Legion of Angels News Archive

They are the NBA champions until otherwise noted, so let us begin with the Boston Celtics as the team to beat in the Eastern Conference.

Granted, there is no revelation there, not with the trio of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen back en masse, aging but presumably healthy and now with a better understanding of what it requires to win it all. Sure, they stumbled on the road in the playoffs during the first two rounds, but it also toughened them to dismantle the Detroit Pistons in the conference finals and the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals.

So considering what they accomplished with coach Doc Rivers, plus the presumed maturation of youngsters Rajon Rondo at point guard and Kendrick Perkins at center, the Celtics must begin as the favorites to repeat in the East when the regular season begins next week.

But they are not alone. The Philadelphia 76ers made the most dramatic offseason move in the conference by signing free agent All-Star forward Elton Brand, and considering how they finished last season, the Sixers become an instant factor. And even though the acquisition of point guard Mo Williams didn’t rock headlines coast-to-coast for LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, he does make them better with the Cavs still tasting the 2007 East title.

There are others who will contend, of course, including the ever-present Pistons, still on a streak of six consecutive trips to the conference finals, and the Orlando Magic with that monster in the middle — Dwight Howard — still getting better all the time. You might even throw the Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat in the mix, but it’s presuming an awful lot that Jermaine O’Neal remain healthy long enough to be the difference for the Raptors; and ditto for Dwyane Wade in Miami.

Nonetheless, that gives us at least seven teams that could make life miserable for the Celtics should they stumble. We’ll break it down 1-15, with a little explanation that should help you disagree even more fervently moving forward.

1. Boston Celtics

The Celtics exploded out of the gate last season and never looked back on their way to the top seed, then rode that home-court advantage to their first title in 22 years. Should they remain healthy, there’s no reason to believe they won’t be better this season. Age is creeping up on their terrific trio, but the depth and the confidence throughout the roster will help carry them to the best record in the conference again.

2. Detroit Pistons

For all of their failings to get through the conference finals and stumbling on the way there the past few years, the Pistons are still an elite team built around their backcourt of Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton, and it should be even better with Rodney Stuckey having a year under his belt. Will Stuckey and Jason Maxiell continue to improve? That may be up to rookie coach Michael Curry to figure out.

3. Philadelphia 76ers

The Sixers seemingly came out of nowhere to be a legit player in the East down the stretch. It earned coach Mo Cheeks respect and proved Andre Miller is still a high-level point guard, while Andre Iguodala and the other youngsters are growing up quickly. And now that Ed Stefanski stole free agent Elton Brand from the Clippers, they will become a factor in who wins the conference, if not the Atlantic.

4. Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavs have too many issues to be serious challengers for the top seed, but with LeBron James, they are always a threat to win the conference title. This season, they’ll be even better with Mo Williams, a training camp with Wally Szczerbiak and healthy Daniel Gibson — all of a sudden the Cavs have some shooters. This may be their best group overall yet.

5. Orlando Magic

Nobody has a more offensively productive frontcourt than the Magic do with Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu, but the backcourt remains underwhelming. If Tony Battie could stay healthy, play power forward and allow Lewis to slip to a “3″ and Turkoglu to “2,” they would be much better. But those are huge ifs and their depth is still a problem.

6. Toronto Raptors

The Raptors are consistently one of those teams on the cusp, which probably explains why president Bryan Colangelo went out on a limb for Jermaine O’Neal, the former All-Star. If his legs are sound, they’ve got a chance to win the East with him next to Chris Bosh. Then again, Bosh has knee issues of his own. Jose Calderon is one of the best point guards nobody knows.

7. Chicago Bulls

It’s difficult to figure out what happened to the Bulls last season, other than they were turned upside down from contracts and the unhappiness of coach Scott Skiles. Well, there’s still Ben Gordon’s contract situation, but with Vinny Del Negro and veteran assistant coaches, they figure to be more consistent at both ends of the court, and certainly compete among those to get into the playoffs.

8. Atlanta Hawks

Conventional wisdom says the Hawks will ride the crest of taking the Celtics to seven games in the first round back to the playoffs. With Joe Johnson and Josh Smith, maturing Marvin Williams and Al Horford, plus a training camp with Mike Bibby, they should get there. Let’s see if the two-year extension signed by coach Mike Woodson helps them gain consistency.

