2009-10 NBA Eastern Confrence Preview

The season is finally upon us, the NBA season tipoff is just a mere days away as it tips off on Tuesday and it looks like it will be an exciting season as many teams have gotten better. The Eastern Conference has gotten better as Shaq has joined LeBron and Cleveland, Florida native Vince Carter is in Orlando joining the Eastern Conference defending champs, and Rasheed Wallace has joined the Boston Celtics who are looking to rebound from a disappointing series against Orlando. So let’s preview the East for the upcoming season.

1.      Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics get Kevin Garnett back healthy which is the key. I can’t really see a scenario where Boston stays in this top stop if Garnett is not healthy, because they were a different team without KG, he is the emotional leader of the team, he is a defensive presence and a low post presence.

The Celtics had two big acquisitions adding players like Marquis Daniels, and Rasheed Wallace. Daniels is a versatile guard who averaged just under 14 points a game last season for the Pacers, Daniels can also post up on smaller guards, expect him to contribute off the bench.

Rasheed Wallace is an enigma; he will provide frontcourt depth to go along with Glen Davis which will help keep KG healthy. Wallace has the ability to go in the post and stretch the defense by stroking the three from the outside. Wallace will provide great front court depth; expect him to be one of the leaders on this veteran Celtic team.

The only thing working against the Celtics is age, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Rasheed Wallace who are all in their 30s. The Celtics window is closing, as Pierce and Allen become free agents at the end of the year. Due to their age the Celtics could also suffer some injuries, however this could be the last year the Celtics stay dominant in the eastern conference.

2.      Orlando Magic

The Magic are coming off disappointing finals which could’ve gone either way. The Magic look hungry for another shot at a title as Dwight Howard has let it known he has not forgotten the image of the Lakers celebrating on the Magic’s home court.

The Magic’s big acquisition was 11 year vet Vince Carter. Carter has been one of the most prolific scorers of this decade averaging 23.5 points per game for his career. Vince adds the one on one scoring that the Magic need, Vince is going to be the go to guy late in games. The big difference of this Vince and the Vince of previous years is that Vince is completely motivated, he’s back home, and he has a great shot at a title.

The Magic also added Brandon Bass and Matt Barnes who should make fill the void that Turkoglu left. Barnes a great wing defender, and Bass is a good pick and pop player who has developed a nice mid range shot, basically you subtract Turkoglu and add Vince, Bass, and Barnes, sounds like a good deal right.

3.      Cleveland Cavaliers

“Win a ring for the king” that is the goal for the Cavs this season. LeBron James still has no ring, but the Cavs front office rewarded him with Shaq. Let me go back to that Orlando series, the Cavs got exposed down low by Dwight Howard. As the Cavs double teamed Howard, it left gunners like Lewis and Turkolgu wide open. Shaq will now prevent that as he can match up with Howard. Shaq should also help guys like Varejao rack up some garbage points like he did for Udonis Haslem in Miami. Now this Shaq isn’t the same as the Shaq of Miami, he is now 37 years old. But Shaq is an upgrade from Zydrunas Illgauskas who could not post up at all forcing him to spot up and shoot three’s which was ineffective. If Lebron doesn’t win this year, he may leave Cleveland, however this may be the year, expect LeBron to put up MVP type numbers again, get good numbers out of Delonte West and Mo Williams and the Cavs should be destined for a nice run.

One concern with Shaq however is that he may not be healthy. People forget that the Suns training staff is absolutely magical. Look at what they’ve done with Steve Nash and his back, they had Shaq playing 75 games for the first time in 8 years, plus they got Grant hill to make it through an 82 game season. I can’t really see Shaq being completely healthy. Regardless I think the Cavs are still a step behind Boston and Orlando.

4.      Washington Wizards

I may be going out on a limb, but I’m making a bold prediction saying that a team that won 19 games a year ago can get home court for the first round but here’s why. The Wizards have the team they wanted last year; the big key is Gilbert Arenas whom I expect to be healthy. Arenas is now in the prime of his career at 27, he is coming off two seasons in which he played a combined 15 games. New coach Flip Saunders says Arenas has looked better than ever and he has regained the burst that he lost from his knee injury.

Arenas has looked like a man on a mission this offseason as he has worked with the same trainer that Dwayne Wade worked with. Arenas s been one of the most clutch shooters in the NBA, expect him to be the same, maybe he’ll average more assists but he will still shoot threes like he did, this is a guy with an assassin’s mentality, when healthy, he’s a top player in this league.

