These are my predictions for the end-of-season standings in the Eastern Conference:
1. Boston Celtics
Finishing with the NBA's best record during the 2008 regular season, and following that up by capturing the NBA title, Boston is still the team to beat.
Despite losing James Posey—who played a key role in the 2008 Finals—Boston's "Big Three" should still get it done, and remain the best team in East. Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins will be more effective this upcoming season.
2. Detroit Pistons
Joe Dumars promised a trade, but the only thing he got done was sign an unproven, former number-one draft pick. I still see them as the second seed in the East, because they have great veterans with lots of playoff experience. Kwame Brown should be very helpful this season, and I expect him to have a solid year.
3. Orlando Magic
With Dwight Howard—the NBA's top center—and a great pure shooter in Rashard Lewis, not to mention last season's Most Improved Player, Hedo Turkoglu, the Orlando Magic should be a very good team in the East. The signing of G/F Mickael Pietrus should give them a great boost off the bench.
4. Philadelphia 76ers
No one expected the Sixers to make the playoffs, and they definitely did not expect the Sixers to give the Pistons a problem in the first-round series. The team is now much better with the addition of All-Star F Elton Brand. I expect the Sixers to make a deep playoff run.
5. Toronto Raptors
The Raptors needed another proven veteran to help out Chris Bosh in the paint—and they got a former All-Star in Jermaine O'Neal. If O'Neal is healthy, they should be the best frontcourt duo in the East.
Jose Calderon is a very good point guard that can pass and shoot the ball. The Raptors also have a deep bench, and it may be enough to get them out of the first round of the playoffs.
6. Cleveland Cavailers
LeBron James is the only reason that this team makes the playoffs. You guys might think this is a little low for them, but I see them finishing sixth because the East is much better then it was last year, and the Cavailers are one of the only teams not to have improved in the offseason.
7. Miami Heat
Dwyane Wade, Michael Beasley, and Shawn Marion are one of the best trios in the East. Dwyane Wade is 100 percent healthy, Beasley is NBA-ready and Shawn Marion is a proven All-Star. This core should be good enough to make it to the playoffs.
They lack a proven point guard and a defensive-minded center, though. Miami is young, but I still expect great things from them.
8. Washington Wizards
Agent Zero, Antawan Jamison, and Caron Butler is another talented trio in the East. The thing that scares me is that the Wizards did better without Gilbert in the lineup last season. But this team is a year older, and have not improved their bench at all. I see an early exit for this team if they make the playoffs.
28 comments Last one added 10 months ago — Leave a Comment
Caelan B 11 months ago
some of of your predictions ar accurate but i wondering about the sixers haveing a better record than the raps? the raptors big three is way better than sixers big three jermaine can score inside just like elton can he can sometimes shoot from the outside talking mid range just like elton can but jermaine is a monsterous young rebounder shot blocker and is a tight defender if you have all forgotten jermaine is still 28 plus i dont think miami will finish in front of the wizards
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Paul Nuzzi 11 months ago
Solid thoughts, but you give too much credit to Orlando. Playing without a power forward hurts that team. All the great bigs need a 4 to do the dirty work for them. Lewis isn't a 4, and he is a bit of a choker. I'm surprised they didn't move him to a desperate team like the knicks (i'm a NYK fan by the way). That is a problem for them and will keep them below 53 wins. Sixers on the other hand will be excellent towards 55 wins.
Atlanta should get better, and with todays Mo Williams trade, I see Milwaukee as a solid team... so I put that last 2 spots in the east up for grabs. Remember that Wash plays no defense, and that Miami is counting on a rook, and no 1 or 5 at the moment. Add to that a big change in Toronto that either will or won't work.. and the east will be fun.
Boston, Philli, Detroit, Cleveland, Orlando, Toronto, Milwaukee and Atlanta.
Karma comes back to bit the Heat and Wiz in the ass. Miami for dropping games, and the wiz for overpaynig this off season.
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curly gaspi 11 months ago
Orlando has Tony Battie back from injury.. They managed to finish 3rd last season without a true PF and their second best player playing out of position.