9. Washington Wizards

Despite making the playoffs in each of the past four seasons, plus everyone returning for underrated coach Eddie Jordan, it’s hard to be sold on this injury-prone group. Who knows about Gilbert Arenas’ thrice-repaired left knee, Brendan Haywood’s wrist, Antawn Jamison’s right knee and anything else? They’re always injured, and that includes their incumbent tough guy Caron Butler. All things being equal, they’re in. Then again, all things are never equal.

10. Miami Heat

It’s hard to fathom a team with Dwyane Wade, Shawn Marion and top draft choice Michael Beasley not being in the playoffs, but rookie coach Eric Spoelstra will have his work cut out for him. Will Pat Riley deal Marion? More pressing is the health of Wade, who has missed 31 games in each of the past two seasons. He also missed 21 his rookie year. The acrobatics are killing his body.

11. Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks are the sleeper in the bunch. Skiles always get his teams to overachieve his first year or two, and with the addition of Richard Jefferson and Luke Ridnour to Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut, they are certainly playoff contenders. Rookie Joe Alexander may help and GM John Hammond did plug in veteran depth. But the talent pool is still fragile on this club.

12. Indiana Pacers

Like the Bucks, the Pacers have the capability of slipping into the playoffs, with the underrated Danny Granger, Mike Dunleavy Jr. coming off his best NBA season, and Troy Murphy healthy and productive. But they lack power players and athleticism to go along with the running of T.J. Ford, Jarrett Jack and rookie Brandon Rush. Just who are they with coach Jim O’Brien?

13. New Jersey Nets

By mid-season it was apparent that president Rod Thorn was ready to rebuild again, so he dumped Jason Kidd and hopes Devin Harris can develop into the Eastern Conference version of Tony Parker. They are very young, and he’d also love to get rid of Vince Carter for some young talent. They’ll finish higher than this, but it’s just difficult to figure out where they’ll fit in.

14. New York Knicks

It’s almost impossible to get a handle on these mismatched players, bloated contracts and new coach in Mike D’Antoni. Foremost among the problems is Stephon Marbury, who stands out like a raspberry on the roster. If Donnie Walsh can somehow unload him and D’Antoni gets this wacky bunch to buy in, they could cause damage to somebody besides themselves for a change.

15. Charlotte Bobcats

Larry Brown is back, presumably for the last time as an NBA coach. L.B. in North Carolina with absentee president Michael Jordan make for strange bedfellows, not to mention this young team with little or no fan base. There is talent with Emeka Okafor, Ray Felton, Gerald Wallace and Sean May, but this is a bad franchise and that’s too much to overcome in a balanced East.

Source — FOX Sports

Like a little kid who just survived a harrowing thrill ride at an overpriced theme park, the NBA is clapping its hands and screeching, “Let’s do it again!”

Above-average TV ratings can provoke such overloaded motivation.

Should we root for a Finals rematch or two co-starring the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics? Well, unless we’re guaranteed an upgraded show from the sons of Showtime, that question could be swatted around for months.

Until we arrive at that East vs. West intersection, our best move is to examine these teams and their future prospects before deciding if such reruns are plausible. (Please note that this exercise is happening before the draft and free agency can impact other teams, so make your bookie wait before committing.)

Let’s begin in L.A., where Lakers fans probably wouldn’t mind a strategy of tossing a few players into a locked room occupied by last-minute Christmas shoppers just to see who might be tough enough to emerge. The survivors would receive the greatest portion of postseason playing time.

In addition to attempting to summon a higher level of grit, the Lakers and their loyalists are hanging all hats on the (potentially) healthy return of 7-foot, 21-year-old Andrew Bynum.

As X-factors go, he ain’t bad.

Assuming Bynum’s knee is sound and a happy contract-extension accord can be achieved, Andrew would provide a lot of what the Lakers require. Bynum, who was on the cusp of becoming a dynamic low-post presence when the injury occurred, may turn into an inside beast.

Please mind that dunking-with-authority lesson, Pau Gasol. Ah yes, Pau Gasol. The skilled big man, purloined from the Memphis Grizzlies after Bynum was lost, demonstrated little of the ol’ nastiness needed to deal with the Cs. If he spends a hefty portion of the summer working on functional strength with shoulders a priority, Gasol could make next season a campaign of atonement. There’s nothing like adding a bit more muscle to inspire confidence, swagger and a relatively roughhouse maneuver or two.

However, Coach Phil Jackson and his basic triangle set may not be the optimum alignment to maximize the potential created by having two 7-footers on the floor simultaneously. While Gasol is a typical European big man who’s defined by — ahem — finesse, he’s not much of a marksman away from the hoop.