The Wizards front office has also done a good job not only keeping his core intact till Arenas comes back, but adding to it getting 10 year vet Mike Miller and young point guard Randy Foye. As usual the Wizards will be more concerned with the offensive side of the ball as they brought in an offensive mined coach in Flip Saunders, so expect to see them struggle defensively, however this team will be able to put up points in the board, this could be a second round team.

5.      Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks have some great pieces in place already with Joe Johnson, and the young Josh Smith, to go along with Al Horford and gunner Jamal Crawford whom they got right prior to the draft. The Hawks drafted point guard Jeff Teague who could assume the starting role at point guard if ready.

The Hawks are far behind from the big three due to the fact that they lack a true star, some believe Josh Smith may be a star but as of now their best player Joe Johnson is a free agent at the end of the year and is sure to demand big money, the Hawks could easily lead frog the Wizards due to the fact that the Wizards roster is very injury prone.

6.      Chicago Bulls

The baby Bulls are coming off one of the greatest series in NBA history losing to the Celtics in 7 games. While the Bulls do lose Ben Gordon, they get a healthy Luol Deng who at one point was the best player they had. Derrick Rose is now a year older, he will mature as a point guard. You can expect at least 18 points and 8 assists from the second year man out of Memphis. There are also some other bright spots, Joakim Noah is coming off a good series and looks like he can be a Ben Wallace type player. And yes, this could finally be the year that Tyrus Thomas breaks out. I saw a lot of flashes from Thomas last season, he has the potential to be a top ten player at his position however he needs to make less mistakes, the reason the Bulls fear playing him a heavy amount of minutes is that he can make big mistakes. Tyrus is a free agent at the end of the year, he’s only 23, expect him to finally have a breakout year.

If all goes right for Vinny Del Negro’s squad, the Bulls could show that last year’s epic seven game series was no fluke.

7.      Miami Heat

Bottom line is Dwayne Wade guarantees you a record around .500 every year, even with this mediocre supporting cast. Wade is coming off one of the greatest comeback years ever after playing two 51 game seasons. Wade also is coming off a disappointing postseason exit to the Atlanta Hawks in which he averaged 29 points in the series. Not only could Wade score, but he did dish out 7.5 assists, and more intriguing the 6-4 Wade averaged 1.3 blocks.

Ok so we all know what Wade can do, and if healthy the Heat are virtually guaranteed a playoff spot, problem is, even if they get another monster season from Wade, they probably will still be far away from the three beasts of the east because of the poor supporting cast.

I’m not going to kill the Heat supporting cast, because it can improve. Hopefully the Heat get a healthy Jermaine O’Neal who used to be one of the premier forwards in this league. However O’Neal has had trouble staying healthy, he hasn’t played 69 games since 06-07 which was his last productive season as he has failed to average 15 points since, however if healthy he and Wade could make a nice combo.

Another guy who needs to step up is Michael Beasley; Beasley has had a tumultuous offseason with the whole marijuana incident. However he’s looked solid in preseason averaging 14 and 5 rebounds. He has the potential to be a top player in this league, he has all the talent, however he needs to get it together, I expect the Heat to get much more out of Beasley this year.

Another key man for the Heat is the young point guard Mario Chalmers who will assume the starting point guard roles full time now. Chalmers averaged 10 and 5 assists last season, the young point guard has to step up if the Heat want to make it past the first round. Heat fans wait one more year for that championship roster, I doubt Wade leaves and the Heat will use him as a recruiter to big free agents, Joe Johnson perhaps.

8.      Philadelphia 76ers

Most people think I’m crazy predicting the Sixers as a playoff team after the departure of Andre Miller, and the fact that this team I entering the season with more question marks than anybody. Well don’t look at Andre Miller leaving, look at whose still in Philly. Andre Iguadala is 25 years old and primed for the best season of his career, expect 20 plus points, 5rebounds, and 5 assists as he leads the Sixers to another playoff appearance for the 3^rd straight year.

The Sixers get Elton Brand healthy, they went out and gave him the big money and right now, they have nothing to show for it. Sixers GM Ed Stefanski wanted to make his mark on the franchise and how Brand plays will probably determine his future with this organization.  Brand has played a combined 37 games in the last 2 seasons. He’s still 30, he’s finally healthy. Hopefully the Sixers can get 20-10s from Brand, problem is when Brand played last season he was ineffective, averaging 13.8 points per game and 8.8 rebounds. Some scouts simply think that Brand who was brought in to help Iguadala, and Iguadala can’t play best when both are on the floor. The way I look at it is, give Brand a clean slate and pretend last season never happened, because he was probably banged up from the start.