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John Lunzer 11 months ago
It looks sorta ok though you might be giving the Sixers too much credit (even though I too am excited about E Brand). You're probably giving Orlando too much credit as well. Why are you talking bad about detroit. They signed the talented Kwame Brown (the expectations were just to high for this kid but he'll do great in detroit as backup, where he should have been to begin with) and the also talented Will Bynum. If you watched him play in the euroleague and in summer league you know he's only going to improve Detroit. You also need to seriously look at the Wizards. They came in right under Cleveland without Gilbert Arenas and Etan Thomas. You can't talk bad about Gilbert, he is an amazing talent that had bad luck and loved the game so much he tried to hard in rehab. People shouldn't doubt that he'll bounce back to his former glory. Etan is important because a big hole in the Wizards team was depth at center. Remember Andray Blatche who has guard moves while being 6-11, was playing back up center. They also got a great third string point guard in Dee Brown. It was sad to see Roger Mason Jr. go but with arenas back they have PLENTY of scoring (a void Roger really helped to fill). How can you say they have not improved their depth? Do not forget people that behind Boston, the wizards had the second best improved defense in 07-08. Seriously the 3 through 8 spots are completely undecided, and that's great because it means the easter conference is going to be really fun this season. It's ok to write this stuff, but you're thinking too rigidly. Research and watch more basketball, we'll talk again next season.
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Sergio Garzeeya 11 months ago
please turn down the suck knob.
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darrell jones 11 months ago
Your the one that needs to research John. Kwame talented? I guess that makes 3 of you. Yourself, His mom and wife on anniversiries. The sixers are definitely a top 4 team. Detroit is done. They might not be no.2 this year. Sheed, Rip, and Billups are a step or more slower and tayshaun can't carry an offensive load or lockdown defend anymore. They miss ben.
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Lemont Johnson 10 months ago
The guy who wrote this article is an idiot to think the the Wizards were better without Gilbert Arenas. In 06-07 the Wizards won 41 games with Gilbert missing the last 10 regular season games and Caron Butler missing the last 11 games. The Wizards went 2-8 in those last 10 games. If Butler and Arenas were healthy in those games they would have passed the 43 games they won in 07-08 and they probably would'nt have even played Cleveland in 07 playoffs. In 07-08 the reason why the Wizards were able to win 43 games without gilbert arenas is because of improved defense because of assistant coach Randy Ayers, improved shooting b/c of shooting guru Dave Hopla. Also because their backup point guards had good seasons. Brendan Haywood had a breakout season. Everyone rebounded better especially Antawn Jamison. Add all of those things with Gilbert Arenas returning full strength you've got a dangerous team.
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Gaz V 10 months ago
Arenas is a shoot-first (and second and third) point guard with an absolutely terrible assist-to-turnover ratio (not good for a player who is supposed to set up teammates for easy scores). Players who finally had the opportunity to blossom in his absence last season will soon find themselves starved of opportunities this season.
Check back here mid-season and we'll talk about the $108 million man was worth the money...
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Maher A 10 months ago
Hey Lemont, guy; your bias. Your only talking like that because your prob. a Wizard Fan. Arenas played 13 games in the season and they had a record of 6-7 in those games during the regular season not the mention the 4 losses to CLE. So add those together and they went 8-11 with arenas during the season. THOSE PLAYERS ONLY HAD A BREAKOUT SEASON because there wasn't a ball hog. Notice how everyone's numbers went up, they finally started to PLAY as a team.
You also say this "If Butler and Arenas were healthy in those games they would have passed the 43 games they won in 07-08 and they probably would'nt have even played Cleveland in 07 playoffs." ----> Are you god? Can you predict that? AND every team deals with injuries, if wade never missed 21 games in the 06-07 season, dont you think they would have won way more games, beat chicago, and contended for there title.
Guy, learn the game. Arenas' numbers are AMAZING on paper, but all the WIZARD players improved without him
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John Lunzer 10 months ago
@Darell, don't you know the law of wizard draft picks breaking out when they get signed by the pistons? My feelings are obviously reserved, I realize some players never bounce back from failure. But the pistons are offering him his best chance to be a positive force (a great learning environment full of veterns and a low pressure role as a backup center).
@Maher, I don't have a lot of patience for people who don't acknowledge Arenas's skill. People talk shit about kobe and it's mostly because they don't like the fact that he isn't on their favorite team. It's true Caron and Antawn were able to shine more with Arenas out of the picture but that doesn't mean Arenas was a ball hog. Did you by chance happen to see what happened in Boston when three all-stars came together in a starting line-up? All three of their numbers dropped from their previous seasons (Ray Allen and KG's numbers dropped significantly). It's the same effect you see at the olympics. I'll tell you the same thing you told Lemont, "Learn the game."
It's also not exactly fair to judge Gilbert by any games he played in 07-08, he was playing injured in the beginning of the season and he was a pile of desperate rust in the playoffs (and he still shone brightly in flashes in each case). Some players don't bounce back from injury, but I'll keep my faith strong for the upcoming seasons, there is too much drive and too much skill for him to let his career fall apart.
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Gaz V 10 months ago
John wrote: "I don't have a lot of patience for people who don't acknowledge Arenas's skill."
With that comment in mind, I will concede that Arenas is particularly good at creating shots for himself (usually about 20 times per game, often closely guarded, and around 20 feet from the basket) and publicly praising himself (surely he must have blisters on blisters from patting himself on the back so often...).