Neither is Bynum, which may create issues when one or the other is required to make that weak-side flash to the elbow, turn, face up and consider shooting when the defense collapses on what had been the ball-side post.

Yeah, many high-low triangle options are available, but Gasol must work on being more accurate from 15 feet, much like David Robinson was while allowing Tim Duncan to work down low in San Antonio.

But the greatest issue will be defense, where Gasol and his stiff knees are obliged to chase around mobile power forwards.

The possibility of talented-but-mismatched parts extends to the three spot, where Lamar Odom would drift when Bynum and Gasol are on the floor. While Lamar has the handling skills and lateral quickness to survive on the perimeter, his inability to shoot — and make — from deep prevents the Lakers from gaining suitable spacing for the bigs and Kobe Bryant.

In addition to working on driving that left elbow up through his jump shot and not leaving the floor off one foot EVERY STINKING TIME he goes to the hoop, Odom should keep that cell phone turned on.

With only one year at $14.1 million remaining on his existing contract, Lamar will be become a coveted trading commodity.

Gossip-related replacements include Sacramento Kings character Ron Artest, who would provide tougher defense, a decent perimeter stroke and (maybe) more chemistry issues than Rosie O’Donnell sparked on “The View.”

Keeping Odom for future considerations or replacing him will be pricey.

Anyway, the on-roster alternatives are shaky. Luke Walton still can’t shoot and is slower than a refund check. Advice alert: You don’t have to be a jet to defend adequately, but you must improve your first-step lateral slide when guarding the ball.

Vladimir Radmanovic is 6-foot-10 and can shoot, but his level of toughness makes Gasol look like Lance Armstrong. Trevor Ariza can defend and run but must work on achieving a reliable shooting touch to seize big minutes.

Backcourt upgrades can be made through individual improvement of existing contributors. Sasha Vujacic can shoot well off the catch and plays hard, but his footwork when shooting off the dribble is awful.

When the Lakers run into defensive-minded teams that close out hard and run shooters off the 3-point line (see Celtics, Detroit Pistons), Vujacic becomes pitifully upright after his shot fake and comprises his balance by not bending the knees during the gather step. Vujacic will put in the effort needed to get better — we’ll see if he works on improving his biggest weakness.

Point guard Jordan Farmar looks like a keeper if someone convinces him to keep his dribble alive after entering the lane instead of leaving his feet and hoping for the best.

All things considered, the Lakers could and should be better with another year of seasoning and a tweak here or there. They just might be better enough to take down the Cs — if they improve enough to escape the many upgrading teams still playing in the Western Conference.

If Bynum’s extension occurs — and there’s no reason to believe otherwise — the Lakers’ core will be intact and three or four deep playoff trips are possible.

Now that the parade is over, let’s hit Boston, where contractual ties have the Big Three on board for two more seasons (Kevin Garnett has four, Paul Pierce has three). While young players with star potential no longer exist on the roster, the Cs still look like serious Finals contenders in the short term.

KG is a workout warrior, Ray Allen is in reasonable shape and Pierce’s omission from the Team USA roster will enable him to rest that aching knee.

Rajon Rondo must obviously become a more reasonably successful shooter in addition to getting better at using his considerable quickness to stay in front of fleet point guards. While this wasn’t an issue based on the playoff competition this year, he could face Chris Paul someday and his habit of gambling on defense would be costly.

Kendrick Perkins will improve as he becomes more comfortable working with the ball in his hands, while Glenn Davis could turn into a reliable bench option.

The biggest short term question is the return of sixth man James Posey, whose clutch shooting and defensive contributions against Bryant could create a seller’s market. Posey, you see, can opt out of a final year that would bring him $3.4 million next season. Take him out of Boston and put him in L.A. (Lakers, not Clippers), for example, and things would get interesting.

Among the Cs with expiring deals, we find veterans Eddie House and P.J. Brown, who would have been easily affordable without rings. Now they and the Celtics must decide on what the price of another shot at success is worth.

Based on early-round playoff challenges in ‘08 and the expected increase in Dwight Howard’s low-post repertoire, we shouldn’t assume a Celtics blitzkrieg through the Eastern Conference next year.

But the majority of the smart money should stay in Boston for next season at least.

Beyond that, any long-term rematch potential with L.A. might be back in the hands of master talent procurer Danny Ainge.

Imagine thinking that exactly one year ago.

Source — Fox Sports