Also one huge question is how will the Sixers play under new head coach Eddie Jordan and his Princeton offense. The offense requires every player to have passing ability, can the Sixers run in this Princeton offense? Well here’s a way they could run, play Elton Brand at the 5, in this NBA you can do it, 6-9 Al Horford is playing center for the Atlanta Hawks successfully, power forwards in this Princeton offense are required to have the ability to shoot the outside shot, look at the way Antwan Jamison was used in Washington under Jordan. Brand playing the 5 could allow the Sixers young players like Iguadala, Lou Williams, and Thaddeus Young to run which is how the Sixers played their best basketball, and bring Samuel Dalambert off the bench for instant defense.

The last question, can Lou Williams be a starting point guard, Williams can score. However he is a shoot first point guard with the ability to get to the free throw line. But under new head coach Eddie Jordan in this Princeton offense, a true point is not needed, look at how Gilbert Arenas was used under Jordan.

The Sixers can be a playoff team, they have a nice young core in Andre Iguadala, Thaddeus Young, Mareese Speights, and Lou Williams, they will have to play well under this Princeton offense, if so, a playoff appearance for the 3^rd straight year is very realistic.

9.      Toronto Raptors

The Raptors made a big splash this offseason outbidding Portland for Hedo Turkoglu. However I’m not sure if Toronto has enough to make a playoff run. Chris Bosh is a star in this league, but he needs more rebounding help. Andrea Bargnani needs to rebound better in order to justify his first overall pick. One big plus is that the Raptors get Jose Calderon healthy. Calderon is one of the best assist men in the league when on the court. However the Raptors still need to improve upfront if they want to make a postseason appearance.

10.  Detroit Pistons

This is a team in transition from a being a perennial contender, to a mediocre team under .500. They replaced AI and Rasheed with Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva. I just can’t see how they are going to play Rip Hamilton, Ben Gordon, and Rodney Stuckey enough minutes. They need more help upfront as it looks like Kwame Brown will be the Pistons starting center. I would look for either Rip Hamilton, or Tayshaun Prince to be traded if not both, as the team wants to make room for Ben Gordon and Austin Daye. The Pistons are now younger and are probably a year away from the playoffs.

11.  Indiana Pacers

The Pacers have one of the best young stars in the league in Danny Granger, they play solid defense, but outside of that they have nothing. We don’t know when Mike Dunleavy Jr. will return and how well will he play. The roster doesn’t have much talent but coach Jim O’Brien is will get some wins out of this Pacers squad.

12.  Charlotte Bobcats

Coach Larry Brown is dealing with an inferior roster. However he’ll get them to play team ball, and good defense. But the Bobcats lack any type of go to scorer. Expect young point guard DJ Augustine to make a step forward, but the Okafor trade didn’t make any sense because defensively they’re about the same although Okafor is a better rebounder and averaged more blocks, but Okafor actually averaged 13 points compared to Chandler’s 8. Bottom line is the Bobcats should have a lot of trouble scoring.

13.  New York Knicks

They’ll be fun to watch, they’ll have no trouble scoring under Coach Mike D’Antoni, but they lack a star scorer, they lack a defensive stopper. The main focus for the Knicks this season will be to shed cap space by trading guys like Jared Jeffries an Eddy Curry, they’ll try to get expiring contracts in return and hope that they can sway LeBron James and other free agents to the Big Apple. Problem is the cap has gotten lower, and why would LeBron want to come and play with this roster, which means the Knicks would be forced to go after second tier free agents first and by then they might not have enough money to get LeBron. Sorry Knick fans but you’ll have to wait till next year.

14.  New Jersey Nets

The Nets have two very good young players in all star guard Devin Harris and center Brook Lopez. However the rest of the roster is a problem as they haven’t gotten much out of Yi Jianlian who has been a disappointment. There is some other young talent with Terrence Williams and Courtney Lee, but they lose Vince Carter whom they were awful with, they’ll be worse without Vince. Honestly I don’t know what will be tougher winning, or selling tickets. However there is something to be excited about Nets fans, the Nets now have an owner who happens to be a Russian billionaire, they’ll have a lot of money under the cap after this season, they have two nice young players in Lopez and Harris, plus they will probably relocate to Brooklyn soon, is LeBron James a possibility?

15.  Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks lost three of their best players in Richard Jefferson, Ramon Sessions, and Charlie Villanueva all for basically nothing. They get Michael Redd (who they hope should opt out of his deal in the summer of 2010) back and Andrew Bogut is a solid player, but Joe Alexander is set to miss anywhere from 8-12 weeks, and there’s really nobody else on the roster. All I can say for Milwaukee fans is hope the ping pong balls bounce your way.