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Gaz V 10 months ago
Oh, forgot to add that he's also very good at making up new nicknames for himself. I heard he's got a new one for this season: "Anal Sphincter". I know it sounds a little bit like one of his former nicknames ("Agent Zero"), but this one makes more sense. It refers to the fact that so spouts so much sh*t all the time that he's really little more than a walking a$$hole.
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Lemont Johnson 10 months ago
Maher, I don't think its possible to call a guy a ball hog that has two other people on his team that averaged 19 ppg each the last time they played a season together. Also Arenas has to be one of the most underrated passers in the NBA (mostly by people that rarely watch him play like Maher). Maher, you also basically proved my point even more by saying that the Heat would've won more games if Dwade didnt miss 21 games thay wouldve went further. You also said "all the WIZARDS players improved without him". But all of them did'nt improve ONLY because Arenas wasnt there. Brendan Haywood improved b/c he wasnt competing with Etan Thomas for his staring job, players like Deshawn Stevenson and Roger Mason jr. had good season mostly because of improved shooting skills b/c of Dave Hopla and obviously if you give anybody more pt their stats will improve but that doesnt mean the team is better without the person thats missing.
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Gaz V 10 months ago
Lemont wrote: "Arenas has to be one of the most underrated passers in the NBA"
Take a look at "Anal Sphinter's" assists-to-turnovers ratios for any of the seasons he has been in the NBA. He usually has the worst ratio (or close to it) among all starting NBA point guards. If you look at his last full season (2006-07), for example, he ranked 42nd (of 50) in the NBA for assists-to-turnovers for point guards. Check here: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/statistics?stat=nbaassists&league=nba&split=0&sort=astto&avg=pg&qual=true&season=2007&seasontype=2&pos=pg
To save you the trouble of looking yourself, here are Gilbert's rankings in that category for the past five seasons he played:
2006-07: 42 of 50
2005-06: 42 of 43 (not quite the worst, but close!)
2004-05: 46 of 46 (the worst in the NBA among all PGs, including bench players!)
2003-04: 40 of 40 (again the worst in the NBA)
2002-03: 37 of 39
The numbers simply don't back your claim of his being an underrated passer. He is widely perceived to be a poor passer for a reason. If anything, he is OVERrated given the kind of money he is earning for playing the PG position as a turnover liability.
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John Lunzer 10 months ago
@Gaz, great players have confidence that can sometimes look like cockiness (in Gilbert's case a portion of it is actually cockiness). And yes he loves his nick names, but hell the man is entertaining I'll let him have his precious nicknames. Also when you meet Gilbert let me know what he's like. I hear he's a stand up guy, funny too.
@Lemont, I agree with all you points except for the one about Robot Mason Jr. He really did fill a perimeter scoring void left by Arenas. They both have the skill to do it, but there are only so many minutes in a game. I love Roger's robot style of play (same expression ALL the time and a machine from the 3pt line) hence the nick name.
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Gaz V 10 months ago
I sat court side during a Celtics game when they took on the Wizards at the beginning of last season. Yes, Gilbert is entertaining in his own way. He is without a doubt the type of player who drives up jersey sales and ticket sales. I'm simply of a generation for which all the self-promotion, trash talking, chest-beating and utter lack of humility are seen as poor role modeling. Gilbert is entertaining the way that a clown at the circus is entertaining. He does (or says) something so outrageous you just have to smile. I worry, however, that either he or his fans will start taking him too seriously.
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Maher A 10 months ago
Guys, I dont hate Gilbert; and I know he's amazing. I'm just saying that the Wizards did better without him, that may change now that he has all the money in the world. He's playing at his best, cuz he has something to proove. He is a great player, and an All-Star hands down. The wizards did better without him, maybe that will change; only time will tell
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Lemont Johnson 10 months ago
Gaz, im not taking anything youre saying seriously because you dont have a legit argument. You are just talking like a fan of a Wizards rival that hates Gilbert Arenas with a passion that takes every opportunity possible to say bad things about him. So your words are meaningless to me. For example I dont like Lebron James but I cant sit here and say that he isnt one of the best nba players. You are just talking bad about him cuz he probably dropped 35-50+ points on your favorite team and you are still upset.
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Gaz V 10 months ago
You don't have to take me seriously...just check out the numbers. I put forward the numbers to show you that he is not the "underrated passer" that you mistakenly think he is. You can close your eyes, stick fingers in your ears, and sing "La La La" to yourself as loudly and as much as you like, but the fact remains that Gilbert is neither a great passer nor a great point guard. If you can show me any evidence that contradicts this, then please share it.
