson and Pietrus as guards, with a very big corps of forwards and posts in Lewis, Turkoglu, and Howard.
3. Toronto Raptors
The Raptors obviously wouldn't be able to finish third, considering they are in the same division as the Celtics. So the Pistons will still finish third in the East, but will have a worse record than both the Raptors and the Sixers.
With O'Neal and Bosh in the middle, the Raptors should do great. Every time Bosh got the ball down low last season he would immediately get double-teamed. With O'Neal helping out on the low block, he creates space for Bosh to get to the hoop one-on-one. And if Bosh still gets double-teamed, it creates a wide-open Jermaine O'Neal.
Add in ball control point guard Jose Calderon and Anthony Parker in the middle of his prime, future starts Jamario Moon, and Andrea Bargnani, and the Raptors should do great!
Honorable Mentions: Detroit Pistons, Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers.
10 comments Last one added 11 months ago — Leave a Comment
nigga chan 11 months ago
great article, im looking forward to seeing the raptors play this season
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BigReg 11 months ago
This is a ridiculous article. How can you not mention the Pistons to finish in the top 2?
"So the Pistons will still finish third in the East, but will have a worse record than both the Raptors and the Sixers"
Even if this is your opinion, it still has nothing to back it up. How's this for something to back up the Pistons finishing in the top 2 this year.
6 straight conference finals
6 straight 50 win seasons
Beat Orlando and Philly in the playoffs the last year.
You may not like the Pistons but you do need to include them in the top 2 teams until they prove otherwise.
PS, if you based this off the fact that they may not have the same core as before you can bet if Dumars makes a trade they will be even more dangerous then last year.
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TJ Zwarych 11 months ago
I do like the Pistons, they are one of my favorite teams. But they are getting older and there have been many rumours about trading away billups and wallace to get younger upcoming players with lots of potential. The Pistons aren't doing anything to improve themselves! The other teams have, the Magic brought in high flying michael pietrus and have a great up and coming squad with one of the best in the league (dwight howard) backing them up! The Raptors brought in (when healthy) one of the best post players in the league! You watch, the Pistons will still finish third in the east, but the raptors will have a better record.
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sam the fact checker 11 months ago
what about the bobcats...
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lolznub lolznub 11 months ago
anthony parker is not emerging dumbass
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Danny Smiths 11 months ago
Poorly researched article. Even if the Raptors have the third best record in the East, and even if they are second in the Atlantic division they still will finish with the third seed. The first four seeds of the conference are ranked by win percentage between the three division leaders and the next best record.
I do believe the Raptors will be good this season. Jose Calderon should be at all-star calibre. But, I do not think Anthony Parker is emerging. He's done emerging. He's approximately 29 years old, and is an effective role player.
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Richard Le 11 months ago
The Celtics are still the "team to beat in the NBA" because they are the champions. They proved they are the best team in the NBA regardless of consistent offensive showings from their big three because of a consistent defensive showing from their whole team. Sure they got on year older, but the decline in skill is not so great as to rob them of their spectacular defense. Even if their offensive production drops, they still have the ability to be the best defense in the NBA as shown by last year's stats, and that's all that matters. The reason Rashard Lewis underachieved is because he played out of position. He is a natural small forward. The magic do not have "a very big corps of forwards", rather a wonderful rotation of wingmen. They lack a dependable power forward and rotation big men to back up Howard. That's why they got their asses handed to them on a silver platter by the Pistons. The pistons are deep at every position, INCLUDING their big men. Rasheed, Maxiell, McDyess, are the three key rotation players at the center/powerforward positions with Theo Ratliff and Walter Hermann as bench warmers. When Howard comes out, who can come in and produce for him? When Howard comes out, who's going to defend premier big men like Garnett and Chris Bosh? I agree, Mickael fills out one of their needs at the shooting guard, but the Magic are not a deep team and that's why they struggled against a great team in the Pistons and will continue to do so until the Pistons decline (Not by next season, I'm not sure. With their age they still got the second best record in the league.). As for the Raptors, sure Jermaine O'Neal can make them a premier team in the East. Assuming Jermaine stays healthy, the Raptors still have a few issues to work out before they are true contenders, and that means these issues have to be worked out before Jermaine declines. One, nobody knows how well the European, Roko Ukic will back up Calderon, because if he does not do a good job there will be a massive decline in offensive fluidity when Calderon leaves the game. At the two guard, Anthony Parker has them set with good shooting and defense but they lack depth there as well. Key role players Kapono and Bargnani must have revitalizing, if not break-out, seasons for the Raptors to be successful. So before you proclaim the Raptors as a powerhouse, you need to see how these issues play out. The Raptors have the potential to be a powerhouse, but it is too early to say they'll be better then the Pistons and the Celtics.
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A-Train 11 months ago
Hey man, first off, thanks for the vote.
Secondly, nice read...the only gripe I would have is that you didn't include the Pistons, Wizards, etc. I mean, it's not JUST these three teams that can contend.
I'd say the Celtics are the team to beat, however, I think they can be knocked off. Rasheed Wallace pulled a disappearing act last year in the playoffs, and Billups wasn't 100 percent... so if Dumars makes the right changes, I think the Pistons can be really dangerous.
I don't like the Magic (need a leader) or the Raptors (too soft, too fragile).
We'll see... have to wait until all of the rosters are finalized.
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TJ Zwarych 11 months ago
Oh I'm not saying the Pistons are out of it, I just think they will be fourth best in the East. It still won't be better then the West. (obvioulsy) But I do think they will be a lot stronger then last year. I figure the Wizards will have a very up and down year with injuries, they seem to be pretty fragile, I have them finishing 7th in the West.
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Robert Kleeman 11 months ago
I think we can speculate on who will play like they are the team to beat.
However, the team to beat is Boston. The Celtics are the defending champions until someone knocks them out of the playoffs. They are the best team until someone douses their repeat hopes. To me, that's why you win a championship.
No matter how poorly you play the next season, you earn the benefit of the doubt that you can collect your team and win again.
The Spurs were the best team in the NBA until the Lakers punched them silly. Now it's someone's turn to do the same to Boston.
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