He is a very good shooting guard, I fully agree, but since he doesn't play that position I doubt he'll be as big a help to the team as some fans seem to think he will be upon his return. As such, I don't anticipate much improvement from the Wizards this year.
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Brandon Toussaint 10 months ago
First of all, i dont like seeing Cleveland at number 6, but i understand. You guys are underestimating what Mo Williams will do to the Cavaliers. Im suprised upi didnt throw Chicago in there. They'll definately be good. All i can say is the East drought is over. No more is the east the little stepchild to the Western conference. This year will be proof.
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Lemont Johnson 10 months ago
What has Chicago done to make you think they will be in the playoff hunt? Plus now they are about to lose Ben Gordon too.
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Curly Morris 10 months ago
!. Cleveland - The Cavs were in the Finals 2 seasons ago and were a LeBron 3 pointer away from disposing the Celtics last year. Mo Williiams will make a huge difference in that offense. It's time for LeBron to take over the league.
2. Detroit - The youngsters now have some post season experience.
3. Orlando - Time for Howard to take it to yet another level.
4. Boston - Losing James Posey was cruicial. He should've been the Finals MVP
5. Toronto - Will battle with Boston for that 4th spot
6. Washington - At least they won't have to face cleveland in the first round this year.
7. Indiana - The Pacers are back
8. Milwaukee - As a team they are better than Miami, Charlotte and New Jersey.
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Gaz V 10 months ago
Some interesting choices, especially the omission of Philadelphia which has the same key players, including a more experienced Iggy, plus Elton Brand.
Detroit has been overrated for the past three seasons and you are continuing that trend. Stuckey had a couple of good quarters in the playoffs, but I think you are expecting a lot from him and Detroit's other young players. As far as the old crew goes, things are not going to get better for Billups, Wallace, Hamilton and McDyess. Another year older and another year slower. Kwame is Kwame, so don't expect much from him either. Prince will be drained after giving up his opportunity to rest this summer to play for Coach K. Really, only Maxiell shows much promise of improving significantly.
Cleveland will still be relying far too much on LebRon to carry the load. After extended playoff runs the past few seasons and a summer in Beijing, LebRon is going to be one tired individual. Mo Williams will help a little, but with him on the court the Cavs will probably sit Daniel Gibson more, thereby losing a key 3-point threat (which will allow teams to load up even more on LebRon in the middle). Cleveland will not improve this year, they will slide further back into the pack.
Where is Miami? Have you seen D-Wade in China? He is playing as good as, if not better than, LebRon in the Olympics. Expect Miami to rise as quickly as they fell, especially with the addition of Beasley. I wouldn't be surprised to see Miami post a better record this season than the Cavs.
The Celtics will still finish first or second in the East, so you've got them placed too low. Posey was a key contributor all season, but he is not irreplaceable. Look for Danny Ainge to sign a suitable replacement or two in the next couple of months. Also, look for an improved Tony Allen (finally fully fit), Perkins, Rondo, Powe, Davis, and Pruitt. Ray Allen may lose a step (he showed worrying signs last season), but Pierce and Garnett will continue to dominate in their usual ways.
Here's my predictions, for what it's worth:
1) Celtics
2) Magic
3) Raptors
4) 76ers
5) Pistons
6) Cavs
7) Heat
8) Wizards
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Curly Morris 10 months ago
Atlanta and Philly took advantage of a weak Eastern Conference last year. The East is no longer the J.V. league...and...Elton Brand will not finish the season...and....the Hawks will implode by mid season
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Dennis Byroade 10 months ago
What is this guy talking about how mucjh crack did you smoke before you wrote this? This is going to be the east standings- 1. boston,2. washington,3. detriot, 4. cleveland,5. magic,6.raptors,7.76ers,8. hawks
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Caelan B 10 months ago
dennis i thnink ur on crack washinton finishing 2? i mean i know there still good but 2nd i mean ur must be a washinton fan
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Caelan B 10 months ago
well u guys have had a huge argrument and most of the time i agree with gaz but the expectations of 76ers and the pistons finishing 5 seeds back from last year bugs the f*ck out of me i mean honestly 55 wins from the 76ers? they got elton brand who will help them on d and everything but when u get a big u need shooters thats what happend to the raps they got a big which will create outside shots for guys like jason kapono, anthony parker,jose caledron and carlos delfino bringing in brand will create the passes to the outside but not the buckets
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Caelan B 10 months ago
also the pistons will finish 2nd again but how can the pistons honestly drop 3 or 4 seeds in one season they did not lose anybody they got kwame brown who is expected to have a breakout season which he wont in my opinon just becausee gilbert areanas says he will doesent mean it will happen it will be the experienxed bench that will get them 2nd seed
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